Breakfast+w+Buddha


 * Discussion Time:**
 * Thursday, January 19 11:10-12:40 (4W)**

Hannah Felker Tara Humphries Emily Rafferty Nikki Hickey Leigh Baker Kimberly Smith Julie Jackson CC Colpitts
 * Group Members:**

Breakfast with Buddha Discussion Agenda

Pre-Discussion Information

 * Characters - List at least 3 significant details for each character.


 * Otto Ringling- Age: 44. Lives in the suburbs of New York City with his wife, son, and daughter. Grew up in Stark County, North Dakota. Is the senior editor at Stanley and Byrnes publishing company in Manhattan and specializes in books on food. Sets aside an hour every day to talk with his wife. Very picky about his food. **


 * Natasha Ringling- Age: 16½. Otto’s daughter. Parents call her Tasha. Enjoys teasing her brother. **


 * Anthony Ringling- Age: 14. Otto’s son. Trying out for football. Going through puberty and his skin is breaking out. Thinks his room is his “own private space.” Is starting to kind of pull away from his parents. **


 * Jeannie Ringling- Otto’s wife. Is a full time mom and part time as a freelance museum photographer. Sets aside an hour every day to talk with her husband. Is very helpful to Otto, kind of keeps him grounded. **


 * Jasper Ringling- Otto’s faithful dog. **


 * Ronald- Age: 72. Otto’s dad. Was killed with his wife in a car crash on a two-lane North Dakota highway called State Route 22. Was killed by a drunk driver around Otto’s age driving a blue pickup. Lived in North Dakota. **


 * Matilda- Age: 70. Otto’s mom. Was killed with her husband in a car crash on a two-lane North Dakota highway called State Route 22. Was killed by a drunk driver around Otto’s age driving a blue pickup. Had a fear of traveling by air. Lived in North Dakota. **


 * Cecelia Ringling- Otto’s sister. Lives in New Jersey. Has a fear of traveling by air. From her home she offers tarot and palm reading, past-life regressions, and spiritual journeyings. Her parents did not really relate to her profession. Has a history of not have the most quality boyfriends. **


 * Volya Rinpoche- Cecelia’s guru. Wants to open a meditation center in North Dakota. Teaches Otto about meditation in return for Otto showing him parts of America. **
 * Setting(s) - Describe details including time and place, economic, cultural, geographic, seasonal elements. What are all of the details of the backdrop against which the novel is set that help to create its tone and ideas?


 * Current, outside of New York City story begins. Moves across USA to North Dakota through Midwest. Movement from Busy city, lots of buildings, through Midwest, getting flatter and moving within Otto to a more settled person, to North Dakota- flat, quiet, like the way he becomes after meditating, etc. Personal development with the land. Very interesting. **
 * Important plot events - What are 3 significant plot elements? How are they important? Discuss.


 * 1. When Otto discovers he is taking Rinpoche, a stranger, with him to North Dakota instead of his sister and his sister wants to give this stranger a good chunk of their land. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Meditation in the hotel room with Otto and Rinpoche. A major turning point. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. When Cecelia shows up at their hotel room in North Dakota and what happens after. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Conflicts - Identify and elaborate on the conflicts that drive the plot.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Character vs. character- Otto is in a conflict because he is resisting Rinpoche and also sort of resisting himself because he is not willing, at first, to accept his ways and ideas about life; he wants to change and know answers but he distances himself from them because he knows he has a good life. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Narration (point of view) - Describe how the telling impacts the story.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">First person narration. Otto, the main character, is aware that he is telling the story of his cross country trip to the reader. Hearing it from his point of view gives the reader a deeper understanding of the main character’s thoughts and opinions on what goes on in the plot. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Qualities of the journey - Each group member should make a statement about the journey (metaphorical, literal, etc.) and how the character changes (or not...).


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- (TaraH) Otto’s experienced a journey within a journey because he went through an experience of self discovery as he traveled across the country and into his past. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- (Hannah Felker)The journey that Otto experience in this book is not only a physical voyage from New York to North Dakota, but also a spiritual expedition in which Otto comes to peace with his personal conflicts. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-(Emily R) Otto experiences a kind of spiritual journey as well as a physical journey across part of the country. He realizes how he needs to change as a person, and get a sort of wake up call. By the end of the story and the “journey”, Otto has become more spiritual. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- (Nikki H) Otto experiences both a literal and spiritual journey. He becomes spiritually more open-minded, while taking a road trip through midwest America. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Discussion Questions: **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(book pg. 333) **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1) Do you think Cecelia changes over the course of the story, or do you think it’s only Otto’s opinion of her that changes? Share specific scenes that support your view. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2) Humor is often employed a way of making us relate to a particular situation. How does the author use humor in this way? Are there particular passages that were especially funny to you? If so, why? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3) Discuss the role landscape plays in the story. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4) Do you believe the ending of the novel was the best ending for this story? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5) What does Otto Ringling come to learn—what are the spiritual insights he gains—and when does he begin to learn things? What's the turning point? How is his life changed by this spiritual journey? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6) Pick out several passages which you found profound...which made you sit up and take notice...and discuss them. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">7) Do you see yourself in Otto? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">8) Do you think it is realistic that the change in Otto happened over just one week? If so, why, and if not, how long do you think it would take? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">9) What was the point of discussing food in such a detailed way in the book? Do you think it served its purpose? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">10) Could you see yourself ever being put into a similar situation as Otto? Could you ever see yourself having the same sort of journey? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">11) Do you think that Rinpoche is changed by the end of his trip with Otto? If so, to what degree is Otto responsible for that change. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">12) Were there situations in the book where you doubted Rinpoche’s legitimacy as a spiritual teacher? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">13) Do you think that Otto achieved spiritual enlightenment towards the end of the book? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">14) Do you think that Rinpoche achieved his spiritual wisdom on his own or through a similar experience like Otto’s (with a teacher/friend)? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">15) Do you think that Otto will share his spiritual wisdom with his family? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">16) (Based on previous question) Do you think that Otto will be as successful imparting his wisdom as Rinpoche was with him (by utilizing a sense of humor?) **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">17) Do you think there are any unresolved issues in the book/a character’s life? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">18) Do you think Otto’s experience with Rinpoche is more special than any other lives that Rinpoche has touched? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">19) What do you think is Rinpoche’s motivation towards helping others experience spiritual satisfaction, even if some of his attempts aren’t successful? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">20) What do you think makes Rinpoche’s teachings different compared to other spiritual leaders’ teachings? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Discussion Idea: Heroism **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Hero- someone who goes on a journey. Is Otto a hero?__ **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Here’s why he might be: **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Heroes are neither fools nor invincible. Heroes are called upon to make a journey. A hero’s way is beset with loneliness and temptation. Many quest tales supply friends or disciples as company for the hero. The hero has a guide. The hero descends into darkness and is not the same after emerging from the darkness.” -Identifying a Hero pg. 99 **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“What the hero seeks is usually no more than a symbol of what he really finds. While the goal is usually something tangible, the success or achievement of that goal is somewhat more spiritual. The maturity or growth of the hero becomes more important than the actual object of the quest.” -pg 100 Identifying a Hero **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Another Point of View
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Works to extend a discussion about a passage that the group seems eager to discuss and gets participants looking specifically at the text.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Choose a scene or longer passage that is ripe for discussion.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Together, examine how the story is narrated. Describe the narrator’s position, level of power, and tone. Open discussion for three minutes or until you’ve covered it.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After you feel content with the discussion in #2, re-examine the scene from another character’s or narrator’s point of view, especially a person who has a different level of power than the narrator.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Discuss the scene/passage openly from both points of view.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Whip
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Whip questions for beginning of the discussion:
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A whip can be done at any point or multiple times in the discussion. Go around the circle and each person talks for less than a minute. Other participants listen and can respond after the whip has made a full circle. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How did you like the book?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How did you respond to a certain character?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What did you care most about in the book?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Describe your level of understanding.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Whip questions for the middle of the discussion:
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How did you respond to a plot event?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What passage(s) made an impact on you?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What points do you agree or disagree with?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Whip questions for the end of the discussion:
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What comment made today most affected your thinking?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What have you learned most about the book/the issues raised by the book today?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What questions still linger for you?


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Connections **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Book Review (Nikki Hickey) **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By Andrea Miller **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=1368__] **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Andrea focuses on how difficult it is to write about religion without it sounding like... **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 32px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s a kind of minefield. If you sound like you are preaching, the novel dies a quick death. If you sound like you are trying to convert a reader to this or that belief system, you’re finished. A novel is a piece of entertainment, not a tract, and if you forget that you are entertaining, that you are telling a story first and foremost, then the whole thing falls apart as fast as a house with weak beams. That’s why I try, in my more overtly spiritual or philosophical novels especially (Golfing with God, Breakfast with Buddha, American Savior), to use as much humor as I can. Humor is a kind of universal language, if you get it right—and it is not easy to get right—it is a big ingredient in humility. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 32px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">”


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Book Review (Hannah Felker) **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By Josh Swiller **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://peacecorpswriters.org/pages/2007/0709/709rv-breakfast.html__] **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Josh Swiller <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was a monk for three years after leaving the Peace Corps so I feel like his opinion on the book is more relevant then some others because he has experience in this sort of religious field. How did other people like the writing style in this book? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 32px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He’s sharing what he knows, instead of shouting or preaching it. Merullo was thirty-nine before his first book was published and in each of his books since then one can sense the patience of what must have been years of apprenticeship. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Does this background make for great writing? In Merullo’s case — yes, undoubtedly. Does it make for a great novel? Not so clear. I approached Breakfast with Buddha with trepidation for the reasons above and I still can’t say if it worked as a novel. But it’s a beautiful, moving and even necessary book. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 32px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">” **