My Brazil

After thirty three years back and forth to Brazil in business. On an average of a minimum two to five trips a year- Brazil in all these years have always amazed me.
I grew up in Brazil as a teenager -- I have arrived inito Brazil in 62, at an age of 13-14. Coming from Macao, Hong Kong and after a 45 days of ocean voyage. My first impression with Rio de Janeiro and Santos was impressive. Yes, from the age of 14-19, what a most "marvelous" period to be growing up in the city of Sao Paulo. Oh yes, that period of the Brazilian era we all well remembered as " Epoca de ouro" -- Or the golden age, where the wealth of coffee had turned the city of Sao Paulo, the most classical and enjoyable for a young teen with all the trimmings and attribute of a period where beyond the words of "cosmopolitan", "international" and "multi-national"-- It was a time that was a city of abundance --- we lived in an area called Jardins -- or "gardens". Oh yes, the street was called Bela Cintra, one block up from Rua Estados Unidos, and next to the club named - Paulistano, literally, people from the city of SP is called -- and "paulistas" for the rest of the resident from the state with the same name-- Sao Paulo.

The Chinese community in SP at that time also had its varies groups and ethnic diversity. Mom is Cantonese, so we have the Cantonese from Hong Kong and a few from Macao, but by in large, since dad had gone over to Brazil ever since 1956 or there abouts. Dad was from Shanghai and his origin home village was in Yuyao, the province of Zhejiang, the province immediately next to the known city of Shanghai, by birth place. Dad had gone to school in Sorbonne, Paris -- as one of the many progressive Chinese, immediately after the rise of the Chinese Republic --the focus was to find all sorts of cultural niches to build the future of China. There were those who had left for then Soviet Union, to Japan, to learn about militarism and others had gone on to the US for banking, finances and his group like Deng Xiaoping and Zhu Enlai, had gone on to France for philosophy and for humanities - and an array of all others had gone onto Germany and other regions in search for "values" for the new China's Republic. The civil war had taken father into Brazil -- if for no other reasons, based on his association of the many Chinese from Indo-China, like Thailand, Burma and Vietnam -- many of them had already left for Brazil and yes, Sao Paulo, and why? For Sao Paulo had resembled most of the European cities -- there have been contemplation of these many Europeanized Chinese, who had thought of Lebanon, Milan, Buenos Aires and finally Sao Paulo, Brazil. Based on the rising economy - and the vast European residents and the good mix of the many more nations, all had congregrated into the city of Sao Paulo.

Well, this is one of the many reasons and for now, I will just go by this basic reason and for us youngsters -- manybe not all will share my view and my understanding of Brazil , but for me, I have gotten so much out of Brazil and have benefited from the richness of the Brazilians -- where I have ventured beyond the living experience in one of the most sophisticated city of Sao Paulo, where I have also later ventured out to the interior of Sao Paulo, in Lorena, a city half way between SP and Rio, in the Valley called Paraiba and where I have tended to one of the old Italian Catholic order called Salesianos, or Salesians, from Turino, Italy. the same boys school I have tended in Macao --- and yes, my family's engagement with the Jesuits -- from the Matteo Ricci group in Macao, who had my entire family baptized and yes, my brother Peter and I , have been been given our Christian name - Peter and Paul, and most coincidentally, my name itself had me endeared ever since with the city who bears my Christian name and yes, I have enjoyed such wonderful coincidence, more so in reflecting over the name Paul, or Saul --Jewish by birth, Roman by citizenship and Greek by culture. All of the apostle 's multi-cultural attributes, some how had also created my other identity with the name Paul.

Well, enough said about this name of Paul. But I am forever grateful to my dad and to have my young age exposure to Brazil and from the city of Sao Paulo, to Lorena, in the interior of the state for schooling and ever since then, I have enjoyed all the richer engagement with all the rest of the culturally diverse regions of entire Brazil.

In 1964, two years after my arrival into Sao Paulo, I have began swimming competitively for a club name Hebraica , namely Hebrew -- and where my school mate , Ivan Szumuk, from Hungary, like many other friends of mine, mixed marriage of Christians and Jews, Hungarian citizenship --- we mixed and mingled, we swam, we played and we competed in many events, and in that year, I have become the first ethnic Chinese ever broken the state record , in swimming in 50M breast stroke. In those years and beyond, swimming in private clubs and where I have also swam against Mark Spitz, unbeknown to me that some years later, I saw his name surfaced in the Olympics. The cosmopolitan way of life in Sao Paulo had me meeting the many natioanlities, from the Egytian Jews, Sephardic Jews, who fled then the civil war in Egypt and war with Israel -- In my club alone, we have over tens if not more of languages. I have learned to cursed not only in Portuguese, but yes, in Italian, in Hungarian, in Arabic . and life was richer than ever -- it was all about sports and the endless weekend parties - like all teen agers, we were invited to all sort of parties. But in the use of the stories about parties, about dating and how the many of us, ethnic Chinese, where these are the pals I have met with my family's contacts, yes, we were a handful of young pals and yet, many of them who were attending to American schools, Chapel was the name of the American school and the other was Graded, a British origin, non religious English school, but then again, predominantly in these two schools were mostly Americans plus an array of the many other global nationalities. Yes, we, these handful of the ethnic Chinese kids had our fun and also our "minor gamble". We normally began our weekend evening, by the dinner engagement that almost the entire family had to attend, be that a new arrival of the immigrants from Asia, our family greeted them, befriended to many , and yes, the entire family had to attend to pay respect -- and the handful of us , as always, glancing over our watches nervously --- anticipating for the sort of activities beyond the tasty meals and the on going dishes upon dishes. Our focus then was about the parties after the dinner, be that of an American party, where most often, some of those youngsters, were or had just formed a musical band that sounded just like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, or the Monkees, yes the American music and or the British music was dominated the psyche and the minds of the youngster then . However, where I have my other side of the social engagement, be that I was dating a young lady, where I was awaiting to be meeting them in a later date -- Later ? How late can that be ? Yes, there is a clock in us all -- the first the Chinese dinner, then the American parties, that can be going into late, versus the Brazilians, my other group, most often the parties began around or near ten or much later------- Yes, we all loved our party or parties and the clocking of the timing into those "three cultural zones".

Such were the ages of the many teens, a cosmopolitan and very culturally diverse city , with our own diversities, from culture to culture --- and our encounter of all the new arrivals of many nationalities and our mingle with the many marvelous, loving, affectionate, endearing Brazilians where unlike the Chinese or the Americans (from our social perspective), the Brazilians as always, was always a party that involved all generations. We were offered meals, yes, wines along with all the adults. Yes, the society we were involved also, yes, in the upper middle class of the Brazilians -- but it was never a class divide. In looking back, depend upon in where and how we do our own introspective analysis - as most of who had moved on up to the States for college , yes, many of our American contemporaries in college would have commented that our lives then in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were more of a elite class -- and we were.

Yes, in any given home and house, we have our house cleaners, a group of maids who will be divided up to be doing the tougher chores of the house, yard work, garden work and the others will take care the house cleaning that can range from floor polishing (wood floors as well as ceramic floors that requires to be hand or machine waxed). there are the maids who did the laundry and shopping for house maidens. And for those others, we have chauffeurs and gardeners -- with house and homes that are generally fairly good sizes and with a good numbers of us with multiple siblings and or relatives, or visiting relatives.

Dating at that period of the 60s, the dating rituals were very rigid -- yes, no good lady would have gone out on a date without a chaperon -- and as in my case, on my first date, my girlfriend then had his older first cousin --- to have us chaperoned. Because no "good and respectful" young woman would go out ever "alone" on the first date. Even in the next few dates, as always, she was in generally well escorted, or to be accompanied by even "aunts" !!!!

I loved the family of my girl friend A Maria-- and I recalled very well, that no one lingering also outside of the house for long, the blink of a light was good enough to tell the young lady "time to be inside" --- those social and cultural values were all most universal - No good lady will be lingering on, much worse, to be held by any boys. That was a no , no .

I will move on a bit faster from my teen age life then in the sixties to present -- where I have gone forward from being a teen growing up in Sao Paulo, our social values and our manners and demeanor had sets of rituals and those values and rituals have to be guided and reinforced by almost all the society then .

Of course, we have out so called wild activities typical for any young men of our time. Such as in our behind schedule going home --try to be home -- promised to ones parents to be home alightly about midnight -- where almost, never we were home then, how about two, or even six and as late as eight the next morning .. Yes, the hormonic side of young men and the adventurous spirit of the few of us, had us driving fast, out racing area police --- when the streets and avenues were wide and cars were no where to be seen-- by the many daring dos, when the police cars were very docile and much less equipped - for the few us, who had out do the siren blinking police cars in their volkswagen beatles -- was part of the fun and game and maybe we all were influenced then by Jimmy Dean in "Rebel without a cause" or so it had gone. Regardless of our cultural and ethnic mix -- Louie was form Bolivia, Karol is from Poland, yes, Karol's family name had shown up in Encyclopedia Britannica -- and we all speak Portuguese fluently and also English --- Peter, Charlies and me with Kao and Jackson, all ethnic Chinese, we ate in dinners where our parents know of each other ---- and we all took off in separate cars to American parties, to Danish parties, French and I personally love as always, in those Lebanese homes -- maybe then, I felt in love with all those plush oriental rugs -- and the most hospital people with abundance of food, the Kibe, the esfihas --- but then again, we were all Brazilians with all the multi-cultural decorum, sound, taste and flavor.

Oh yes, food, fruits and all of that, is another most colorful momories for me -- the daily fresh squeezed orange juice, the jars and jars of fresh lime juices -- Brazilian food, the rice cooked with fresh garlic, onion and often, a touch with a couple slices of tomatoe, and even today I cooked my rice the Brazilian way , where my chilldren and my wife all have enjoyed it immensely , or until we all know rice is pure starch, and since then, rice now is out of the menu --- as the kids have all grown and no longer in the house -- but whenever there is the chance to make some rice, nine out of ten time, we do it the Brazilian way, not only my children, but yes, their pals, their school mates, or sport team members , and their parents --- Oh yes, Brazilian rice and then, the memories of the beans, the Paulista feijao -- as we called it, and for the longest time, my maids daily cooking, rice, bean, fresh salad and a slightly pan fried beef think steak with garlic, and yes, with eggs -- we called it " Bife a cavalo" become my most common meal. The same had gone on when I was in the boarding school in Lorena -- where the breaded fried "egg plants", or the parmagiana, the style of Italian cooking amongst the many Brazilians were ever so common. So, Brazilian food, its flavor, its taste and the abundance of fruit -- be that banana, mango, papaya, oranges, the abundance of all sort of fruits -- was one of the sweetest memories and the variety of ways in how to have them prepared, imagine, banana smashed in with sugar, or honey and the daily ten to fifteen shots of our Brazilian "cafezinho" had dominated my life for over twenty years -- or until when I have found out I am a diabetic 2 -- even so, the daily intake of ten cups or more "cafezinho" remains whenever I am in Brazil :)

The other three characters -- Journey to the West

The sandman, the second adjutant to the Tang Monk, was a monter who used to live near a sandy river bank -- another deity banished to the lower level of hell -- so to speak .. and the third character -- The Pig, or the pig with eight guarded laws --- From our children's pictorials, all of these characters are with human bodies, but all of them are dressed as humans, where the Monkey is the Monkey and the sandman was just a man with tons of hair -- or what is amazing is that the hair almost worked out us "full of sand" , at least, that is how I have been visualizing the Sandman, and the Pig with 8 guarded laws, has a pig face, but a human body as well. He symbolized gluttony, complacency, laziness and to a large degree, cowardice and yes "chicken" would have been a better word. Where the Sandman, and the fourth "banished deity" was the horse, the horse, a white horse who carried often the Monk and his many books and luggage. Both the horse and the Sandman represented more of the human "apathy" - another human frailty and all of them in the entire journey, upon facing any challenges by the road side demons and monsters, frequently had shown signs of retreat, or giving up ---- Because in this entire journey to the West -- in the underworld of the demons and monsters -- the prize of the "flesh" of this monk, would have been given them all - their immortality . Thus, the journey of this group has all the many challenges. Where often, these road side demons and villains, would have themselves camouflaged into the many forms of trickey -- Often they come to the monk as elder women, or young women appealing to be weak and helpless -- while in this exchange of "falsehood" or entrapment, as often shown in the novel, this pious and yet weak monk had fallen time and again by the deceptive ways of these "false" women ---- where the "sharp" eye, or the trained eyes of the Monkey, had them often spot on -- and in how the writer had characterize the sharp sense of the Monkey, and his quickness to strike any of the "demons" thriving to have a piece of the morsel , the flesh of this Holy monk--- his quickness to draw, or as to have them beaten or crushed by his famous "magic wand" -- a wand that can be called by the spell to become as small as a hair pin , to be hidden under his earlobe, underneath his skin-- or once this magic wand is drawn out into the open -- by the magic spell, the wand can go into the height that can reach heaven and to be as thick and heavy as any sizable mountain -- One stroke of this wand would have crushed these demons into pulps - Yes, the book and story was very descriptive and with all the vivid gore-- the same sites that would have also been stroke the pious monk and offending his Buddhist vow -- of to spare all living creatures. This contrast of the quick temper, quick alert and fast movement of the Monkey, the former "The Invincible Lord of heaven" , his struggle of his past fame and glory and now with the humility that was set forth upon him, not ever so willingly -- because in the segment, or upon the monks arrival into the Five Finger Mountain, prior to the Monkey 's release by the Monk, whom had heard the "calling" by this mighty and poweful, King of the monkeys, who had pleaded and begged for his release --At that particular moment and time, the appearance of the goddest of Mercy, or Guanyin , who had come to set up the conditions and the procedure of the Monkey's release, whereas she had moved one of her gold rings, which had turned into a "crown" of sorts, or a metal head piece to be permanently set onto the head of the Monkey. where the goddess of mercy had passed onto the Monk, with a special magic spell ------ Upon the repeat of the spell - this ring/crown will be tightening and be squeezing into the skull of the Monkey. Subsequently, in the many times of dispute between the Monkey and the Monk, or upon the Monkey quick fix, fast kill of the roadside demons, because the Monkey has his training , where his eyes can spot and see between real human to demons, as well he can also smell out the rogue ones --- His quick execution had often mistaken by the Monk, the direct offense for any Buddhist monk, who have made their vow to be pious and "killing" of anyting living is a major offense. Thus, this on going conflicts between the master and the Monkey disciple had there many episodes of exchange, and repeatedly, the Monkey had left and gone, or banished by the pious monk, nevertheless a weak monk, even the mission and the deeds of the Monkey was to guaded and to protect the Monks life and to secure his journey to the West --- in the story of this legend, this is where they all will meet the Great Buddha, and where all of the disciples will be able to attained their god and deity status by their deeds and protection with their guardianship of the Tang Monk. The mission and their "sacrifices" will give back their old status and more. The author's written story of this pilgrimage was colorful not only in the caricature of the characters, but every episode or chapter has a series of poems, beautifully articulating and expressing their next round of activities or the anticipated events -- such as the encounters they might have. The twists and turns of the entire novel, the give and takes and exchanges between the Tang Monk and the Monkey were the key ingredients of the novel. Thus, the Journey or the Pilgrimage to Tibet, or Journey to the West had become better known -- as the story of the Monkey King. It is a story, a novel that have been said and told a million times by all Chinese elders to their young -- and in old Canton, there is always the calling of any young boy --when they act disobedient and naughty-- they were told as I have been told -- " Ma Lau Jing", Ma-lau is monkey -- Jing-- means the spirit, or non human. or worse, a naughty, disobedient ghostling. One can put maybe the image of a naughty Casper --likeable by disturbing and annoying at the same time. All naughty kids were called by that name -- Ma Lau Jing :)

Five Finger Mountain ---- The Monkey King

Preface -- My Journey to the West

The time has come where the many issues about muliti-cultural, intercultural, cross cultural issues that have come to the surface and over the past forty plus years. From all of the arena of the academia to actual life experience. I have come to the conclusion, the best way to review and to express the variety of the many cultural issues is best to be expressed by one's own experience. Ultimately, it is not only embracing the cultural environment we live in today, which in part or in whole have become transitional and moving -- people moving into different global regions and all are experience a variety of multi-cultural, cross-cultural, intercultural -- some have become transcultural and more over -- this latest and new awareness of "cultural issues" is in many ways most refreshing. Because it is no longer or ever again, to be "monocultural" ever again :) As a matter of fact, the world we live in was never monocultural, we have from day one, our immediate social and cultural environment have been diverse and mulit-cultural with the many different values that are shared under different sets of circumstances. What are today's our cultural values at home or at work? And even within a sect of the religion, say Christianity, have we not the many diverse groups that can go from the Greek Orthodox, to the Roman Catholics, to the protestants and the hundreds of subgroups that have been formed and reformed, or reshaped thoughout history ? All the many of them, under the name of Christians have their different form of worship, or behave ever so differently, but all are under the name of one historical figure named Christ ?

By my count, from a positive note, I guess, when our cutlures or our values are organic, meaning, it is dynamic, it is changing and transformational -- it is very healthy. I think the evolution of men and our ideas, our thinkings are also changing and hope for the better and to become ever more progressive -- and on that note, these changes and evolutions are the new adjustment of the new surrounding that we are moving into, or onto different sets of circumstances -- and these adaptive behavior by my count are healthy for the most part.

Cultures and values is what shapes our behaviors, and by our different way of behaving, individually or collectively have made the many different sets of values and some with distinctions that have made our human cultures diverse, different and at times, the diversity of ours is in harmony, and other times, the changes were also brought on by human conflicts and disharmony and always, with conflicts then come resolution -- often by not so harmonious means.

Books and history had told us the many stories, from fable to mythology and each and every cultural group can tell us about their legends, and again in those legends, most of that being said were all about the many conflicts and then solutions -- some of the stories were told most brilliantly and many were sung to us by songs, by ballads and others by poems as we all have the experiences of the many movies and before that theaters, plays. Time and again, all the stories were being said had revealed much of the values of the past and also, contemporary stories share with us values of today.

My idea of this book is not about sicence nor fictions -- I guess for now, I have yet become a fictional story teller. However, call it fate, chance or by whatsoever sets of circumstances, my life by my own measure has been immensely rich in the multi-cultural sets of settings that I was born into, and was raise and for the most period of my life, whenever I was asked -- "where are you from? " or "where have you been" , I have noticed that often I have to take more than a few minutes to give the questioners of my background. And for the most part, in the muilti-cultural dimensions of lives we live have today, multi-culturalism is no longer of any mystique or even curiosity, in fact, in the coming years -- the world is becoming much more global and much more multi-cultural than we can imagine. The medium and the technologies we have on hand and the communication devices have us all becoming "global" and if not in real context in being multi-cultural, we are already global. I will be addressing much of the differences ab out global and about muilt-cultural, divesity, cross cultural, inter-cultural to a larger extent by the passages of this book or where ever my story telling will take me.

But the real purpose of this writing indeed is for several reasons. First, for my children and for them to have a better understand of me, in fact, this had begun by my daugher's questions and I dare assume, there are many of her school mates, colleagues may have those very similar questions.

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, I have meant to write this book, with its title as my journey to the West -- and then some -- maybe also a journey of my returning from the West to the East, not only in physical terms, but more over, and most important of it all -- is about my personal values, thus, all of that also will reflect the many cultural values I have within me, these values for the most part, have been obtained, absorbed and retained by my life experience, from my journey began with China then heading western wards, by way of Brazil, north America and the rest of the global travel I have taken in all my life. And in this particular journey, as in my adaption of one of the best known Chinese children book, I will again , reemphasize a children 's book, as in my early childhood, what was registered, the very first impression of a character, of a monkey, a human like monkey, almost in every Chinese young men and women will know, a novel, a fable , and a fairly tale, of this monkey - yes, or Monkey King, as he was the king of the monkeys, and from his "daring act" , by his leap of faith, proving to all of the clan of the monkeys, where he had jumped and leaped over and into a waterfall, where with that gamble of faith -- he had found the so called "Waterfall Cave", a fairly land, with all the abudance of fruits and drinks and nectars --- of course, to the favorite of the monkeys. And thus, he has become king of all the monkeys, as being said in that legend.

The beginning of the episode of this story of the monkey, a novel being written in the early part of Ming or even earlier has the many messages, subtle messages --- such as the writer who wrote about not only "individuality" or of individual expression, which many can find that self expression has always been the "air" of most poets, writers in that individual expression of esoteric, in that off the ordinary and with extraordinary "spirit" or "inspirations" that throughout the history of China -- these writers, poets have always such rich individual expression and of or into a "psychological realm" that is above all others-- these form of aspiration has also their own unique forms of individuality, often along with also that certain Dao and Zen/Chan detachment, or better yet, a form of psychological or mental evolution, going above and beyond of the ordinary --. Thus, in this novel so called "The pilgrimage -- or the journey to the West", at first, the story depicts the west bound Buddhist monk, during the first dynasty of Tang, where the story depicts the search for the first Tibetan Buddhist scriptures by the long and arduous journey of this monk, by the emperor has been well known and well written in Chinese history , as almost well known to all Chinese by the introduction of the Buddhist writings into the Tang period of China.

But this particular novel, a fairly tale like novel, almost totally fable like novel, by adding to the many more dangerous and adventurous elements into this journey by this Tang monk had added much more the delightful features and embellishment of this novel, retelling by this writer with added overt and also covert cultural and personal elements by the characterization of the Monkey. This Monkey or Monkey King became one of the four "ghost" or "fairly" characters to the entire Westward journey by this pious, religious monk, often symbolizes the total fragile, almost pathetic, but devoted, religious, missioned bound monk, characterized almost entirely by the Confucian values of obedience, filial obligation toward his mission and abide by the mandate of the emperor, with total focus of his search for the Tibetan scriptures. His devoutness and his purity of a man, however frail --- and in that "holiness" of his mission, he was blessed by the sympathy of the dieties, and one in particular was the goddess of mercy, or Guanyin -- or as to see and to hear -goddess. Thus, by the contrast of his human and monastic sort of meekness, the gods or the dieties had granted the monk of his very powerful consort and escorts. His four disciples in his entourage, consist first the most dexterous and powerful character -- the Monkey, the main character of the entire novel and also the most colorful and dexterous, resourceful and once was known as the "Best of best of all heavenly warriors" or "The invincible Monkey". Where the legend was also told, by his magical birth, the monkey was born out of a rock, and the rock was cultivated by the ages of wind, rain and celestial ages to have it crystallized into a certain "saintliness" and at the right time and the right hour, by the strike of a lightning -- out come this "stone monkey". Thus, all of these unusual and magical phenomenon surrounding the many events of this monkey, The many unusual signs - (The author was ever so clever to have severed the traditional Chinese cultural and family link, where he had the monkey born out of a rock -- thus, no ancestral bagage ) They monkey was already used to be the king of all monkeys and in his journey from almost "bestial" ghostlings like personal journey , as in the first part of the novel -- how this money had managed to have obtained the status and his cultural and "educational" transformation, from monkey and ape like creature to become then men, and in that transition, and by his mischievousness, he had not only warred and battled against the deities of heaven, his attainment into immortality, not based on virtue, but by his super intelligence, talent and his self acquired "magical" skills -- he came so close to have defeated the entire power elites of all the heavenly deities and have them all humiliated, degraded and almost subjugated. The entire novel, or at least, for almost half of the novel had dedicated to the "character formation" of the monkey. Whose personally development and his own formation into becoming known to both the world of the "demons" (or monsters, basically, most of them were all one time saints and fairies who have one way or another might have committed "sins" , from gluttony to lust, or greed) and then they have been casted into the lower strata of the universe, between the human tier and the heavenly tier -and this monkey by his own merit, his personal inquisitiveness and intelligence, who was an avid learner, inquirer, and forever curious, he who was bored by being the King of all the monkeys, has decided to leave the land of the monkeys, and to head toward the land of the "people", where through the many arduous journey, who had tried to hid his monkey tails, dressed as human -- and who had seek the masters of all magical and ballistic and martial arts ---and eventually, he had found one of the well hidden Buddha master and where he was housed and hosted by this master who had taught the monkey all the marvelous warring and protective skills, where the monkey has been able to ride with the cloud, and with a somersault - he can travel some 18,000 league in seconds, where he could have pulled off his own hair, with a whiff, all the hair become the replica of himself and thus, became all the many warriors and fighters as skillful as himself. Again, the early departure was due to the Monkey's own vanity, by showing off the many skills that was prohibited by the master himself. Through out of the entire story of this pilgrimage, the many characters of the Monkey had shown also basically the many human hesitation, reluctance and all the many flaws of our own character, totally well expressed by the many intransigence well expressed by the Monkey. The Monkey had all his combative victories over the heavenly deities and their warring troops. the Monkey had stolen the potion where he had gained "immortality", in other words, he could not be killed or destroyed by the ordinary punishment by all of the gods and he had challenged each and every one of them, or the entire hierarchy of the gods and goddesses --- in that marvelous mixture of the deities in the novel, mixing in the gods from both the Daoist sect, as well from the Buddhist --- and not until the rise of the Buddha himself, or Sikamuni --- at this last of the monkey's last mischievous act, challenging the ultimate supreme power of all the legend of gods -- Buddha had enlarged himself so immensely, reaching the height of sky or heaven, extending his palm -- as into a palatial platform and have asked the Monkey to leap over into his palm ----- And the Monkey had reach the top of the palm by one of his best known somersault -- with his ever present of arrogance, he had insulted the supreme deity -- not only had he tried to belittle the great Buddha, he had gone as far as to have himself relieved first, by urinating toward the front of the giant size palm of the Buddha, he then leaped to the back of the palm where he had defecated. At that juncture - the forever kind Buddha had turned to become incensed -- and with a flip of his giant size palm --- he had the monkey buried until the hill to be called - The Mountain of the five fingers. And with that gesture, the Buddha had warned of the Monkey "On account of your bestial arrogance, you will be buried under this moutain for up to five thousand years, or until that certain time, by the arrival of this kind monk of Tang dynastry, he will be the only one who will be able to lift the spell and the curse I have on you by removing this cursive signed ribbon".

Preface -- My Journey to the West

The time has come where the many issues about muliti-cultural, intercultural, cross cultural issues that have come to the surface and over the past forty plus years. From all of the arena of the academia to actual life experience. I have come to the conclusion, the best way to review and to express the variety of the many cultural issues is best to be expressed by one's own experience. Ultimately, it is not only embracing the cultural environment we live in today, which in part or in whole have become transitional and moving -- people moving into different global regions and all are experience a variety of multi-cultural, cross-cultural, intercultural -- some have become transcultural and more over -- this latest and new awareness of "cultural issues" is in many ways most refreshing. Because it is no longer or ever again, to be "monocultural" ever again :) As a matter of fact, the world we live in was never monocultural, we have from day one, our immediate social and cultural environment have been diverse and mulit-cultural with the many different values that are shared under different sets of circumstances. What are today's our cultural values at home or at work? And even within a sect of the religion, say Christianity, have we not the many diverse groups that can go from the Greek Orthodox, to the Roman Catholics, to the protestants and the hundreds of subgroups that have been formed and reformed, or reshaped thoughout history ? All the many of them, under the name of Christians have their different form of worship, or behave ever so differently, but all are under the name of one historical figure named Christ ?

By my count, from a positive note, I guess, when our cutlures or our values are organic, meaning, it is dynamic, it is changing and transformational -- it is very healthy. I think the evolution of men and our ideas, our thinkings are also changing and hope for the better and to become ever more progressive -- and on that note, these changes and evolutions are the new adjustment of the new surrounding that we are moving into, or onto different sets of circumstances -- and these adaptive behavior by my count are healthy for the most part.

Cultures and values is what shapes our behaviors, and by our different way of behaving, individually or collectively have made the many different sets of values and some with distinctions that have made our human cultures diverse, different and at times, the diversity of ours is in harmony, and other times, the changes were also brought on by human conflicts and disharmony and always, with conflicts then come resolution -- often by not so harmonious means.

Books and history had told us the many stories, from fable to mythology and each and every cultural group can tell us about their legends, and again in those legends, most of that being said were all about the many conflicts and then solutions -- some of the stories were told most brilliantly and many were sung to us by songs, by ballads and others by poems as we all have the experiences of the many movies and before that theaters, plays. Time and again, all the stories were being said had revealed much of the values of the past and also, contemporary stories share with us values of today.

My idea of this book is not about sicence nor fictions -- I guess for now, I have yet become a fictional story teller. However, call it fate, chance or by whatsoever sets of circumstances, my life by my own measure has been immensely rich in the multi-cultural sets of settings that I was born into, and was raise and for the most period of my life, whenever I was asked -- "where are you from? " or "where have you been" , I have noticed that often I have to take more than a few minutes to give the questioners of my background. And for the most part, in the muilti-cultural dimensions of lives we live have today, multi-culturalism is no longer of any mystique or even curiosity, in fact, in the coming years -- the world is becoming much more global and much more multi-cultural than we can imagine. The medium and the technologies we have on hand and the communication devices have us all becoming "global" and if not in real context in being multi-cultural, we are already global. I will be addressing much of the differences ab out global and about muilt-cultural, divesity, cross cultural, inter-cultural to a larger extent by the passages of this book or where ever my story telling will take me.

But the real purpose of this writing indeed is for several reasons. First, for my children and for them to have a better understand of me, in fact, this had begun by my daugher's questions and I dare assume, there are many of her school mates, colleagues may have those very similar questions.

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, I have meant to write this book, with its title as my journey to the West -- and then some -- maybe also a journey of my returning from the West to the East, not only in physical terms, but more over, and most important of it all -- is about my personal values, thus, all of that also will reflect the many cultural values I have within me, these values for the most part, have been obtained, absorbed and retained by my life experience, from my journey began with China then heading western wards, by way of Brazil, north America and the rest of the global travel I have taken in all my life. And in this particular journey, as in my adaption of one of the best known Chinese children book, I will again , reemphasize a children 's book, as in my early childhood, what was registered, the very first impression of a character, of a monkey, a human like monkey, almost in every Chinese young men and women will know, a novel, a fable , and a fairly tale, of this monkey - yes, or Monkey King, as he was the king of the monkeys, and from his "daring act" , by his leap of faith, proving to all of the clan of the monkeys, where he had jumped and leaped over and into a waterfall, where with that gamble of faith -- he had found the so called "Waterfall Cave", a fairly land, with all the abudance of fruits and drinks and nectars --- of course, to the favorite of the monkeys. And thus, he has become king of all the monkeys, as being said in that legend.

The beginning of the episode of this story of the monkey, a novel being written in the early part of Ming or even earlier has the many messages, subtle messages --- such as the writer who wrote about not only "individuality" or of individual expression, which many can find that self expression has always been the "air" of most poets, writers in that individual expression of esoteric, in that off the ordinary and with extraordinary "spirit" or "inspirations" that throughout the history of China -- these writers, poets have always such rich individual expression and of or into a "psychological realm" that is above all others-- these form of aspiration has also their own unique forms of individuality, often along with also that certain Dao and Zen/Chan detachment, or better yet, a form of psychological or mental evolution, going above and beyond of the ordinary --. Thus, in this novel so called "The pilgrimage -- or the journey to the West", at first, the story depicts the west bound Buddhist monk, during the first dynasty of Tang, where the story depicts the search for the first Tibetan Buddhist scriptures by the long and arduous journey of this monk, by the emperor has been well known and well written in Chinese history , as almost well known to all Chinese by the introduction of the Buddhist writings into the Tang period of China.

But this particular novel, a fairly tale like novel, almost totally fable like novel, by adding to the many more dangerous and adventurous elements into this journey by this Tang monk had added much more the delightful features and embellishment of this novel, retelling by this writer with added overt and also covert cultural and personal elements by the characterization of the Monkey. This Monkey or Monkey King became one of the four "ghost" or "fairly" characters to the entire Westward journey by this pious, religious monk, often symbolizes the total fragile, almost pathetic, but devoted, religious, missioned bound monk, characterized almost entirely by the Confucian values of obedience, filial obligation toward his mission and abide by the mandate of the emperor, with total focus of his search for the Tibetan scriptures. His devoutness and his purity of a man, however frail --- and in that "holiness" of his mission, he was blessed by the sympathy of the dieties, and one in particular was the goddess of mercy, or Guanyin -- or as to see and to hear -goddess. Thus, by the contrast of his human and monastic sort of meekness, the gods or the dieties had granted the monk of his very powerful consort and escorts. His four disciples in his entourage, consist first the most dexterous and powerful character -- the Monkey, the main character of the entire novel and also the most colorful and dexterous, resourceful and once was known as the "Best of best of all heavenly warriors" or "The invincible Monkey". Where the legend was also told, by his magical birth, the monkey was born out of a rock, and the rock was cultivated by the ages of wind, rain and celestial ages to have it crystallized into a certain "saintliness" and at the right time and the right hour, by the strike of a lightning -- out come this "stone monkey". Thus, all of these unusual and magical phenomenon surrounding the many events of this monkey, They monkey was already used to be the king of all monkeys and in his journey from almost "bestial" ghostlings like personal journey , as in the first part of the novel -- how this money had managed to have obtained the status and his cultural and "educational" transformation, from monkey and ape like creature to become then men, and in that transition, and by his mischievousness, he had not only warred and battled against the deities of heaven, his attainment into immortality, not based on virtue, but by his super intelligence, talent and his self acquired "magical" skills -- he came so close to have defeated the entire power elites of all the heavenly deities and have them all humiliated, degraded and almost subjugated. The entire novel, or at least, for almost half of the novel had dedicated to the "character formation" of the monkey. Whose personally development and his own formation into becoming known to both the world of the "demons" (or monsters, basically, most of them were all one time saints and fairies who have one way or another might have committed "sins" , from gluttony to lust, or greed) and then they have been casted into the lower strata of the universe, between the human tier and the heavenly tier -and this monkey by his own merit, his personal inquisitiveness and intelligence, who was an avid learner, inquirer, and forever curious, he who was bored by being the King of all the monkeys, has decided to leave the land of the monkeys, and to head toward the land of the "people", where through the many arduous journey, who had tried to hid his monkey tails, dressed as human -- and who had seek the masters of all magical and ballistic and martial arts ---