Wednesday, August 23, 2023

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• 'TBH: To Be Honest' hits the stage next week
• From Buddha to Mystic: what's in a name?

'TBH: To Be Honest' hits the stage next week

A message from the UWaterlooLife team.

Show your support for the cast and crew as they prepare for orientation by joining us for one of the premiere performances of ‘TBH: To Be Honest’. TBH has entered the stage to reflect the changing climate and culture of students and updated goals and expectations from what was well known as Single & Sexy. ‘TBH: To Be Honest’ is more uplifting and welcoming, and has a strong theme to build connections and develop resiliency while attending university.  

This student orientation play will follow students though a ‘year at a glance’ and includes issues such as homesickness, consent, academic integrity, imposter syndrome, and features many supports for students. This show is presented so that students watching feel less alone and know how to access resources to help them get through the tough stuff and help them get involved and connected on campus.  

"The show incorporates lots of music and explores situations that are universal but often downplayed because they can be difficult, awkward, or embarrassing, says TBH Director Amanda Kind. "Students starting university are experiencing so much change all at the same time - things like being anxious about being somewhere new, trying to make friends, experiencing romantic relationships, trying to succeed academically, feeling unprepared or unworthy, and figuring out what’s comfortable and enjoyable for them while managing their own expectations and the expectations of others - it’s a lot. We tried to uncover all these feelings in TBH." - 

Attend one of the premiere performances and support the talented group of UWaterloo students that make up the 2023 cast: 

• Wednesday, August 30, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Physical Activities Complex (PAC) Gymnasium;

• Thursday, August 31, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Physical Activities Complex (PAC) Gymnasium; and

• Friday, September 1, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Physical Activities Complex (PAC) Gymnasium. 

The play takes place in the Physical Activities Complex (PAC) and is open to everyone – including staff, faculty, and guests – to attend.  Admission is free, but tickets are encouraged.  

Register now

From Buddha to Mystic: what's in a name?

By Dr. Jeff Wilson.

Cheriton School of Computer Science professor Craig Kaplan and his team recently discovered something new: a vampire einstein monotile (a two-dimensional shape that can be used to tile a plane without repeating a pattern, and without needing to incorporate mirror images). As part of the tiling process, the team’s experiments produced a further interesting composite shape formed by two tiles. This second shape itself posed a new challenge: what to name it?

To Kaplan, the new composite shape strongly resembled a seated buddha figure from classic Asian art. So, he proposed to call it “Buddha.” But he also wondered whether that was okay, or whether Buddhists might find the label religiously provocative?

Kaplan knew that some religious groups are sensitive about the use of sacred images, and he didn’t want to cause offence. He reached out to Jeff Wilson, a professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies based in Renison University College’s Department of Culture and Language Studies and UWaterloo’s Department of Religious Studies.

Wilson noted that while Buddhists are stereotyped in Canada as “peaceful” and “non-attached,” most Buddhists view buddha images as sacred figures that shouldn’t be disrespected. He shows examples of problematic co-option in his class RS 204 Buddhism. Examples aren’t hard to find: buddha images on bikinis, the Buddha Bar chain, and many more.

While violence over misuse of Buddhist art is rare, Wilson knew that there has been controversy, and while it doesn’t tend to make the international news, Buddhists have voiced their objections to improper uses of their holy figures. In fact, Buddhist-majority countries such as Sri Lanka and Myanmar have deported tourists over buddha tattoos.

Wilson examined usages of previous, non-vampire einstein monotiles that Kaplan had worked on. They’d caught the imagination of the public at large and quickly proliferated on Etsy and other sites as craft outlines, cookie cutters, bathroom tiles, and other uses. Wilson determined that inappropriate use of the buddha-like image was inevitable, so he cautioned against calling the shape Buddha. The floor and things that touch the floor (feet, legs, buttocks) are unclean and insulting in some Asian Buddhist cultures, and eating a buddha cookie simulates doing violence to the Buddha, a huge no-no.

As a compromise, Wilson suggested the name “Mystic” instead. It’s evocative of a meditator without using an Asian religious term that might cause offence to particular groups. Kaplan and his team agreed, and the shape has been named Mystic in a scientific pre-print they recently released.

In the search for fascinating new shapes, the story of “Buddha” vs. “Mystic” is a small detail. But it’s important because making this decision meant the main focus can remain firmly on Kaplan’s discovery, rather than it potentially morphing into a story about protests over cultural appropriation and religious insult if an outcry had developed. As such, it’s a very Waterloo kind of incident: the kind of all-around win that can result when the scientific knowhow in the STEM faculties combines with the cultural expertise of the Arts Faculty.

Dr. Jeff Wilson is Professor, Culture and Language Studies at Renison University College.