Western Practitioner: Some Thoughts on Chinese-English Communication

By Vajra

Even in many areas outside China, the majority of practitioners are Chinese. In group discussions among practitioners in these areas, Chinese is the language often used, with English interpretation provided for those who do not understand Chinese. From this particular environment, there seem to be many different notions that have appeared.

When people come to the US, society expects them to learn English. This is not a concept that is too difficult to grasp, as English is the common language in the US. Looking at this from the non-native English speaker's perspective, this can lead to a very frustrating and helpless feeling. As time passes and English skills gradually improve, people get more and more comfortable communicating in English, but their native language is still often the easiest for them to use to most accurately express their ideas. When a group of Chinese people get together in a country outside the US, naturally they will still want to speak Chinese together, as they are much more comfortable communicating in their native tongue. This is the same as when Americans are together in China; they of course prefer to speak English, instead of Chinese.

Master said,

"The people in Western countries are more extroverted, and when they're happy it shows, just as when they're angry it shows. That has its pros and cons, like a lack of ability to endure." (Zhuan Falun)

In general, people in Western countries, especially the US, have to varying degrees a strong notion that people in the US should be speaking English, and when people are not speaking English, their lack of ability to endure can easily come out. Even when translation is provided, sometimes Westerners are still not satisfied, as they cannot understand everything that is said, or have trouble joining the conversation. Perhaps as Westerners, we should try and show a little more tolerance toward our fellow Chinese practitioners. It certainly is not easy living and communicating in a country that speaks a foreign language, and even those that have a good grasp of that foreign language may still often find it difficult to talk about experiences and understandings in a non-native language, especially when it involves something abstract.

But from the Westerner's point of view, we can see that one reason we get upset is because we do not want to miss out on anything. When Chinese people are laughing and perhaps just making jokes, Western practitioners do not understand what is happening, and may feel they are missing out on something. Just as how frustrating and helpless many Chinese practitioners first felt when leaving China and going somewhere they struggled with the language, Westerners feel frustrated and helpless when they are put in a situation where they feel it is important to understand what is being communicated, but are having trouble understanding. Perhaps for Chinese, they can easily understand the feelings of Westerners in these situations, and try to make that extra effort in helping them fully understand. At the same time though, we should take note of the attachment in "not wanting to miss out on anything." We already have obtained the Fa and Master is looking after us, so why would we be afraid we might miss out on something. Are we pursuing information, or trying to be "in-the-know"? This is either a pursuit, or trying to have special information to show off. We certainly do not want either of these attachments.

In many of our group discussions, there are practitioners who translate Chinese to English. The practitioners who take on this task have a quite large responsibility, and it is certainly not an easy job. Sometimes though, when the translator is struggling and maybe has trouble translating everything or translating accurately, the Western practitioners again get anxious, and sometimes even say not so nice words to the translator. Though this comes from wanting to understand so as to do well in cultivation and Fa-rectification, we have to remember that the translator is trying very hard to do as good a job as they can, and when several people are talking at the same time, we can imagine the difficulty the translator may have. On the other side, perhaps fellow Chinese practitioners can be more aware of this situation, and try and talk in a slow and clear way that is easy to translate.

These are just some thoughts shared on this particular environment of practitioners outside of China for the goal of finding our attachments and notions, getting rid of them, and assimilating more to Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance.

This article only scratches the surface of the issue, so hopefully more of us will submit articles on how to bridge the gaps between practitioners, especially between Chinese and Western practitioners.

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