East Asian Buddhism Essay Example for Free

East Asian Buddhism Essay The Ghost festival, the second most important festival of the year, is an event in which features of Buddhism are most relevant in Chinese culture. The ritual, by essence, belongs to the living and the dead – it creates a harmony between the two, as well as that between the individual, society and nature in its performance. Its Chinese term, Yu lan pen hui, is composed of the foreign word â€Å"yu lan† that refers to the pitiable fate of those hung upside down in the prisons of hell and the Chinese term â€Å"pen† which indicates the bowl in which offerings are placed. As the story of Mulien recorded in the Hungry ghost sutra represents, the festival synthesizes elements of Indian Buddhism into the indigenous concepts of China. Stephen F Teiser essentially captures this quality when he descirbes it as â€Å"China was made more Buddhist and Buddhism was made more Chinese. † Because the Yu lan pen jing is a key text in the development of the Buddhist rites in the ghost festival that is held in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, it will be examined to observe the blending of the two values. The Ghost Festival Sutra (also known as Yu lan pen jing), which was written in the sixth century, is peppered with traces of Buddhism attempting to integrate into Chinese life. Its first few lines become all the more significant when considering that they were not present in the oldest narrative forged approximately eighty years earlier that serves as the basis of the ghost festival, The Sutra on Repaying the Kindness by Making Offerings (also referred to as Bao en feng pen jing). As Alan Cole, Professor of Religious Studies at Lewis and Clark College cites in his book Mothers and Sons in Chinese Buddhism the Ghost Festival Sutra, Buddha pronounces these words as Mu Lian explains his failure in feeding his mother: â€Å"Even [you cannot achieve this feeding] though your filial submission resounds [everywhere], shaking heaven and earth. Neither the gods of heaven nor the gods of earth nor the evil demons of the heterodox [sects], nor the Daoist masters, nor the four heavenly kings can achieve this either† (Cole 88). Primarily, this passage directly highlights Mu Lian’ s filial affection – as Cole points out, he is endowed with the honor of being praised by the Buddha as someone whose filial submission â€Å"[shakes] heaven and earth,† which indicates that Mu Lian is considered to be the paradigm of filial piety (89). This addendum could be construed as an adaptation to the Chinese ideal, in which filiality is of the essence. More importantly however, the second half strongly suggests that the Buddhist institution has the sole rights to perform such form of ghost festival. The writers deem the non-Buddhist religious specialists – including all other gods and Daoist practitioners to be incapable of achieving the feeding of the dead (Cole 89). This reflects the increasing competition between the Buddhists and Daoists over crafting such offerings. The mix of Chinese and Buddhist ideas is also manifest in Buddha’s explanation of the reason for â€Å"the food enter[ing] [Mu Lien’s mother’s] mouth †¦ chang[ing] into flaming coals, so in the end she could not eat† as cited by Stephen F Teiser (Teiser 50). The Buddha states that his â€Å"mother’s sins are grave† (50). This directly refers to the Indian notions of Karma, signifying that his mother’s actions in previous lifetimes have led her to her current state. The second half of the Yu lan pen jing further denotes the filial theme, but emphasizes that it can only be fulfilled using Buddhist ritual means, by making offerings to the Buddhists. As Cole puts it, filial devotion is evidently â€Å"equated with being a good Buddhist† – this can be observed for instance, in the Mu Lian’s question to the Buddha shown in the following quote from Stephen F. Teiser’ s translation of the Sutra in his book The Ghost Festival in Medieval China: â€Å"But all of the future disciples of the Buddha who practice filial devotion, may they or may they not also prevent yu-lan bowls as required to save their parents as well as seven generations of ancestors† (Teiser 52). This again concords with the Chinese essentiality of filial affection, which â€Å"surpasses all other ethics in tis historical continuity† as Ho describes in William Lakos’ book Chinese Ancestor Worship (Lakos 52). Moreover, as translated by Teiser, the final passage states the desired relationship between the ritual and the Chinese society in affirming that â€Å"kings of states, princes, sons of kings, great ministers, counselors, dignitaries of the three ranks, any government officials or the majority of common people who practice filial compassion† are required to perform the ritual. This again underlines the explicit connection that the Sutra draws between performing the ritual and being filial. As Cole coins it â€Å"if you are to be filial, you perform this 7/15 Buddhist offering regardless of who you are in Chinese society† (Cole 93). In this respect, the text places the date 7/15 as the center of discussion on Buddhist filiality, characterized by the duty to save one’s parent and the necessity to make offerings to the Sangha. The festival reveals the syncretic character of Buddhism with Chinese social and cultural systems. Buddhist myths and rituals exist simultaneously with the Chinese indigenous forms of ritual and conceptions of society. The ghost festival also offers a solution to the problem of the ascetic way of life of Buddhism that imposes on Chinese culture that resounds family values. While opponents have long condemned the Sangha for fostering otherworldliness, the celebration integrates those who have chosen the ascetic path to participate in the well-being of their ancestors. As noted in the canonical source of Yu lan pen sutra as translated by Teiser, the Buddha orders â€Å"the assembled monks of the ten directions should chant prayers on behalf of the family of the donor for seven generations of ancestors† (Teiser 52). The ritual hence by nature, accepts monasticism and more importantly appoints it as a central aspect of the life in the community – the participation of the monks is pivotal to the salvation of the ancestors. Their ascetic energy is especially effective during the ritual because the full moon of the seventh month designates the day on which Sangha has finished its three-month summer retreat during which they â€Å"release themselves† through meditation, meaning the energy has been accumulated during the period (Teiser 4). In a larger sense, because the festival takes place at the time of the fall harvest, it can be interpreted as not only a symbol of the passage of priests and ancestors to new forms of existence, but also of the â€Å"completion of a cycle of plant life† (4). Their role came to entail a state level importance in the seventh century when the practice was established as part of Chinese state religion, rituals being performed for the benefit of imperial ancestors. The vitality of such function, rather than being confined to local cult, assured the cult to survive into the modern times (5). An irony arises from this ritual – wandering ghosts as well as settled ancestors are recipients of the offering. Ancestors contrast with the concept of ghosts. In his book Unities and diversities in Chinese Religion, Robert P. Weller explains that ghosts are socially marginal beings that lack â€Å"both social standing of the gods and the kinship standing of the ancestors† (Weller 60). In contrast, ancestors re deemed to have â€Å"permanent wealth and power† in the community at large – they were more than a religious concern, involving both social and political implications and upholding â€Å"indispensability in the socio-political realm† (Lakos 32). Their worship serves as a cornerstone for the ancestor-family-kinship system. This idea is well supported with the traditional Confucian view. As sociologist Hugh Baker puts it in Teiser’ s article, â€Å"other people’s dead were of little concern, the only dead to be worshipped were one’s dead and ancestors† (Teiser 60). This view corresponds to those of the defenders of indigenous traditions like Yen Chih-t’ui who assert that the solidarity of ancestors is the solely valid aspect of the celebration – they disapproved of the offerings for the hungry ghosts. Comparably, others consider the ghosts as the only recipients of the offerings, claiming that including the ancestors as the recipients were aimed to adapt the religion to the dominant, yet ultimately non-essential, cultural values (60) – their emphasis is on the Buddhist deliverance from the six paths of rebirth. This stark contrast is deemed to create a conflict between the Buddhist idea of ephemerality and Chinese social solidarity. Interestingly, the two concepts are able to be reconciled to form a bigger whole. In fact, historical records clearly reveals that both entities were served. As Teiser cites from the yun lian pen sutra, the Buddha orders the Sangha to release themselves â€Å"for the sake of seven generations of ancestors, your current parents and those in distress† (61). In his article â€Å"Ghosts and Ancestors in Medieval Chinese Religion: The Yu-lan-p’en festival as Mortuary Ritual† from the book History of Religions, Stephen F. Teiser tackles the controversy by construing the ghost festival as rites of passage. This means that the ritual allows the individual to undergo a transition from one social group to another. He or she hence leaves one â€Å"world† and joins another, with liminal period in between (Teiser 52). The celebration imbues in the dead a sense of regeneration and rebirth, through the cycle of seasonal festivals (58). In this respect, both the marginal state of the ghosts and the settled group status of the ancestors are imperative aspects of the entirety of the process. While both sides are different, they are by ritual structure, on the same side, hence by no means contradictory. Anthropologists tend to describe this as the ideas the yin and yang aspect – the fundamental basis of Chinese philosophy- of death: two seemingly opposing sides that in fact complement each other to a unitary process. Acknowledging the mutual existence of ancestors and ghosts reflects the dual nature of the hungry ghost festival. Several other views prevail in appreciating the duality of the yun lan p’en. The ritual can also be interpreted as a practice that allows a new form for an old practice – as In de Groot contends, Buddhism has offered Chinese culture with an â€Å"exotic edifice† of ritual that concords with the Chinese â€Å"extreme concern for the destiny of the dead† (62). Another perspective relies on the Chinese practicality to explain the seemingly contradicting nature of the ritual. As Holmes Welch explains, the Chinese cult exercises both aspects of the practice like a â€Å"prudent man dealing with the unknown,† since there is no way of knowing which version of the afterlife is true. This results in the form of ghost festival, which ensures that the rites of both versions are engaged (62). Essentially however, the practice recognizes the immortality of the group – as demonstrated by the ancestors – in the face of death – the ritual by nature is aimed to place the deceased as a part of the structurally unchanging king group and compels all of the members of the group, both living and dead, to gather for a communal meal (Teiser 64). One does not have to dominate, suppress or reduce the other. Understanding that these concepts are not mutually exclusive allows for an appreciation of the bigger framework of the festival – one that is full of seemingly contradictory ideas such as Buddhism and Chinese cult, ancestors and ghosts, life and death. Hence the coexistence of the ideas in the ritual are not an irony but rather a paradox in that juxtaposing the two concepts sheds light to the value of the Hungry Ghost festival.

Value of Suffering in Markandayas Nectar in a Sieve Essay -- Nectar S

Value of Suffering in Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve  Ã‚   Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve portrays its positive woman characters as ideal sufferers and nurturers. "[T]he cause of her suffering springs mainly from poverty and natural calamity. The women are from the rural sections of society. They are the daughters of the soil and have inherited age-old traditions which they do not question. Their courage lies in meek or at times cheerful way [sic] of facing poverty or calamity" [Meena Shirdwadkar, Image of Woman in the Indo-Anglian Novel (New Delhi: Sterling, 1979), 49]. Rukmani, the main character, and her daughter Ira display suffering hroughout the novel. Rukmani works hard and is devoted to her gentle husband. She endures blow after blow from life: poverty, famine, the divorce of her barren daughter, the deaths of her sons, her daughter's prostitution, and finally her husband's death. When she finds te emotional cener of her life, her relationship with her husband, threatened by the discovery that he fathered another woman's sons, she neither strikes out at him nor crumbles: Disbelief first; disillusionment; anger, reproach, pain. To find out, after so many years, in such a cruel way. ... He had known her not once but twice; he had gone back to give her a second son. And between, how many times, I thought, bleak of spirit, while her husband in his impotence and I in my innocence did nothing. . . .At last I made an effort and roused myself... "It is as you say a long time ago," I said wearily. "That she is evil and powerful I know myself. Let it rest." She accepts the blow and moves on in life. In addition, when her son Raja is murdered, even her thoughts do not express rebellion. She moves from nu... ...osites of Kunthi. Their goodness originates in their acceptance of suffering, whereas Kunthi's evil originates in her refusal to sacrifice herself for others. As ideal images, Markandaya's heroines correlate with Shirwadkar's conception of how early Indo-Anglian novels portray women as Sita-like characters. By fulfilling cultural values, however, Rukmani and Ira find in their way of lifenot only suffering but also a sureness and inner peace. Shirwadkar claims that women in later novels lose even the satisfaction of this fulfillment, because they find themselves trapped between the traditional and modern requirements for women. Earlier images of calm, enduring women change to new ones, of frustrated women caught between the Sita-Savitri figure and the modern, Westernised woman. Works Cited: Markandaya, Kamala. Nectar In A Sieve. New York: Signet Fiction, 1995.

Alibaba Business Model

Abstract: â€Å"Alibaba† has experienced eight years of comprehensive development the establishment of a unique business model, and a new interpretation of e-commerce, launched a new Internet business model – Alibaba model. This new network business model not only for manufacturers to reduce production and marketing costs, but also to â€Å"Alibaba† cleverly avoided because of distribution, logistics and inventory, such as forming a bottleneck for the continued development of e-commerce industry opens up New roads.Alibaba in just a few years to create the myth that Alibaba model for a time and a lot of competitors to imitate the focus of attention. But Alibaba create a model is only a beginning, the Chinese e-commerce to go for their own development path, we must Alibaba model to analyze the advantages and disadvantages, so look for more market opportunities. More careful analysis point of view Alibaba e-commerce model of the advantages and disadvantages of resea rchers and the need to establish e-commerce for SMEs to provide information useful reference. Key words: Alibaba ; E-commerce model; Sales channel; Advantages and DisadvantagesAlibaba's success has told us that the distance between dreams and ideals are not far away, but it is not the pie fall from the sky, I have a few Friends and colleagues of a site visit and repeated after the team of research, we believe that Alibaba is the main success factors: Dream Team's combination of a clear development strategy + execution + effective + unique corporate culture †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Now the results of our research and analysis to share with you, initiate, but also hope you criticism and valuable advice, and seek common A better future!Alibaba's success has been close to myth, even though he claims are using international standards themselves, and Ali Baba, not the slightest satisfaction. China's Internet, the business less than 5 years of Alibaba, to have the performance and impact of today, there must be worthy of him, digging Dig, and explore the profound connotation and unique reasons. Ali Baba in the success of many elements, we believe that interpretation of the dream team of Ali Baba, especially worthy of focus.Too many entrepreneurs Persons, entrepreneurs can not build a proper team, leading to their cause bottlenecks; the face of these bottlenecks in the case, although we Can find a very comprehensive theory of healing on the team, many Habitat for Humanity in the discourse of scholars lamented wake up to reality, you can continue to learn Imitation learning the truth from getting close, but once things really imminent, most people are still at a loss without a tree, sighed with regret of the free Copies.Dream Team Alibaba inspiration to us, allows us to wake up and look at itself, the team face the problem, stimulate program ideas, from This need not find any reason to stall themselves, deceive themselves, so that is directed at the core of the problem and find solutions. Ali Baba tells us: a prerequisite for establishing the team must have a clear strategy. An important strategy for an enterprise, no one has ever dared to be ignored. Establishment of an effective team must also be robust clear strategy when As a prerequisite, it is meaningful.Ali Baba that there is no clear strategy, there is no clear direction, no clear direction of the group Team, at best, but mob. Taste of Tang Seng Alibaba advocate team, it is very insightful, have long been ridiculed look down The â€Å"Simon did not know,† the monk, in accordance with the laws of the strategic priority measure, actually turned into a very competent leader, and why? As Buddhist sutras, he Clear and committed to adhere to the direction.Learn the reason for the entire â€Å"Journey to the West† can be set up, Monkey, Pig, Shahe Shang sex Cells was clear and became a valuable and complement each other good team structure. Strategy is both a prerequisite for the establishm ent of the team, but also the central figure on the team, the highest requirement standards. It is this point, when the company started horse Standing rhetoric cloud on the Great Wall, Ali Baba to do in China, the world's best e-commerce sites began to form a team for this well-laid A solid foundation.That the strategic objectives of Alibaba, the strict planning of the long-term goals and short-term objectives and specific practical war Surgery program. So, when Alibaba 1999 heat wave in the Internet and let an withdraw from the Beijing and fade into the paradise of Hangzhou, the public No one left behind and more entrepreneurs. Many people may not care about this, because to set a strategic goal of rhetoric is long term and many people Strengths.However, because of this, Ma and Alibaba China Internet will be the first to smell the smell of smoke in the bubble, and then be carried out Acclaimed series of thin rectification movement, to the attendant to Alibaba in the winter of the I nternet, maintain and enhance the team's strength, as The rise followed lay a solid foundation. Ali Baba tells us: there is no effective execution of all non-existent implementation is the true test of a team, of course, Measure of whether the marker of a team. Tang Seng, a team of four to Buddhist sutras, the definitely not get back, although four of them are present Mark clearly the strong.The team carefully explore the execution of Ali Baba, it is very surprising. The four â€Å"O† (CEO, Ma Yun, chief financial officer CFO Caichong Xin, Chief Technology Officer CTO Wu Jiong, Chief Human Officer CPO related Ming-sheng) and the team, their strengths and Entirely different characteristics, even in related fields are leading figures. These leading characters, explore their resumes to Found that they have a wealth of practical experience, has gradually grown from zero career success of their growth, the maximum quantity body Is the implementation of the charm and indispensable. Strategic direction is clear, the implementation of actions towards the direction of interpretation. For many friends, the parties may prefer to talk Direction and strategy, often overlooked and complicated implementation over time. On a team, the tireless performer is not necessarily an effective complementary Or the lack of scarce resources. Only the rich resources in this area and to join, be possible to show the strength of the team. Otherwise, whether or four monk Four Monkey King, the ultimate collapse of this team are very normal thing.Alibaba looked stunning the implementation details, whether every employee of a customer, whether products and services or staff Worker training programs, are known down to the executable can be seen the point of evaluation feedback can be, with the vice president as saying Kim Hang built, some rules and regulations Implementation of assessment criteria, did we all feel is not worth spending the time or costs, but the cost of all the important front in the implementation of all changes Was pale, but must yield.Ali Baba told us: There is no business of their own culture do not form a good team always. As a team, agree on the strategy, as the recognition of common mission, that is, the recognition of corporate culture. Without such recognition As a basis, the team only in the rain is blowing in a lax. Culture involves many aspects of a business culture is very easy to use one or two sentences General, it is difficult to nuanced interpretation of the details of the enterprise and among all levels.Alibaba trough the Internet during the plan and only 500 yuan per person salary. Took only form of pay is 500 yuan, 500 yuan but take only group Team dispersed, the cultural identity, contains the expectations on the prospects for long-term interests of the immediate interests of the discarded, the confidence of the enterprise, drip Flow with the same entrepreneurial spirit and blood. Without this cultural identity, not only unable to retain 500 per person Alibaba team, Ariba Barry worth of any person simply can not use the 500 exhibits.Very dramatically, not only to retain the original 500 venture group Team, but also attracted millions of dollars in salary as investors appeared Caichong Xin, this sounds like some mysterious circumstances in a true Ali Baba, Ali Baba visible cultural charm. Many enterprises create and can not recognize the role of culture, or that are certainly important but can not find ways and means of how to form construction, or The formation of self-righteous to build, is only a hobby and create a personal habit.To survive as a business development as mentioned above, leaving no Live talent, team morale and other phenomena, it will become normal and can not stop. Culture is building software, invisible, Can not find what you want and can not copy the clone. Alibaba experience tells us that: Create a culture, must have their first Culture. The culture here is not an ordinary sense of the culture, but have a deep understanding of the essence of the enterprise after the enterprise direction, mission, Team, a highly recognized and a consensus interpretation.He formed the atmosphere can be felt, not explained, people moving, people march in a huge Tension, to absorb the spirit of a strong, peaceful, tolerant, generous but challenging, progressive and positive factors. Ali Baba tells us: the only good team was excellent organizational structure may form the organizational structure and capacity and capability between the same teams In fact, the relationship is a mutually reinforcing one another indispensable and interdependent, the link is a healthy relationship.The operation of the enterprise, do not The operational phase with the needs of different teams to work, only the absolute best team, it may be in the enterprise through its continuous operations Adjustment at different stages of the mission capable. More teams will appear at different stages of the collapse of the different, the same as the pain can not be avoided. See fourth Internet â€Å"Competition on the West Lake† photos, almost all of the outstanding team of Internet companies have ceased to exist.Only Ariba Pakistan, five down, as the original, the only change is more confident, more refined, and more mature. This seems to inadvertently Alibaba Completed masterpiece, really surprised us insight: it is the team and organizational structure Alibaba interaction between, so that such a young Ability to organize a huge glow. A group of Internet enthusiasts that absolute idealism of action and color, not only create wealth God Words, and created a team of role models, creating a unique corporate culture, reating a large number of maverick darling of the new economy. Excellent organizational structure in the enterprise at different stages have different adjustments. The organizational capacity of the best from every employee who embodies, In the team gathered in the whole company broke out. Ali Baba said: to help customers and colleagues success is the best embodiment of their own success. Blindly chase Find their own success and the team will not be good team, and ultimately could not reach the other side of success.Alibaba ultimate understanding of the team, we think: There is no competent excellent team of key figures, it is impossible to form good team; Without the excellent team, the company can not have good execution; even execution are not the company, can not form a strong corporate culture , More can not form an effective organizational structure and organizational capacity. Inseparable link between this, which is full of inherent logic of the interdependence relations Department, both divisions of the importance of our team, but also tells us that, indeed, not every business or everyone can easily have a superior form Show team.

Commonly Confused Words Literally and Figuratively

The word literally is well on its way to becoming a Janus word—that is, a word having opposite or contradictory meanings. And despite the best efforts of language mavens, one of those meanings is... figuratively. Lets see if its still possible to keep these two words straight.  Ã‚   Definitions Traditionally, the adverb literally has meant really or actually or in the strict sense of the word. Most style guides continue to advise us not to confuse literally with figuratively, which means in an analogous or metaphorical sense, not in the exact sense. However, as discussed in the article How Word Meanings Change and in the usage notes below, the use of literally as an intensifier has become increasingly common. Examples Very young children eat their books, literally devouring their contents. This is one reason for the scarcity of first editions of Alice in Wonderland and other favorites of the nursery.(A. S. W. Rosenbach, Books and Bidders:  The Adventures of a Bibliophile, 1927)In the infamous essay A Modest Proposal, . . . what [Jonathan Swift] really means is that the rich should care for the poor instead of figuratively devouring them with their policies of neglect and exploitation.(Chris Holcomb and M. Jimmie Killingsworth, Performing Prose: The Study and Practice of Style in Composition. Southern Illinois University Press, 2010)  With its rapturously fragrant, sweetly aromatic pale blue ink, mimeograph paper was literally intoxicating. Two deep drafts of a freshly run-off mimeograph worksheet and I would be the education system’s willing slave for up to seven hours.(Bill Bryson, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, 2006)The most important thing in art is the frame. For paintin g: literally; for other arts, figuratively--because, without this humble appliance, you cant know where The Art stops and The Real World begins.(Frank Zappa)John went to one window, unfolded his paper, and wrapt himself in it, figuratively speaking.(Louisa May Alcott, Good Wives, 1871)During his extended visit to the area, [poet Gà ©rard de]  Nerval got (figuratively) drunk  on the ambiance and (literally) drunk on Black Forest Kirschwasser (an awful thought, actually).(David Clay Large, The Grand Spas of Central Europe.   Rowman Littlefield, 2015) Usage Notes Literally  . . . means just what it says, which is to say: meaning just what it says.(Roy Blount, Jr.,  Alphabet Juice. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009)  Ã‚  Literally in the sense truly, completely is a SLIPSHOD EXTENSION. . . . When used for figuratively, where figuratively would not ordinarily be used, literally is distorted beyond recognition.(Bryan A. Garner, Garners Modern American Usage. Oxford University Press, 2003)For more than a hundred years, critics have remarked on the incoherency of using literally in a way that suggests the exact opposite of its primary sense of in a manner that accords with the literal sense of the words. In 1926, for example, H.W. Fowler cited the example The 300,000 Unionists . . . will be literally thrown to the wolves. The practice does not stem from a change in the meaning of literally itself--if it did, the word would long since have come to mean virtually or figuratively--but from a natural tendency to use the word as a general intensive , as in They had literally no help from the government on the project, where no contrast with the figurative sense of the words is intended.(The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., 2000)Like incredible, literally has been so overused as a sort of vague intensifier that it is in danger of losing its literal meaning. It should be used to distinguish between a figurative and a literal meaning of a phrase. It should not be used as a synonym for actually or really. Dont say of someone that he literally blew up unless he swallowed a stick of dynamite.(Paul Brians, Common Errors in English Usage. William, James Co., 2003)Literally  is a bad intensifier, almost always overkill.(Kenneth G. Wilson,  The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, 1993)  Ã‚  Literally has been misused for centuries, even by famed authors who, unlike youngsters posting duckface photos of themselves shot in their bathroom mirrors (Your 2 sexy!), had a good handle on the languag e.Misuse began gathering legitimacy by 1839, when Charles Dickens wrote in Nicholas Nickleby that a character had literally feasted his eyes in silence on his culprit. Before you knew it, Tom Sawyer was literally rolling in wealth, and Jay Gatsby literally glowed. Come on, the guy grew up in New York lake country, not a New Jersey toxic waste dump.(Ben Bromley, Literally, We Have a Language Crisis. The Chippewa Herald, April 3, 2013)What would the world say? Why, it would say that she didnt think our money was clean enough to mix with old man Goochs. Shed throw it in our faces and the whole town would snicker.Figuratively speaking, young man, figuratively speaking, said one of the uncles, a stockholder and director.What do you mean by that?That she--ahem! That she couldnt actually throw it.Im not so literal as you, Uncle George.Then why use the word throw?Of course, Uncle George, I dont mean to say shed have it reduced to gold coin and stand off and take shots at us. You understand that, dont you?Leslie, put in his father, you have a most distressing way of--er--putting it. Your Uncle George is not so dense as all that.(George Barr McCutcheon, The Hollow of Her Hand, 1912)The solution, of course, is to eliminate literally. Most of the time the word is superfluous, anyway, and its easily replaced with another adverb.(Charles Harrington Elster, What in the Word? Harcourt, 2006) Practice (a) Some students are getting swept out of the library, _____ speaking.(b) The word photography _____ means drawing with light. Answers to Practice Exercises:  Literally and Figuratively (a) Some students are getting swept out of the library,  figuratively  speaking.(b) The word  photography  literally  means drawing with light.