This cartoon depicts the stereotype of Buddhist in a positive way, because it shows that focusing on what you want and what you want to achieve allows you to reach for it. The stereotype in this picture is meditation. Also people see enlightenment as a different perceptive than what Buddhists monks see it as. Americans always see Buddhists meditating or in mediation pose. Also Buddhists believe that meditation relaxes the body allowing you to have one focus. What this picture is getting at as well is to remove any other distractions from your mind and have one focus. In this cartoon dinner seems to be the one focus for him. I usually don’t think meditation when I think of Buddhists because meditation is followed in other cultures. It is seen as yoga in the American culture and meditation in the Indian and Asian culture. In this cartoon however meditation is used for a different reason. Meditation takes focus and concentration. One has to have a set focus in order to reach one’s goal. In this picture in order to reach to the goal you have to empty you mind of all other attachments and emotions. Time is very important when reaching enlightenment, which what the other character did not understand based on her comment. This cartoon shows both the positive and the negative side of stereotypes. Positive being having focus, and negative in that meditation what Buddhists do. In the book it mentions that having “no goal is absurd and that it’s all about the eternal” (70) in the book by brad Warner that “there is no real understanding of what enlightenment stuff is, anyone can claim that just about anything is enlightenment and a lot of people believe it” (29). This is seen in this cartoon because to the person who is focused is thinking about dinner. It seems that in the west that people look at enlightenment as some type of pleasure or big achievement. People do believe that enlightenment can be anything. He does show that this stereotype exits in the west based on this cartoon. This cartoon shows exactly what the Americans see what Buddhists are, and what they believe.
