64 pages • 2 hours read
Ruth OzekiA Tale For The Time Being
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 13-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary: “Nao”
Nao’s dad agrees to take her to the temple where she will be spending the summer. Nao begs him to take her to Tokyo Disneyland on the way to Jiko’s temple, but he refuses because he hates crowds. They take the train to Sendai, where they change to a local train that goes to the town closest to Jiko’s temple. In the town, they catch a bus to Jiko’s village and then climb up a steep flight of steps up the mountain to the temple. Nao’s dad remembers the temple and the surrounding area from when he was a boy, and Nao observes that he seems happier than he has been for a long time. When they finally reach the top of the stairs, Muji comes running to meet them. That night, they have a party in the temple for Nao and her dad. When it is time for everyone to bathe before dinner, Jiko asks Nao if she would like to take a bath with her. Nao noticed that the nuns say a prayer of gratitude before they do even very mundane things, like bathe and use the toilet. Nao hopes that her dad will spend the summer with them at the temple since he seems so happy. The next morning, however, he sneaks off before she wakes up and leaves a note telling her not to worry about him.
While they are taking a bath together one night after Nao’s dad leaves, Jiko asks Nao if she is very angry. Nao realizes that Jiko knows that she has been bullied at school because of the scars on her body. Nao admits that she is angry and tells Jiko all about the horrible things that have been happening to her and her family. Nao exclaims that there is nothing she can do about any of her problems, and Jiko agrees with her. When Nao angrily asks why Jiko asked her if she knew there were no clear solutions to her anger, Jiko responds that she asked so that Nao could hear the answer. Nao feels as if she understands what Jiko means and begins to confide in her great-grandmother more and more.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Ruth”
After four days without power, Ruth checks her email to see if she has heard back from the Stanford professor about the man who might be Nao’s father. She is disappointed to see that she has not yet received a reply from him. She then looks for the article that she found about Nao’s great-grandmother, but she comes across a message saying that the article has been removed from the journal’s database and is no longer available. Ruth is so upset that she exclaims “NO!” out loud. Outside, she hears the Jungle Crow cawing.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Nao”
Nao explains that she has just angered Babette, one of the French maids at Fifi’s Lovely Apron, by turning down her offer to set her up with a date. Nao worries that Babette is starting to get annoyed at her for taking up table space.
Nao tells the reader that because they are friends now, she will share Jiko’s instructions on “how to develop your superpower” by practicing zazen, the Zen Buddhist approach to meditation. While staying at the temple, Nao tells Jiko about the funeral her classmates held for her and about how she stabbed Reiko in the eye in her dream. Jiko tells Nao she thinks that Nao should develop her own “superpower” like a “superhero” (176). Nao is surprised to hear someone as old as Jiko talking about superheroes, but she goes along with Jiko’s plan to teach her zazen to help her find her “superpower” (176). Before writing out the instructions for zazen, Nao realizes that she should ask Jiko whether it is okay for her to share information about zazen with her “friend” (the reader). While waiting to hear back, Nao tells the story of how Jiko became a nun after the death of her only son, Haruki, who had to leave his studies in philosophy at Tokyo University to become a kamikaze pilot in World War II. When Jiko first learned that her son was going to die in the war, she wanted to commit suicide. However, since she still had a young daughter, Jiko decided to wait until Ema grew up and then become a nun.
After Jiko texts back and tells Nao she can tell her friend about zazen, Nao writes the “Instructions for Zazen” (181). She writes that you should sit cross-legged on the floor with your hands stacked on top of each other. Then, you should sit still and concentrate on your breathing. The idea is to notice everything that is going on “both inside you and outside you” (182). At first, Nao says she struggled to stay focused while trying to practice zazen, but in time she learns that she can practice zazen in all kinds of stressful situations, such as if “you’re on the train, or on your knees in the middle of a circle of kids who are punching you or getting ready to tear off your clothes…in other words no matter where you are” (182).
Chapter 16 Summary: “Ruth”
Ruth starts trying to practice zazen, according to the instructions in Nao’s diary, but she struggles to stay awake. When Oliver suggests that maybe she is trying too hard and should take a break, Ruth retorts that her whole life has been a break and that she wants to find her “superpower.” Later, Oliver and Ruth go together to their favorite clam garden to gather clams and oysters for dinner. Before going back, they sit on a rock and eat some of the oysters they have harvested. Oliver tells Ruth that Pacific oysters are not actually native to North America; they originally came from Miyagi in Northern Japan, the place where Jiko is from. Ruth feels “the wide Pacific Ocean suddenly shrink just a little” (187).
Chapters 13-16 Analysis
While Nao is staying with Jiko at the temple over the summer, she becomes introduced to several principles of Zen Buddhism that become increasingly important to her. From the beginning, she realizes that the temple is a special place, in part because her dad seems happier and more at peace there than he ever has in Tokyo or California. Nao is fascinated by the way in which Jiko and the other nuns take the time to express their gratitude for even the simplest moments in life—such as bathing or using the toilet—and for recognizing even the humblest creatures like flies and ants as worthy of life and dignity. Their approach to life emphasizes the importance of taking the time to observe the present moment and what is happening in the world around you.
The most important aspect of Zen Buddhism that Nao learns that summer is zazen. The concept of zazen also originates in the teachings of Dōgen and refers to a form of meditation. As Nao explains to the reader in her “Instructions for zazen,” the goal of sitting zazen is to engage both mind and body in the act of sitting still by observing what is going on inside and outside of you without becoming too focused on any one thing. Jiko begins to instruct Nao in zazen after she learns about how her great-granddaughter is being bullied at school. She tells Nao that by practicing zazen, she will be able to find her “superpower”—the strength of mind and body to find comfort within herself and shut out the frequent cruelness of the world around her. Nao reveals that since that summer, zazen has become an important part of her life and writes: “When you return your mind to zazen, it feels like coming home” (182). The feeling of home that comes from practicing zazen is important to Nao. She doesn’t feel as if she has a home since she has never fully belonged in either the United States or Japan.
Since Nao writes down her instructions for practicing for the reader, Ruth decides to try practicing zazen herself. Reading Nao’s diary has made her realize that she often doesn’t make an effort to slow down and focus on the present moment. The fact that Ruth is now trying to emulate Nao in certain ways demonstrates how deeply Ruth is becoming involved in the text she is reading and how strongly attached she is becoming to the person she is reading about.
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