" Hope is Grounded in Clarity, in Compassion, and in Acceptance," with Ningshu Fang, on Growing up in Shanghai and Kobe, Art as Self-Expression, Running a Business, Buddhism, Hope, and Abundance.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: [00:00:00] All right. Uh, hello everyone. Welcome to the intersection, a podcast program about intersectionality and our intersectional journeys, of course. And I'm very, uh, excited today to have, , my guest here and, uh, for folks who. No me you know, my name is Joe Fang, and Fang is my last name, which is not very common in China to begin with and in US.

I believe there are even fewer people whose last name is fg. But I'm just so fortunate to have a guest here today who shares, uh, a last name with me and her name. Her last name is also Fang and uh, her given name is Nhu. So Nhu Fang is , an artist who resides in Portland, and I've known her [00:01:00] work for a very long time and when we became friends in recent times.

And she's also the owner of, uh, a co-owner, I should say, of Asia America, uh, of furniture and art store in Southeast Portland. And without further ado, I am going to invite Nhu to introduce herself and tell us her journey, um, which, you know, expands from, uh, Shanghai and then to Japan, and then eventually to Portland.

So I would love to invite her to share the story with us. Hi n.

Ningshu Fang: Hi. Zhou Zhou. Thank you for having me today., I really appreciate this opportunity to, uh, talk with you and, uh, share my story, uh, and to be a part of the conversation of intersection and abundance. you.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yeah, welcome. Yeah, so maybe tell [00:02:00] us about your journey from Shanghai, which is a metropolitan city in eastern China and then to Japan, and then eventually ended up in Portland. And, um, I think you, you, you were born in late seventies in Shanghai. And then tell us what happened since then.

Ningshu: Um, okay. Um, yeah, it's a, it's a little bit long story. uh, I, I'll try my best to keep it simple. Um, I think I was, uh, definitely born in a time that, uh, is very interesting time, uh, the late seventies in China and also, uh, spent 10 years of my life in Japan and. to Portland in 2016. So, um, that's the part, uh, that I think, uh, has a lot of, uh, different culture backgrounds, uh, [00:03:00] which is, , for me is a very eye-opening experience. So I was born in 1979 in Shanghai, part of the first generation raised under China's one child policy. Um, my parents were working in a different city, so I grew up in the care of my grandparents who actually were my whole world during, during those early years. Um, in the mid. Eighties. Um, my parents left China for Japan in search of a better life. Uh, and our family actually entered a long period of, uh, distance. So for more than a decade, we saw each other probably only once a year. Um, by the time I graduated from high school at 17, my parents felt it was probably the time to, for us to reunite, so I left Shanghai.

Of, of course, my grandparents who had raised me and moved to Col Bay, Japan. [00:04:00] I spent next 10 years in Japan, um, living with my parents, um, completing my college education in Col Bay, and I also worked in Osaka for a couple years. Um, 2006. Uh, during a visit back to Shanghai, I met the man who would become my future husband. So a year later I moved back to Shanghai to be with him. from 2007 to 2016, we built a beautiful life

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: uh, working, growing as a family and also, um, we welcomed our two children. Um, my grandparents had passed then. So my parents, um, decided to move from Japan to Shanghai to be close to us. Um, so those nine years remained some of the happiest of my life in 2016. Um, our older [00:05:00] son turned, just turned six. So my husband, his name is Dan. He is an Irish Italian descendant, uh, originally from Chicago. by then he had already spent about 15 years living in China, he began to, um, think deeply about our children's future and education. So during a job hunting trip to Seattle, he made a spontaneous one day visit to Portland. Um, there actually, he stumbled upon a big warehouse store selling, selling, um, antique Asian furniture. the southeast side of the city. He fell in love with it immediately. So six months of conversations and negotiations followed. We eventually made the boat decision to take over the business and start something of our own, which is the company we are [00:06:00] running today, Asia, America. Um, the chance encounter is what brought us to Portland. year actually marks the ninth year of, uh, running this company and, uh, the ninth year of calling Portland our home.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Congratulations, nine years of running your business. Um, I really love the kind of, um, you know, when opportunity calls, you have to grab it and.

Ningshu: Yeah.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: you did. Um, so that's awesome. And thank you for sharing your journey, you know, from Shanghai to Japan and back to Shanghai and then eventually landed in Portland.

Um, and as we kind of mentioned briefly earlier, you are a awesome artist and I personally have purchased your work and I've been giving away the cards you made to my friends and everyone loved it. Um, and for those who, uh, don't know this, [00:07:00] Portland actually has a very nice, like Chinese garden, um, near downtown Portland.

And Nhu oftentimes would have her work there. And so if you find yourself at the Chinese garden, you can probably find our work as well. So I'm curious to learn, you know. It sounded like you didn't start your journey as an artist, and now you are. And uh, so what inspired you in your art and creativity?

Ningshu: Um, you so much for appreciating my work. Um, yeah, I did uh, have a precious opportunity in the past couple years, uh, to exhibit at the beautiful. For land, land, Sue, Chinese Garden. Um, and I think actually moving to Portland, uh, was. One of the biggest opportunities for me to, uh, revisit [00:08:00] that aspect of myself, uh, because for many, many years, uh, art just stayed as a hobby. So I would say my grandmother was my first teacher and the person who sparked my, uh. Lifelong love for art. Uh, when I was born, she had already retired from her career as an art professor at the time was, uh, called Tongji University is a, is a, um, school well known for architecture in Shanghai and she was teaching at the art department

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm.

Ningshu: So after retirement, um, her life was filled with the museum visits, uh, outdoor sketching and, uh, countless art related activities. Um, and because she also, uh, helped care for me, so her artistic life naturally became part of mine. [00:09:00] Uh, she began teaching me calligraphy and a traditional Chinese painting when I was only about five years old.

Yeah. So that was, uh, some of the most beautiful memories I had with her. And as I grew older, school became a little bit busier and, and my parents actually power. Prioritized, um, academics over personal interests. So for many years, art only remained as a hobby for

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: It wasn't until I left my job, uh, to become a stay at home mom in Shanghai, that I began my first, uh, real art project. Um, at the time it was a, a series of greeting cards inspired by Chinese themes. Um, so the project, the interestingly, um, the project actually began out of love for my mother-in-law. [00:10:00] at the time she, uh, lived in Chicago and, uh, she often sent me beautifully hand painted birthday cards for my children. And, uh, at the time I was, uh, wanted to return her heartfelt gesture and also thinking what would be a way for her to understand, uh, Chinese culture a little bit better. So I start to creating, uh, my own set of cards, uh, infused with the Chinese culture elements so that become a way to share my heritage with her.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: It's beautiful.

Ningshu: So searching for inspiration in the streets of Shanghai actually brought many, um, vivid memories I had with my grandmother. there are a lot of parts, museums and, uh, alleys where we had spent a lot of time together. And after moving to Portland. Um, art [00:11:00] became both a comfort in my homesickness and a later a channel for self-expression. Um, it gradually, I think, grew into a bridge connecting my culture roots with the wider world around

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: Um, I believe my creativity comes from the years I've spent living outside of China, I think, uh, which had given me a unique perspective.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: One that allows me to view my own culture through both an insider's understanding and an outsider's curiosity. Um, in my work, I think I try to focus on elements that, uh, will spark conversations and invite people who are unfamiliar with Chinese culture to explore it with openness and interest.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yeah, I really appreciate that. The cards you mentioned, I actually was [00:12:00] able to acquire some of them and I would give, give it to friends and every single one contains a story. And um, I would tell people what was. What does this mean? Chinese culture? Like why do we have two butterflies together? You know, flying over a flower that, you know, kind of like, uh, um, a sign of, uh, unity and love and togetherness.

And so like, I, I really appreciated, uh. The cards you make. And now I know the why is to share the love with your mother-in-law and to share your heritage with her. And I think that just makes it so much more beautiful and meaningful too with the personal touch. Um, so thank. I think that's really awesome.

Um, so yeah, I would definitely invite folks to have a open heart and, you know, open mind to learn more about our like beautiful and rich culture, um, through art and literature, et [00:13:00] cetera. Um, yeah,

Ningshu: that,

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: go ahead.

Ningshu: Um, I just think, uh, the interesting part is, uh, some, sometimes I think when we are in the culture. Uh, we, we take it for granted what we

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: surrounded with. And when I start making those cards, I also start to, uh, look a little bit deeper into my own culture and discovered, you know, there so much beauty and so much meaning in it. Um, especially, uh, later running our own business. Um, there. You know, culture elements everywhere. And, uh, you know, each piece has its, uh, story that is related to, um, the, the culture background or history of the time and, uh, how people were living at the time. And that always become the part that, uh, drawn people the

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: uh, which I think [00:14:00] is, uh, another. Opportunity for me to discover that part as well.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: I mean, it's definitely, you know, it, it's mutual. It's like, it, it, it goes both ways. Um, yeah. So thank you for sharing your art journey, your artistic journey with us. Um, I also know, you know, as we spend more time together this year, I learned that um, you are a, a Buddhist and you are very. Committed.

You are devoted, you visit your temple and, uh, in the Seattle area actually. So that's kind of like a journey. And you were just recently back in Japan, uh, to attend, um, a series of um, uh, Buddhism related events. Um, so I'm very, I mean. It's very inspiring to me to have that, uh, [00:15:00] devotion to your spirituality.

Um, for me, I can find that kind of spirituality in nature, like personally speaking and I can see that, um, just brings me comfort and joy in that way. And, um, I visited the temple with you one time and it was just so peaceful and beautiful. And this is something very, um, comforting in the practice when you have a routine, when you do that regularly.

I, I think so. I'm curious to learn, like, how has your spiritual practice helped you, um, grow just as a person?

NIngshu: Yes. Um,

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Okay.

Ningshu: uh, Zhou Zhou for mentioning that part of my life and, uh. really, I really appreciate opportunity for your openness to, uh, come to, [00:16:00] uh, join one of the services, uh, in Seattle, the temple. I have been, uh, going for many, many years, so I think. Um, just as you said that, that for you, the spirituality and the spiritual practice can be everywhere.

It can be

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yeah.

Ningshu: it can be, um, what, what brings you, uh, peace and, uh,

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: Um, and for me, I feel sometimes, uh. For me, I think would sometimes, uh, see Buddhist as, uh, or Buddhism as religion. But for me, I think it's really, uh, a way of living and how we perceive the

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: Um, when we talk about spiritual practice, I think it's a. big topic. Uh, but [00:17:00] that part has really actually played a transformative role in my life, helping me grow as a person and the deepening my awareness of life's meaning and the interconnectness that, um. Bring us all together. Um, this temple I, uh, am a part of was, uh, actually in 2006 I was introduced to, um, it is called Chin Buddhism. It is a Maana Buddhist tradition in Japan that teaches that everyone has an inner Buddha nature that can be cultivated through compassion and altruistic action.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: Its core belief is that spiritual growth happens through serving others in everyday life, so it's not just in a monastic

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: That part actually resonated deeply with me.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.[00:18:00]

Ningshu: Um, during the first 10 years of my connection to this practice, I was living in China, uh, where spiritual activities were tightly restricted. my practice was, uh, limited, but even very brief exposure to Buddhist teachings on autism, uh, joy, gratitude, and compassion began to shift something inside of me. For many years, I think I carried deep, uh, pain over being separated from my parents in in childhood. I held onto resentment and the feeling of abandonment. But, um, I think through the teachings, I slowly began to understand their circumstances. And also realized that they had done the best they could under difficult conditions. When [00:19:00] I finally learned to, um, express gratitude toward them, I noticed that our relationship, um, began to change too. After moving to Portland, um, I was really delighted to discover that our temple actually had a branch in Seattle. From that moment, I committed to practicing more diligently. So, um, it is a big, actually Chino community.

Uh, we have, uh, several branches all over, uh, United

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: So when I first moved, moved here, I actually struggled with a lot of, uh, homesickness and loneliness. So during that period, I felt great support from our community, our Sangha community. then after years of meditation and a structured study. Um, deepened my [00:20:00] understanding of how our ego can

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: our ability to see harmony and the beauty in this world. I realized that, um, shifting from a self-centered mindset to an other centered perspective allow joy and harmony to emerge naturally. Over time, I also came to see that the spiritual path is not about becoming perfect, but about embracing who we truly are. Um, I think every person who enters our life is a reflection of something about ourselves, um, in a Buddhist teaching. Um, oftentimes we al also say the other person is a reflection of ourselves. So I think by appreciating and respecting their differences, we don't become flawless, but we become wholesome. [00:21:00] This practice has taught me that the world mirrors our state of mind, and through self-reflection and compassion toward both ourselves and others, we actually have the power to liberate ourselves from suffering.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: I love that. I think that's very powerful. I mean, mm. I know you as a very compassionate and caring person, and what one thing I love about is you actually call my nickname jojo. Right? And like. I don't know. A lot of people at this point in my life, very few people know my nickname other than my folks and maybe my boyfriend as well.

So I think hearing you say that to me, that's like an active act of care. Um, and you are. A pretty soft spoken person like you are very [00:22:00] gentle. You, you are not like, um, very charged oftentimes in your words. But I feel what you just said, like describing your spiritual practice is actually really powerful, um, without those loud words really.

So I think it is your own practice that carries that power through the messages you share. Um. So that, that really touches me and, um, I'm getting a little emotion.

Ningshu: Thank you for your comments. I really, really appreciate that. You know, actually it took me years of years of, uh, practice to really understand that, uh, harmony and, uh, um, how we can all be united um, joy and peace when [00:23:00] can truly accept yourself and. Also accept other people as who they are. Um, it, it, it actually took me many, many years and I've made, um, many, many mistakes over the. And, uh, um, but I think, you know, each mistake, each challenge is also a moment for me to really reflect on myself and to, uh, uh, be aware, to realize my limitation, um, that is, uh, a part I feel now, um, I feel more welcoming. To those, uh, mistakes and, uh, challenges instead of the see them as, uh, a, you know, like, um, like, like a negative, um, part of life.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yeah. Yeah, [00:24:00] I hear that. And it's definitely easier said than done and I've been trying to kind of like practice self-compassion and self-acceptance as well. And at times it can be really difficult, um, you know, considering the life circumstances we sometimes find ourselves in. Um, so thank you for reminding me at least of that.

Um, it's. It's important. Um, so like you mentioned earlier, this is you, it, you've been running Asia, America for nine years and coming up, you know, 10 years next year. Um, and as a business operator, um, on top of your, you know, so many things that you do, um, what have you learned from running, uh, Asia America?

Ningshu: Yeah, I think Asian American, it's uh, almost coming up to, uh. 10th year running our [00:25:00] business. Um, I would say running Asia. America has been one of the most meaningful learning experience, experiences of my life. Um, as a first time entrepreneur, I've discovered both the joy and freedom of expressing creativity through our business, um, and also the challenges that come with building something from the ground up. Um, so when we first moved to Portland, um, all we had was a single warehouse in the southeast Portland. Um, and my husband Dan, uh, handled most of the operations. Um, after six months, uh, we actually, uh, acquired a little, uh, smaller space, so open a showroom on the south waterfront. And, and at that time I offered to run the store. business was unlike anything we had done before. Um, [00:26:00] so everything felt really new, starting from learning our products, uh, sourcing, accounting and managing employees, and handling all the daily details that coming with running a store. Um, I think one of our biggest struggles early on was, uh, the selling

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: Uh, because neither Dan or I, uh, thought of ourselves as salespeople, um. Not to mention, I just moved to Portland and, uh, everything felt fairly

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: you know, my, uh, English was also not, not good. So, um, but fortunately the business already had an existing customer base, uh, when we took over, which, uh, sustained us during the, those first couple of years. Um, slowly as we built relationships with new suppliers

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: and [00:27:00] collectors, um, all over Asia. Asia, America began to, I think it began to transform the store became a reflection of our shared aesthetics and the memories we carried from our years living in

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: Um, once we started hand selecting each piece, we found ourselves giving new life to the items. one came with a story, and those stories opened the door to deeper conversations. we realized that what we sell isn't just furniture, furniture or decor. Um, it's memories and, uh, nostalgia. Uh, it's a way of, uh, I think connecting people through shared memories. many customers we encounter, they sometimes would just come in and end up telling us their own [00:28:00] stories their experience, uh, living, traveling, or growing up in, in

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: Um, sometimes it's very interesting is that those conversations can last. An hour or even more. I think that human connection has become the most rewarding part of the business. Um, I think over time we stopped seeing Asia, America simply as a business. is become more like a

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: um, a bridge, I think between east and west, a space that encourages culture exchange and a greater culture awareness. Um, of course, um, running a business also means, um, facing a lot of uncertainties, especially for our business. Um, stability depends on so many external factors, [00:29:00] such as like city policies or, or economic shifts and, uh, especially, um, the housing market.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: Has a huge, um, influence on furniture sales. Uh, of course, as you know,

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: particularly challenging. Um, we actually had to close the store for six months uh, after that the recover was very

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: Um, but I think that period actually taught us something very profound. as the Buddhist sutra says, impermanence is the only constant. So instead of, uh, we always try to control what we can't. But I think through also the Buddhist practice, we learned to appreciate the present moment and to be grateful for what we have. Um, I think even during the shutdown, uh, [00:30:00] we found a lot of unexpected blessings. We, we took a lot of bike rides. Um, we spend a lot of time with our kids, um, walking in a neighborhood, cooking together, and, uh, spending real uninterrupted time as a family. So that part is actually, uh. Very pleasant surprise, I

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: So I think every gain comes with a loss and that every loss brings a hidden gain. So Asian America has taught us that over time and again and again.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: That's beautiful. I think, you know, a lot of people say, I want to run a successful business, but like, how do we define success? Right?

Ningshu: yes.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: So I, I think Asia, America is a very good example of, you know, success can look, um, very different, um, based on [00:31:00] someone's perspective. And just because conventionally we see success as, you know, making more and more money or profit doesn't mean that's the only form of success.

Ningshu: Right. There are, I think, so many experiences are priceless, you can, it's, it's not, not can be measured by, money or, you know, anything material materialistic. So that part I think, uh, is also, uh, really valuable through running the business.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, I cannot agree more. Um, and I hope that brings some certain of, uh, some certain level of comfort to a lot of business operators out there as well. You know, times can be hard. At the same time, there are a lot of things that we can learn from it and can treasure as well.

Ningshu: [00:32:00] Exactly. We, yeah. Every challenge is a, is a, is a good lesson for us to be, uh, more resilient and also wiser.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hopefully,

Ningshu: Yeah.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: um, I mean, I feel like I have, you know, the last 33 minutes we've been talking, I feel I have been. Taken care of you already. Um, so I'm very grateful for that. And sometimes I ask my guests. You know, what's their understanding of certain things? And I feel you are the perfect guests for me to ask, you know, what does hope and what does abundance mean to you?

Because I feel in your messaging and in your day-to-day practice, um, you embody. Um, the idea of hope and the practice of the abundance mindset. So I'm very curious to learn [00:33:00] about your interpretation of hope and abundance.

Ningshu: Thank you. Um, that is also another very big topic. Um, so I think, uh, um, for much of my life I held the world hope in warm regard. it felt like a light in the darkness and a. is like a promise that whatever I was going through might someday resolve into something better. but I think over years of the practice, my relationship with Hope has somehow shifted.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: I began to see that the kind of hope I once relied on carried within a kind of subtle tension, uh, reaching toward a future that did not yet exist.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: Um, I really love, uh, Pima Trone who, uh, she is a, a well-known, [00:34:00] um, American born, uh, uh, Buddhist. Uh, she studied, uh, Tibetan Buddhism for many, many years, so her teachings have been a steady companion on my past. Um, she actually articulates this part in her book called When Things False, when Things Fall

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: Um, she writes, if we are willing to give up hope. That insecurity and pain can be exterminated, then we can have the courage to relax with the groundlessness of our situation.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: This giving up of hope is not about sinking into despair. It is an invitation to stop waiting for life to become something more manageable. It is the first step onto the path of true courage. Pima also introduced, um, introduced a [00:35:00] Tibetan term called Che, which she describes as being totally fed up. Um, it's a state like exhausted in a complete and total way. It points to a moment when our habitual strategists simply stopped working. that hope and the things were. The hope that things were

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: the belief that somewhere there is a better version of us waiting to emerge the fantasy of a future where uncertain finally loses its grip. So I think the exhaustion not, um, in a way of. Hopelessness in, in, in ordinary sense. But it is a kind of liberating realization that, uh, cleaning to hope as an escape probably will only [00:36:00] distant us from our own life. Um, I think lot of the conventional hope depends on, um, expectation and anticipation, uh, leaning forward into the future. Um. When I looked up in the dictionary, definition for hope actually says a feeling of expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen. Um, in this sense, I think when we hope, hope in this way, we may unintentionally, uh, resist the reality right in front of us. start to kind of drift away from the present moment. And toward a future that we imagine will bring safety and a control. So I think in that sense it might become easy to blame external circumstances [00:37:00] fall into a sense of power. Powerlessness. Powerlessness as as though our wellbeing depends on conditions aligning somewhere out ahead of us.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: And a PMs teaching also points toward a different way of relating to life. She writes also about mindfulness. She says, mindfulness is the practice of being one with our experience to feeling the doorknob as we turn it, hearing the phone ring, noticing joy, fear, or sadness as they arise. Mindfulness keeps us here in the immediacy of our own life.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: But the yay tan chase, she says, is not so easily digested because it express the deeper renunciation needed on the spiritual path, which is the [00:38:00] willingness to release our grip on the future altogether.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: Um, without this letting go, we were never truly relaxed into the person we already are or the life already unfolding. So I think that part probably also resonates with, um, the practice I've had over the years to embrace, um, who we truly

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: Um, I think over time I've come to understand that the problem isn't hope itself. Uh, but the way we often see it or use

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: a subtle, subtle escape, uh, from the moment of now, through a practice, um, something quietly transformed. think that. Um, genuine hope is not found in an imagined future, but [00:39:00] actually in the present moment when I can actually face my life without running away. I allow myself to experience, the reality as it is without trying to fix it, um, or replace it.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Hmm.

Ningshu: Um, so I think I discover a different kind of hope is one that is grounded in. Clarity in compassion and in acceptance.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: That's beautiful. And very deep.

Ningshu: Thank you. And I think, um, last you talk about abundance, so, um, I hope you don't mind if I would also like to share my thoughts

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: course, please.

Ningshu: Abundance from a Buddhist perspective. Um, first I would like to say I think in Buddhism, um, abundance definitely does not mean accumulating more things [00:40:00] such as wealth or status, but I think it, instead, I think it refers to, uh, inner sense of, uh, completeness that comes from our understanding. The nature of reality and the cultivating wholesome mental qualities. Um, Buddhism, craving is a root because of suffering. scarcity mentality is a form of craving the belief that we must acquire more in order to feel safe, but this kind of crazing does not bring fulfillment. It creates more fear. when we clinging to wealth, we fear poverty. When we clinging to, um, status, we fear, um, insignificance. So also, you know, [00:41:00] when think about when we clinging to youth, we fear Asian. And when we clinging to life as something fixed and a graspable. Um, we create fear. We, we start to be fearful of

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: So I think con cleaning to condition things is like, um, to anchor a boat to a passing cloud. So no matter how hard we try, it cannot offer stability. So I think what we call scarcity is not the shortage of resources. the shortage of inner freedom,

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yes, yes.

Ningshu: um, I think the Buddhist path offers a very different perspective. instead of, uh, running from impermanence, I think we learn to turn toward it with clarity and compassion [00:42:00] and acceptance of impermanence does not make life bleak. It makes it precious. I think when we realize that all things are fleeting, you know, our start to

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: we can finally be begin to appreciate experiences without the need to

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: We can engage with the world without being consumed by it. Yeah. So, um, is probably my share, um, on the meaning of abundance

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: That's so beautiful and, um, and again, I, I really, um, appreciate your perspective. Um, from someone who has practiced Buddhism for a very long time. And I also wanna say with multicultural [00:43:00] background, um, because you've lived in different countries and different cultures, you as, as a someone who lived it and as someone who Ober observed it, um, you were able to kind of.

You know, work your own lived experience into your practice. And I, I really resonate with your understanding of, um, hope and abundance. And again, I think it is something that's quite hard to do. Um, and I really encourage people to sit with these words, perhaps with your eyes closed, or, you know, sit in a comfortable space as you listen to this message.

'cause I find it very helpful for me, um, because oftentimes we have that urge to trace, right? Like, I, I want to trace hope, but hope does not wait for you. Like hope [00:44:00] is in the now. Hope is not in the future. So you can't go after things that are not gonna be there for you only if you can find it in your own elements or in your own moments.

Um, and I think that's very, like, that's a very good, uh. Lesson really for us all to just revisit over and over again, and I particularly resonated with your interpretation of scarcity. Scarcity is a form of craving. It's so true. I mean,

Ningshu: Yes,

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: it it is so true and it's so visceral, too. Right. It's like you want more.

It's that kind of desire of wanting more. It feels like you can never be satisfied. You are always be hungry for more. That craving. It's, it, yeah. It's so visceral and like you said, um, craving does not bring fulfillment. It creates [00:45:00] more fear. 'cause you want more. Like, how am I gonna get more.

Ningshu: Also, when you start to chasing after something, you lose, uh, focus on what we already have.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yes.

Ningshu: lose lose focus on this very moment that it actually, the fullness is in every moment of our life.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yeah. Yeah. And to what end, right? Like. Life is short and like we were just talking about it, if we just keep tracing and chasing and because of scarcity, then we won't stop until the day we leave this earth.

Ningshu: Exactly.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: And that's very scary. That's a very scary thought.

Ningshu: Yeah. And I think oftentimes the suffering also comes from our expectation. Uh, that it, it is kind of like a resistance of accepting what reality

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yeah.

Ningshu: we, [00:46:00] we always tend to expect the reality in a different

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Mm-hmm.

Ningshu: but actually when you can see it as it is, um, that is sometimes where joy emerges.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: I agree, and I, oh gosh. I just, I'm just so thankful that you come here today and, uh, talked with me about your journey, you know, as a person, as a business person, as a, you know, as a international, um, resident, uh, how should I say this? Uh, a global resident. Global resident, like you said, de children, right?

Ningshu: Yeah.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: We're

Ningshu: I don't, I don't even know where my home is, but, uh, at the same time, I feel everywhere is my home

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: yeah. So de children means, uh, basically risk people.[00:47:00]

Ningshu: citizen. Yes.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: citizen. Yeah. Earth people, the children. Um, so thank you so much and I, again, you know, it is the holiday season and I would love to, I mean today and every day, um, to go support our small businesses in Portland and go visit Nhu and Dan at Asia America and find NG work at a Chinese garden as well.

Ningshu: Thank you. Thank you jojo, for having me today. I also really appreciate your work of intersection and abundance and what, uh, to bring our, where awareness to, uh, bring us all together.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yeah. Um, and last question, where do people find you and your store?

Ningshu: Oh, okay. So our store, Asia, America is, uh, address is 79 Southeast Taylor. You can find us there. Um, and, uh, uh, for [00:48:00] my work, um, you can, uh, check out online called Shanghai Dragon. Yes, welcome to Stop By Anytime. We would love to see all your faces.

zhou_1_12-01-2025_141018: Yay. You will see mine for her. Okay, with that and a lot of gratitude, uh, I am going to stop recording here. I.

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