The Laughing Sutra Written by Mark Salzman

The Laughing Sutra written by Mark Salzman is a book about a young Chinese man journeying to America to locate a famous Sutra for his dying "father". An old wise Chinese man named Wei-chang took in sheng-hui or Hsun-ching, as he liked to call him, when his mom was killed. Wei-chang taught Hsun-ching everything he needed to know to be as smart and wise as he was, to do this he had Hsun-ching read all the sutra's he had collected. Wei-chang would always tell Hsun-ching about a very special sutra located in the United States. He would dream of traveling over to receive the famous Sutra. Once Wei-chang became very old and weak it was no longer possible for him to make his dream come true. Knowing this, Hsun-ching decided to repay his father for everything he has done, by journeying to the U.S and bringing the Sutra home. Through Hsun-ching's journey Salzman incorporates three main religions, Buddhism, Confusism, and Hinduism.

Kongzi, also known as Confucius started Confucianism in 551B.C. Confucianism is a religion known for its high standard for family respect and love. Confucianism is shown to be relevant in the novel when Hsun-ching decides to travel all the way from China to San Fransico California in the United States to locate and bring home a Sutra his adopted father has yearned for his whole life. "I'm doing this for Master because it's the only way I can pay him back for taking care of me." (111) This truly shows how much Hsun-ching loves and respects his father for everything his has brought and done for him.