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This section is dedicated to my certain compliments, displeasures, or philosophical opinions about everything, anything, or a particular incident.
August 18, 2006: WHAT COUNTRIES DO OTHER FELLOW TRAVELERS COME FROM? I've talked to a few people who have been traveling a lot longer than I have. Most of them were in their fifties with a permanent home, but have been making regular trips for the past ten years or more. They told me that in the past, the British were avid travelers, but now they are not, mostly due to the very high cost of living in England. Israelis didn't start traveling until recently. My observations are about travelers in Southeast Asia. Below I've made a list of the countries from where I meet travelers. The list is in order from the country with the most frequent travelers, to the country with the least. 1. France It is interesting to note that Israelis have recently made a strong appearance on the travel scene. Also, I meet a significant amount of Japanese and Korean hard-core backpackers. This goes against my stereotype that Asians must always travel in big groups. About 80% of Canadians that I meet on the road are from the French-speaking province of Québec. Given the fact that Québec accounts for less than 25% of Canada's population, it is surprising that they are such avid travelers. I think English Canadians, like the Americans, are too busy chasing the big money, and hence have no time or energy for serious travel.
March 24, 2006: RELIGION AND SOCIETY (ISLAM, BUDDHISM, AND CHRISTIANITY) Until recently, I've only been able to observe the effects of religion in society by comparing the mainly Christian West to Buddhist Asia. Recently, my travels to the
It is truly amazing how significant a role religion plays in human society. It is amazing how a society's religion influences everything from the way people dress to their interactions with their family, friends, strangers, and even foreigners. Let me deal with each of the three major religions I have observed by organizing them each in separate sections:
Christianity Christianity is the predominant religion in my homeland of
Compared to the rest of the world, the majority of people in the West are not what you would call religious. I have noticed that the more rich and educated a society is, the less religious they are as a whole. From what I have seen during my travels, I can assure you that the West is very rich & educated compared to the rest of the world, and we are also the least religious.
The West places a strong emphasis on what has become known as "The Golden Rule". It is mentioned in numerous places in the bible, to quote a few:
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law of the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12) "Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31) "The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:14)
Westerners pay extra attention to little things in order to make life easier for other people. Things that would bother them had another person done it, they try hard to avoid doing to others. For example, they will keep their conversations quiet in public as to not bother others around them. If they stop to browse while window-shopping, they will stand off to the side in order to keep the path clear for other passersby. There is a strong respect for strangers' privacy and personal space, just as they expect the strangers to respect their own. Westerners are truly a very self-conscious bunch, always keeping their behaviour in check as to not cause discomfort to the strangers around them.
Whether they have come to be like this due to religion, or due to a combination of other factors, that I cannot say. But I know for sure that nowhere else in the world have I been in a society that lives so strictly by this code of conduct as we do in the West.
I have noticed that the West is plagued by unhappy people, many with emotional problems, and even more who are dissatisfied with their lives, even though they have everything they need. Is this because they are missing something that only a deeper commitment to religion can fulfill?
Buddhism Buddhism is the predominant religion in
But us humans need to have some kind of a God with divine powers. Someone we can fear, and someone we can attribute both good and bad events to that our out of our control. Since Buddhism in its pure form didn't offer this, most Buddhists have created their own gods, or borrowed them from other religions. The Thais believe in the Gods of Hinduism, such as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, as well as a host of countless spirits. The Chinese have their own gods and spirits also. It is no wonder that Asian people tend to be very superstitious and have a deep respect for the powers of the supernatural.
Buddhism's main teaching is tolerance of others, and taking the middle way, that is to say, doing everything in moderation. Buddhism does not have commandments written in the form of, Thou shalt not…, or Thou shalt do... The commandments of Buddhism are written in the form of, The DECISION to abstain from… There are no "commandments" in the literal sense of the word, hence they are referred to as "precepts". Instead, the Buddhist is given the freedom to decide whether to follow a precept or not. Should he choose not to follow, he has not committed a religious crime, but instead will pay the price eventually. This is similar to the saying, "Keep playing with fire, and eventually you will get burned."
This freedom allows Buddhists to bend the rules somewhat, and be more liberal than say, Muslims. Buddhism's stress on living in peace and harmony means that people rarely show public emotions of anger. Things that would warrant a punch in the face in the West are passed off with a smile in
Buddhists also believe very strongly in Karma, which, put in contemporary English, says, "Whatever goes around, comes around". And it may or may not come around in your lifetime, since Buddhists believe in reincarnation. In order to make good Karma, Buddhists will perform good deeds to accumulate "merit". Such deeds include helping the poor, giving food to the monks, donating money to charity, etc. This merit making is all done without expecting a reward in the near future. So you will notice that Buddhists are quite generous people, always willing to help.
The major disadvantage I see in Buddhism is that it preaches that a strong person should not show emotion, especially anger. Anger and criticism upset the harmony of society, and should be suppressed. This has lead to a lot of Asians internalizing their feelings, with nowhere to vent. Quite a few Asians I know have built-up anger that they can't let out anywhere, and it makes them tense and agitated. In the workplace, constructive criticism is forbidden, so you can just imagine what kind of inefficiencies this social rule causes.
Islam The heart of the Islamic religion is in the Arab countries of the Middle East, excluding
The people I've met here in the
A lot of these people find that their strong devotion to their religious beliefs in Islam give them a sense of belonging to an Arab brotherhood, and following the strict code gives them a comforting peace. To me, they seem like a happy people, who, unlike the Buddhists, are not repressed when it comes to showing their feelings or voicing their opinions. It is not taboo to show passion in Islamic society, which makes the streets of
Muslims have a severely strict code of conduct, which is definitely not the case in Buddhism. If any of these codes are broken, then the person is considered to be of very bad character. In some Muslim countries the offender will even face severe punishment for such things as eating in public during the fast of Ramadan, or having sex before marriage. Unlike in Buddhism, there is no freedom of choice here. A Muslim must follow all the rules, or else be frowned upon, or even be cast out of society.
This leads to some stresses in today's Muslim people. Some Muslims that I've met are closet drinkers, and will even go visit the occasional prostitute, all in complete discretion, of course. A local man here in
In Conclusion I am probably one of the least religious people around, but now I'm beginning to wonder if religion plays a more important role other than to explain certain things in our world. After having been in two societies with deep religious roots, namely Buddhist Asia and Islamic Middle East, I feel that something is missing from our lives in the West.
Can it be that the most important thing religion can give us is a sense of belonging to a community where the members have identical values and beliefs? Can it be that such a belonging, as well as practicing the rites prescribed by a religion can give us an inner peace that nothing else can? Even if the rites and rituals of a religion don't make logical, scientific sense, we are humans after all, which means that we have needs that are not always logical. In other words, we have emotional needs as well, and maybe only religion can fulfill some of them. This I cannot say for sure, but I welcome your comments.
August 23, 2005: AS THE SEASONS CHANGE (But not in the tropics) I know that the human body has daily rhythms, and even hourly rhythms. But have you ever realized how important the yearly rhythm is? In the spring, we feel very energetic, and happy. The smell of fresh vegetation fills the air, and on a particular warm night when we can smell the scent of freshly sprouting grass we are filled with the urge to leave our dwellings and go outside to explore. We open our windows in both our cars and our houses as soon as the temperature warms up, and begin to spend more time outside whenever possible. Summer is warm and lazy, and we get accustomed to the heat. The days are long, with the sky getting light at 4 in the morning, and getting dark at 9 at night. We all come out to enjoy the fresh air and long days. It's the time for outdoor recreational activities, whether it may be something simple as a backyard BBQ, or something more daring such as camping, bicycling, or any other outdoor sport. The scent of autumn suddenly sets in at the end of August. The nights get crisp and chilly, and it's dark by 7 in the evening. The windows have to be closed some nights because it's too chilly. The smell of the air literally changes, and there are more cloudy, rainy days It is very strange how this all puts us into a melancholy mood. For some odd reason, we get very sentimental, and our thoughts get more serious. We begin to question things in our lives. We get tired more easily. I don't know what evolutionary purpose this all serves, but it seems that everyone that I talk to has feelings similar to this in utumn. Winter sets in at the end of December and we huddle in our homes, whether alone or not. We don't go out much, and hope that the repairs we made outside will keep the cold and snow out for at least the next few months until it's safe to go outside again. It gets dark at 4 in the afternoon, and the sun doesn't come up again until 8 in the morning. That means that the average person is going to work, and coming back home in the dark. But suddenly, the days get longer, and the nights warmer. The snow begins to melt, and it's not dark when we go to work, but it's still dark when we come home. A few more weeks pass, and we're coming home from work in broad daylight. Energy fills our bodies, and we want to be outside again. Spring is here once again, and on a warm day, our windows are open both in our homes and in our cars. The seasonal cycle has completed and is starting again. But in the tropics: Forget all that I've written above. It's always hot and it feels like summer. But what will really confuse your yearly rhythm is that the sun rises at around 6AM, and also sets around 6PM, EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. The temperature doesn't change much either. Effectively, you will lose your yearly cycle, and will not know what season it is, except that it's always hot. The days will never get longer, nor shorter. The temperature will vary less throughout the year than in one month back home. You will lose all contact with the seasons and the time of year. Every day will feel the same; dog-day summer-nights with winter-short daylight hours. You will get to hate the heat and keep your windows shut both in your car and in your home!!!! Trust me on this, as unbelievable as it may sound, if you happen to read this while it's -30C outside. I cannot feel the seasons change here; in fact, I feel like I'm in some kind of limbo between spring and autumn. The locals swear they can feel the difference, but for me, the change from July to December is like the change from one week to the next back in Ottawa. I'm convinced that I'm suffering from "Seasonal Jet Lag". |
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