There's always one (or, if you're unlucky, more than one).
If you have a big day planned for tomorrow and it is very important that the weather will be good, no matter where you are there will always be THAT guy who will say:"Oh, but tomorrow is going to rain", and right there and then you know it. You know that it doesn't matter that the weather forecast is sunny and that it hasn't been raining for weeks and it's full summer and that there's not only single cloud in the sky of the whole country.... it's going to rain. And it does!
Congratulations my friend, you've met the DOOMTALKER!
Every single word uttered by these individuals is pregnant with biblical doom.
And it goes for other things too, not only the weather unfortunately! They have a whole repertoire of bad things that are going to unfold in the most unpredictable ways.
Say you have to buy a car. You do your homework and shop around, consult friends and family about good brands and bad brands, read all the magazines and watch "Top Gear" every day.
In the end you really need it, so you decide to go for it and buy one.
No matter what car you've bought, the doomtalker will say:"Oh, I've heard that it breaks down a lot".
I give you 2 weeks before you'll have to call the road service to pick you up because your precious thing won't start.....
You've invested some money? "I heard it's going to blow". You've applied for a job? "I heard they'll give it to the other guy". You're going on your dream holiday? "I've seen this document on tv where a guy was attacked by a shark".
Sometimes it's just mild things. You're going to buy something nice in a shop. "I think it's closed today". You're making a reservation for 2 tickets for a game. "It's sold out".
The DOOMTALKER.
I'm telling you, there's no limit to the power of these guys.
Now, see, in my culture you don't say these things. If someone you know has something planned for tomorrow you don't say it's going to rain.
Not even if the sky is all grey with threatening clouds and you've seen Noah pushing couples of animals in the Ark.
You just don't say it!!!! If you're not comfortable with saying a white lie you just say:"Let's hope for good weather!", or you just shut up!
Why? Because maybe everyone knows that it's going to rain and they don't need you to ruin the last bit of hope left by saying it out loud with that authoritative tone that leaves no room for arguments!
Do you really want to be the hated guy? The guy that no one invites at the parties because he'll say something that will make the host cry! The guy no one goes to for a piece of advise cause they know they'll end up wanting to kill themselves. The guy no one tells important things cause they're scared he's going to ruin it for them.
I say enough with the doomtalkers! From now on every time someone is going to say:"Oh, but tomorrow is going to rain" I'm going to asnwer:"Nope, it's going to be super nice weather, the sun is going to shine the whole day and it will be the best day of my life!"
"That car is going to break down" --- "Nope, it's the best car in the world and it's going to last forever!"
"That investment is going to blow" --- "Nope, it's going to quadruple my money!"
"That shop is closed" --- "Nope, it's open 24/7"
"That guy was attacked by a shark" --- "Cool, I've killed 99 sharks so far, I can't wait to get to an even 100!"
"They're giving the job to the other guy" --- "Nope, I've just been offered the position but I turned it down cause I've received a better offer!".
Got the gist?
Of course none of these things are real, if it has to rain it will rain no matter what you say, but maybe after a dozen times you answer like that the doomtalker will start to lose his power and he will eventually desist!!!
And if it doesn't work, in Italy we have a way to exorcise doomtalkers by closing our fist and keeping the index finger and the pinkie straight, we call them "le corna", try, that will do!
Friday 29 April 2011
Tuesday 26 April 2011
Back to Kiama, this time with good weather
Ok, this morning we head off again for Kiama since the weather fortunately seems to be holding up.
And there’s a lot of wind so the blowhole is really at its best.
Unfortunately I;m not able to try the technique I had in mind for a few photos since it’s way too bright and long exposures are simply blown out but that’s ok, the lighthouse goes for a nice use of my ultra wide angle.
Many tourists, lots and lots of families with kids staring open mouthed at the blow hole betting on whichever blow is going to be the biggest.
There’s a nice warm sun and it wouldn’t even feel like the end of April, if it wasn’t for the strong wind.
We take a few photos and then we decide to head north, if the weather is going to stay this way we might make it to the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple of Nan Tien.
Fo Guang Shan Buddhism was founded in 1967 by Hsing Yun and has its major site in Taiwan.
It promotes Humanistic Buddhism, and aims at making Buddhism an important and active humanitarian religion.
They raise million of dollars in charity eery year and whenever there is a catastrophe like the Tsunami in Japan they are the first ones to send money if not the first ones on the spot to help anyway they can.
The temple close to Wollongong in very nice, situated on a vast area on a hilltop and consists of 2 main prayer halls, the Lumbini garden, a library, a museum, a couple of shops and a 5 storeys Pagoda.
Steve and I are captured by the devotion of many visitors, and we both think about our trip to Tibet, although we know that this temple is not similar to the ones we'll see in Tibet.
I've always been drawn to Buddhism, it's like it's calling from a distance and showing me some of the several aspects that I appreciate about it.
But getting over a firm catholic upraising has been very hard and the reasons that brought me to reject its principles are still very strong inside me.
This doesn't mean that I cannot observe and try to understand a religion that seems based entirely on the human being and that does not presume the existence of an almighty god.
I'm content to stand aside for the time being and respectfully watch and learn.
We spend a good hour at the temple, recharged by its peaceful atmosphere and then we head back to Sydney, where our kittens are waiting for us :)
Fo Guang Shan Buddhism was founded in 1967 by Hsing Yun and has its major site in Taiwan.
It promotes Humanistic Buddhism, and aims at making Buddhism an important and active humanitarian religion.
They raise million of dollars in charity eery year and whenever there is a catastrophe like the Tsunami in Japan they are the first ones to send money if not the first ones on the spot to help anyway they can.
The temple close to Wollongong in very nice, situated on a vast area on a hilltop and consists of 2 main prayer halls, the Lumbini garden, a library, a museum, a couple of shops and a 5 storeys Pagoda.
Steve and I are captured by the devotion of many visitors, and we both think about our trip to Tibet, although we know that this temple is not similar to the ones we'll see in Tibet.
I've always been drawn to Buddhism, it's like it's calling from a distance and showing me some of the several aspects that I appreciate about it.
But getting over a firm catholic upraising has been very hard and the reasons that brought me to reject its principles are still very strong inside me.
This doesn't mean that I cannot observe and try to understand a religion that seems based entirely on the human being and that does not presume the existence of an almighty god.
I'm content to stand aside for the time being and respectfully watch and learn.
We spend a good hour at the temple, recharged by its peaceful atmosphere and then we head back to Sydney, where our kittens are waiting for us :)
Monday 25 April 2011
Another rainy Anzac Day
Easter Monday this year falls on the 25th of April which is one of the most loved Australian holidays, Anzac Day.
Anzac Day commemorates the soldiers of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps who died in the attempt to capture the today named Anzac Cove (Gallipoli Peninsula,Turkey) from the Turkish troops during the second world war.
It’s a very emotional day in the whole country, all the military forces from all the wars are gathering together, participating to marches in cities and towns everywhere, on every tv channel some historical documents show the sad outcome of the said attempt, kids eat Anzac Day bikkies, adults shed a tear thinking about the young ones who lost their lives in the battle fields and then they join friends and family at the local Pub or RSL for a beer and a game of “Two Up”, the only day of the year in which this is permitted by the Australian law.
“Two up” is a gambling game in which a person stands in the centre of a circle of people holding 2 coins in his hand and prior to him tossing them in the air, people gamble with each other whether it will be a head or a tail. But it’s called “Two up” because a person can only gamble either 2 heads or 2 tails.
I’ve seen my first “Two up” at an RSL in Sydney a couple of years ago and I was shocked at the amount of money I’ve seen gained and lost in literally less than a minute!
You can bet just about anything, but you always have to find someone who’s taking that bet.
If you bet 100$ on heads, you have to find someone who agrees on betting 100$ on tails.
I have personally never gambled at “Two up”, but I think the atmosphere is overall very exciting and everyone must have a good time, even the losers (also because they probably won’t lose for long since there’s always a 50% chance of getting it right).
In case the coins draw head and tail the designated person will flip them again... and again and again until there will be either 2 heads or 2 tails.
As I said the moral significance of this day is very strong and during the commemorative ceremonies you never fail to see tears in the faces of the mourners.
And it seems that the weather is going along with it too, since I have yet to see a dry Anzac Day!
Today is no exception.
Rain, rain, rain.
What do you do in a rainy day along the coast between Wollongong and Berry?
You go wine tasting!
That’s how we ended up visiting a couple of wineries and buying a couple (or more) of bottles.
5 reds, 3 whites, 2 Macadamia liqueurs and 1 Chocolate Port!
It’s always nice to go wine tasting, you strike conversation with the owners who become, for the duration of the whole thing, your best friends, advising you on what your taste buds will appreciate most and serving very generous samples in your glass, that only one in a while you will then feel like filling with plain good old water just for the sake of not looking like an alkie in front of the other customers.
Yes, I’m tipsy, Steve is not, obviously, he’s driving.
We drive back to Kiama, hoping for a break in the rain so that we will be able to try a couple of photos at the blowhole, but it doesn’t seem to be meant to be, rain, rain, rain.
Steve drives me to a place that holds some nice memories for him.
I’ll let him talk about it.
Geroa was a small coastal town, just south of Kiama that I spent many weekends as a kid. We managed to stay at the same holiday house, opposite the beach for a mere $5 per night.
That sounds cheap now but even 25 years ago when I last visited, that was still inexpensive.
According to the road sign, the population is 497. That is amazingly precise considering the comings and goings that would constantly occur. That road sign could have also been there for many years. Anyway judging by how full the carpark was at the local pub, I would suggest that all of those 497 would have been in there.
We’re now at the Kiama Inn Hotel drinking a beer and a coke for Silvia (too much wine) and watching St George playing against the Roosters.
A few words about St George.
St. George are a rugby league team (mostly disliked for their dull style of play) that participate in a competition that is played along the eastern seaboard of Australia and also New Zealand. Rugby league is similar to rugby union only more free flowing, with less stoppages and thus in my personal opinion a far more entertaining sport to watch. St. George are based in a region of southern sydney that includes the Wollongong area, just south of Sydney, while The Roosters are based around the Eastern suburbs of Sydney incorporating Bondi. Each year these 2 teams compete in a traditional Anzac Day match.
All this said...off course St George won again....
Lake Illawarra and Port Kembla
Leaving the kittens yesterday was not easy!
Especially since they have been not good in the last couple of days, but the small problem they had seems to be solved so we decided to go for the short break at the lake.
Lake Illawarra is just a couple of kms south of Wollongong, on the coast, north of Kiama.
We've never been here before and we were excited to go back to explore new places and go back to Kiama where we had another short break 4 years ago.
We found a lovely bed & breakfast 5 minutes walk from the lake and as per plan yesterday evening we climbed onto the bridge over the lake and took a couple of photos of the sunset.
It was lovely, very nice colours, beautiful cloud formation, pelicans and other birds floating on the mirror like surface of the lake, just a few fishing boats every now and then and a lot of fishermen along the shores.
We then went over to Port Kembla since I wanted to try some long exposure shots of the smoke coming out of the chimneys. Port Kembla is indeed one of the biggest industrial park I've ever seen and it's best seen at night, when all the lights are on and the blue and the yellow flames of the ovens really comes to life against the black background of the night sky.
We wanted to proceed north to Wollongong to find a nice restaurant but in the end we decided to go back to Windang (where our accommodations is) and try out the Thai restaurant we had seen earlier.
It was definitely a good choice, since the food was excellent and not too expensive :)
Today, weather permitting, we're off to Kiama and try and take some photos of the blowhole!
Happy ANZAC day!!!!
Especially since they have been not good in the last couple of days, but the small problem they had seems to be solved so we decided to go for the short break at the lake.
Lake Illawarra is just a couple of kms south of Wollongong, on the coast, north of Kiama.
We've never been here before and we were excited to go back to explore new places and go back to Kiama where we had another short break 4 years ago.
We found a lovely bed & breakfast 5 minutes walk from the lake and as per plan yesterday evening we climbed onto the bridge over the lake and took a couple of photos of the sunset.
It was lovely, very nice colours, beautiful cloud formation, pelicans and other birds floating on the mirror like surface of the lake, just a few fishing boats every now and then and a lot of fishermen along the shores.
We then went over to Port Kembla since I wanted to try some long exposure shots of the smoke coming out of the chimneys. Port Kembla is indeed one of the biggest industrial park I've ever seen and it's best seen at night, when all the lights are on and the blue and the yellow flames of the ovens really comes to life against the black background of the night sky.
We wanted to proceed north to Wollongong to find a nice restaurant but in the end we decided to go back to Windang (where our accommodations is) and try out the Thai restaurant we had seen earlier.
It was definitely a good choice, since the food was excellent and not too expensive :)
Today, weather permitting, we're off to Kiama and try and take some photos of the blowhole!
Happy ANZAC day!!!!
Friday 22 April 2011
what I talk about when I talk about running
The title of this post is the english translation of the title of a book by H. Murakami (one of my favourite writers).
I haven't read the book yet, since I feel like I will allow myself to read it when I will have many more hours of running in my log.
But that doesn't mean I can't have my own feelings about this powerful activity, so here we go.
I find it liberating.
It's probably the closest a human being can get to the sensation of flying like a bird.
At first I always struggle, I don't pant (especially when I'm fit), but each and every time that I take those first steps after lacing up the shoes I wonder why I'm doing it. I almost always regret running for the first couple of minutes.
I think about the long distance that I have to cover and I start immediately to find excuses to shorten it.
My running shoes are old and they are actually hurting my feet, or my back's not 100%, or I should try and be back home earlier to attend to that chore....
The number of times my feet go forward one in front of the other corresponds to the number of times I think about quitting and walk back home.
But then it gets easier.
Slowly the breathing finds its rhythm, the legs feel lighter, the surroundings don't look boring anymore and I begin to think that maybe I can make it till that street crossing over there.
When I reach the street crossing I don't feel too bad so maybe I can try and go a little bit further, not much, just the school at the corner, just to see if I can make it.
And then I reach the school and I actually feel good and think maybe I can run a bit more, who knows, maybe I can match the distance I did yesterday, let's see.
And on I go.
And when I finally get back home, already sore and breathless, the sense of accomplishment puts me on a fantastic mood.
I didn't do much, I just run for an hour, but I feel like I've conquered some never before reached limit and beyond, I feel like if I can do this there's nothing I cannot do.
And I swear to myself that tomorrow I will do it again and maybe I'll try and go a little bit further away.
We're now training hard for the Everest Base Camp.
I know, I know, it's supposed to be a stroll in the park, just maybe a few hours trekking uphill (although "uphill" may be the understatement of the century since we'r talking about the roof of the world!!!), technically very easy and last year an 84 year old woman did it so why can't I?
Yeah, let's have a look at things in a slightly different way.
At 5000 m above sea level, the level of oxygen is 50% of what we are used to.
This makes any of your steps feel like a 10 minutes run.
Anyone who suffered from acute mountain sickness knows what I'm talking about.
The headache, the breathlessness, the feeling that even covering the distance of 10 metres is absolutely impossible.
That's why we are training, and I know that AMS has got nothing to do with your level of fitness but if you're preparing for trekking to Everest Base Camp and it's been the dream of your lifetime you feel like you have to do something.
At least if I fail I will know it's not because I'm not fit!
I haven't read the book yet, since I feel like I will allow myself to read it when I will have many more hours of running in my log.
But that doesn't mean I can't have my own feelings about this powerful activity, so here we go.
I find it liberating.
It's probably the closest a human being can get to the sensation of flying like a bird.
At first I always struggle, I don't pant (especially when I'm fit), but each and every time that I take those first steps after lacing up the shoes I wonder why I'm doing it. I almost always regret running for the first couple of minutes.
I think about the long distance that I have to cover and I start immediately to find excuses to shorten it.
My running shoes are old and they are actually hurting my feet, or my back's not 100%, or I should try and be back home earlier to attend to that chore....
The number of times my feet go forward one in front of the other corresponds to the number of times I think about quitting and walk back home.
But then it gets easier.
Slowly the breathing finds its rhythm, the legs feel lighter, the surroundings don't look boring anymore and I begin to think that maybe I can make it till that street crossing over there.
When I reach the street crossing I don't feel too bad so maybe I can try and go a little bit further, not much, just the school at the corner, just to see if I can make it.
And then I reach the school and I actually feel good and think maybe I can run a bit more, who knows, maybe I can match the distance I did yesterday, let's see.
And on I go.
And when I finally get back home, already sore and breathless, the sense of accomplishment puts me on a fantastic mood.
I didn't do much, I just run for an hour, but I feel like I've conquered some never before reached limit and beyond, I feel like if I can do this there's nothing I cannot do.
And I swear to myself that tomorrow I will do it again and maybe I'll try and go a little bit further away.
We're now training hard for the Everest Base Camp.
I know, I know, it's supposed to be a stroll in the park, just maybe a few hours trekking uphill (although "uphill" may be the understatement of the century since we'r talking about the roof of the world!!!), technically very easy and last year an 84 year old woman did it so why can't I?
Yeah, let's have a look at things in a slightly different way.
At 5000 m above sea level, the level of oxygen is 50% of what we are used to.
This makes any of your steps feel like a 10 minutes run.
Anyone who suffered from acute mountain sickness knows what I'm talking about.
The headache, the breathlessness, the feeling that even covering the distance of 10 metres is absolutely impossible.
That's why we are training, and I know that AMS has got nothing to do with your level of fitness but if you're preparing for trekking to Everest Base Camp and it's been the dream of your lifetime you feel like you have to do something.
At least if I fail I will know it's not because I'm not fit!
Thursday 21 April 2011
this is a test
trying to check whether the email setup will allow me to publish posts directly from my email
Wednesday 20 April 2011
7 weeks to go yeay!
Yesterday we received confirmation that our deposit arrived in Nepal and therefore our trip was secured!
It really feels like we're going! We're slowly crossing out stuff to do from the long list and I'm kind of worried that I won't be able to read all the books we bought before actually going there.
I was appalled at the severe restrictions on the literature you can bring in.
Practically nothing, not even your faithful Lonely Planet guide.
Not only could it be confiscated, but if they find it during an inspection at the airport in Lhasa and you failed to declare it they can actually deny you entry to Tibet!!!!
I'm definitely not going to risk it.
It would be stupid, after so many years that I'm longing for this trip that has been my dream since like forever!
The alternative is making photocopies of the pages of the places we're going to visit and if they ask what they are we can easily show them there's nothing political in them, or maybe just study everything before we get there and try and remember....
Shouldn't be to difficult, after all when I was in high school my Art professor taught us how to memorize just about everything!
He was famous for being terrifyingly severe.
He used to call you out for a random interrogation, tell you the name of an obscure artist and ask you to talk about him.
9 out of 10 you had no chance of knowing who this person was and when you gave up the prof just gave you a 4 (an F in the american system) and sent you back to your desk. And that 4 remained until the end of the year when you had to study like a fool not to be failed.
I remember my very first interrogation, he told me a name I've never ever heard before (and I had studied hard), but since it sounded greek I thought it could have been either a painter or a sculptor so I tried my luck with sculptor and got it right!!! Even the prof was stunned that I actually knew the answer and he looked at me rather surprised and asked me to go ahead.
Obviously I really knew nothing about this guy sculptor but since the guessing game was evidently on my side that day I went on with it. I think I blubbered out a coupe of things that can be said for any sculptor of that era and after a couple of minutes the prof said ok and asked me something much easier. I went back to my desk with an 8 (and A).
I wasn't always lucky so I too had to study hundreds and hundreds of pages, endless names of artists whose production was sometimes just one remarkable piece and a few psychotic episodes....
So here comes my skill at memorising data.
Wikipedia is obviously also banned but I might be able to check the online version of the LP guide.
Ok, better get started!
It really feels like we're going! We're slowly crossing out stuff to do from the long list and I'm kind of worried that I won't be able to read all the books we bought before actually going there.
I was appalled at the severe restrictions on the literature you can bring in.
Practically nothing, not even your faithful Lonely Planet guide.
Not only could it be confiscated, but if they find it during an inspection at the airport in Lhasa and you failed to declare it they can actually deny you entry to Tibet!!!!
I'm definitely not going to risk it.
It would be stupid, after so many years that I'm longing for this trip that has been my dream since like forever!
The alternative is making photocopies of the pages of the places we're going to visit and if they ask what they are we can easily show them there's nothing political in them, or maybe just study everything before we get there and try and remember....
Shouldn't be to difficult, after all when I was in high school my Art professor taught us how to memorize just about everything!
He was famous for being terrifyingly severe.
He used to call you out for a random interrogation, tell you the name of an obscure artist and ask you to talk about him.
9 out of 10 you had no chance of knowing who this person was and when you gave up the prof just gave you a 4 (an F in the american system) and sent you back to your desk. And that 4 remained until the end of the year when you had to study like a fool not to be failed.
I remember my very first interrogation, he told me a name I've never ever heard before (and I had studied hard), but since it sounded greek I thought it could have been either a painter or a sculptor so I tried my luck with sculptor and got it right!!! Even the prof was stunned that I actually knew the answer and he looked at me rather surprised and asked me to go ahead.
Obviously I really knew nothing about this guy sculptor but since the guessing game was evidently on my side that day I went on with it. I think I blubbered out a coupe of things that can be said for any sculptor of that era and after a couple of minutes the prof said ok and asked me something much easier. I went back to my desk with an 8 (and A).
I wasn't always lucky so I too had to study hundreds and hundreds of pages, endless names of artists whose production was sometimes just one remarkable piece and a few psychotic episodes....
So here comes my skill at memorising data.
Wikipedia is obviously also banned but I might be able to check the online version of the LP guide.
Ok, better get started!
Monday 18 April 2011
Sky burials
It was back in April 2008 when I was doing my homework and reading tons of books on China that I, almost by chance, read a once famous book by Ma Jian, "Red Dust".
It's a great book, about a road trip by a chinese writer/intellectual, whose work was not completely accepted by the government, as a matter of fact some of it was banned and he was supposed to go to jail but escaped by embarking in a travel adventure throughout the whole country.
It was the early 8o's and he's literally been to all the most remote places in China.
Very interesting is his description of a tourist trap in Xian where he was lead to believe the entrance to the Terracotta Warriors was on one side, only to discover after having paid the ticket that it was a mock up and the real entrance was on the opposite site of where he got in, and had to get out and pay for a different ticket. Needless to say I was very careful when I myself joined the line to the entrance, although the "fake" entry scam is not active anymore.
Anyway it was when I was reading of his travels in Tibet that I came across the term "sky burial" for the first time.
He describes it quite well and more importantly he explains the practical reasons behind it.
Tibet is a very harsh region, its climate is very extreme and ground burial are for most part of the year impossible, since the ground is simply frozen and therefore very hard to dig.
Cremation would also be difficult since wood is one of the most important resources and sometimes very scarce to find therefore cannot be used for that purpose.
Consigning the body of the deceased to a river was known to be not safe if the deceased died of an illness.
These seem to be the main practical reasons why sky burial is the traditional way to dispose of a body in Tibet.
But let's come to the spiritual reasons.
I didn't read about them in Ma Jian's book (although I cannot really say if he did mention them or not, I can't recall), but in a book about Tibetan Buddhism.
It's all got to do with the core concepts of this particular development of the Buddhist religion.
Since it is believed that a true awakening can only be reached through a life of complete abnegation and focused on the enlightenment of all sentient beings, not just oneself, but everyone, the act of "giving" to others is very important.
This is the spiritual meaning of a sky burial.
A sky burial ceremony starts in the morning when the body of the deceased is wrapped in cloth and transported to the sky burial site.
Usually close members of the family are not attending the burial, and here again we have 2 main reasons, one very practical and one religious.
The practical one is based on the fact that witnessing the body of your beloved one going through the rite must be heart breaking (well, it would be for me anyway).
The religious one is based on the fact that the sadness and mourning of someone's family could interfere with the re-incarnation process.
Once the body reaches the burial site it is dismembered and fed to the vultures (hence the "giving" part).
I won't delve into details, I have read them but I also respect the sensibility of a ceremony that I have no rights to judge and that I don't want to spoil with my remarks.
Sky burials are still performed in Tibet and I don't know whether we'll get to see one.
I don't even know if I would want to witness one, I'll think about it if and when we'll be confronted with this possibility.
All I know is that the first time I witnessed a cremation ceremony in one of the ghats in Varanasi I was in high distress, and the second time in Pashupatinath I was still very upset, but I was at least able to observe in silence.
We'll see.
It's a great book, about a road trip by a chinese writer/intellectual, whose work was not completely accepted by the government, as a matter of fact some of it was banned and he was supposed to go to jail but escaped by embarking in a travel adventure throughout the whole country.
It was the early 8o's and he's literally been to all the most remote places in China.
Very interesting is his description of a tourist trap in Xian where he was lead to believe the entrance to the Terracotta Warriors was on one side, only to discover after having paid the ticket that it was a mock up and the real entrance was on the opposite site of where he got in, and had to get out and pay for a different ticket. Needless to say I was very careful when I myself joined the line to the entrance, although the "fake" entry scam is not active anymore.
Anyway it was when I was reading of his travels in Tibet that I came across the term "sky burial" for the first time.
He describes it quite well and more importantly he explains the practical reasons behind it.
Tibet is a very harsh region, its climate is very extreme and ground burial are for most part of the year impossible, since the ground is simply frozen and therefore very hard to dig.
Cremation would also be difficult since wood is one of the most important resources and sometimes very scarce to find therefore cannot be used for that purpose.
Consigning the body of the deceased to a river was known to be not safe if the deceased died of an illness.
These seem to be the main practical reasons why sky burial is the traditional way to dispose of a body in Tibet.
But let's come to the spiritual reasons.
I didn't read about them in Ma Jian's book (although I cannot really say if he did mention them or not, I can't recall), but in a book about Tibetan Buddhism.
It's all got to do with the core concepts of this particular development of the Buddhist religion.
Since it is believed that a true awakening can only be reached through a life of complete abnegation and focused on the enlightenment of all sentient beings, not just oneself, but everyone, the act of "giving" to others is very important.
This is the spiritual meaning of a sky burial.
A sky burial ceremony starts in the morning when the body of the deceased is wrapped in cloth and transported to the sky burial site.
Usually close members of the family are not attending the burial, and here again we have 2 main reasons, one very practical and one religious.
The practical one is based on the fact that witnessing the body of your beloved one going through the rite must be heart breaking (well, it would be for me anyway).
The religious one is based on the fact that the sadness and mourning of someone's family could interfere with the re-incarnation process.
Once the body reaches the burial site it is dismembered and fed to the vultures (hence the "giving" part).
I won't delve into details, I have read them but I also respect the sensibility of a ceremony that I have no rights to judge and that I don't want to spoil with my remarks.
Sky burials are still performed in Tibet and I don't know whether we'll get to see one.
I don't even know if I would want to witness one, I'll think about it if and when we'll be confronted with this possibility.
All I know is that the first time I witnessed a cremation ceremony in one of the ghats in Varanasi I was in high distress, and the second time in Pashupatinath I was still very upset, but I was at least able to observe in silence.
We'll see.
Sunday 17 April 2011
Just a thought about Mandalas
Have you ever seen a Mandala? A real one? Made by monks with coloured sand? They sit on the floor for hours, with sand of many different colours at their disposal, nothing but a drawing to follow.
And in the end the result is so beautiful that it may literally take your breath away.
I've seen one once and I was awestruck by the delicacy of the lines, the shiny combination of the gorgeous colours and the fine details of the drawing.
Something so beautiful it should belong to a collection, a museum, or at least be kept pristine for as long as you can.
Nope! After the Mandala has served its purpose, ceremony, festival, prayer, whatever the reason, a monk passes by with a broom and sweeps it off the floor as if it was just... sand.
I was told this is one of the most significant expression of one very important principle of Buddhism, Impermanence. Nothing lasts forever, therefore do not get too attached to things cause they will, sooner or later, perish.
It breaks your heart to see such a wonderful work of art to be destroyed in a few seconds.
But it is effective. The concept of Impermanence really stays with you after witnessing this ceremony and it makes you think, it makes you look around at all these things we cling onto with all our strength and work hard to keep them shiny. And you can't help but thinking that maybe not everything we have is really necessary. You start with the "nice" things, everyone knows that we don't need "nice" things, if they were strictly necessary we wouldn't call them "nice", we would just call them "things".
Then you think you could live without a car, or could you? I suppose so, I could take the public transport, or I could take the bike... could I live without a bike? Well, yes... and so on until you dare to do the unthinkable and start wondering if you could live exactly like a monk, with nothing. Because monks cannot have anything, I'm not even sure they possess the robes they wear. They cannot earn money, therefore they have to beg to receive food and they live off the offerings of kind people.
I remember once I was in Cambodia and we were in a restaurant, exhausted after a long day of walking along the temples.
At a certain point the owner of the restaurant literally put his hands on his head and produced an expression of surprise and pain at the same time, looking outside.
I looked in the same direction and saw a monk standing just inside the entrance of the restaurant, silent, patiently waiting for someone to give him some food.
It is bad merit if you do not feed a monk, that's why the owner was flushed by consternation, he was busy by serving us so he didn't see the monk at the entrance, who's been standing there for who knows how long...
We all felt sorry for him, the owner, not the monk, since the monk smiled broadly when he finally received some rice, he bowed and left.
Could I live like a monk? Absolutely not, I'm way too spoiled, but I certainly admire their courage.
And in the end the result is so beautiful that it may literally take your breath away.
I've seen one once and I was awestruck by the delicacy of the lines, the shiny combination of the gorgeous colours and the fine details of the drawing.
Something so beautiful it should belong to a collection, a museum, or at least be kept pristine for as long as you can.
Nope! After the Mandala has served its purpose, ceremony, festival, prayer, whatever the reason, a monk passes by with a broom and sweeps it off the floor as if it was just... sand.
I was told this is one of the most significant expression of one very important principle of Buddhism, Impermanence. Nothing lasts forever, therefore do not get too attached to things cause they will, sooner or later, perish.
It breaks your heart to see such a wonderful work of art to be destroyed in a few seconds.
But it is effective. The concept of Impermanence really stays with you after witnessing this ceremony and it makes you think, it makes you look around at all these things we cling onto with all our strength and work hard to keep them shiny. And you can't help but thinking that maybe not everything we have is really necessary. You start with the "nice" things, everyone knows that we don't need "nice" things, if they were strictly necessary we wouldn't call them "nice", we would just call them "things".
Then you think you could live without a car, or could you? I suppose so, I could take the public transport, or I could take the bike... could I live without a bike? Well, yes... and so on until you dare to do the unthinkable and start wondering if you could live exactly like a monk, with nothing. Because monks cannot have anything, I'm not even sure they possess the robes they wear. They cannot earn money, therefore they have to beg to receive food and they live off the offerings of kind people.
I remember once I was in Cambodia and we were in a restaurant, exhausted after a long day of walking along the temples.
At a certain point the owner of the restaurant literally put his hands on his head and produced an expression of surprise and pain at the same time, looking outside.
I looked in the same direction and saw a monk standing just inside the entrance of the restaurant, silent, patiently waiting for someone to give him some food.
It is bad merit if you do not feed a monk, that's why the owner was flushed by consternation, he was busy by serving us so he didn't see the monk at the entrance, who's been standing there for who knows how long...
We all felt sorry for him, the owner, not the monk, since the monk smiled broadly when he finally received some rice, he bowed and left.
Could I live like a monk? Absolutely not, I'm way too spoiled, but I certainly admire their courage.
Friday 15 April 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)