Why is it so dark, it's the middle of the day? The house is freezing. Half my plants are dead. Bills outnumber Christmas cards by a factor of 10. Junk mail outnumbers bills by a factor of 100.
The car won't start. I trudge to the supermarket for some essentials: Cheddar, Stilton, that sort of thing. And some seasonal booze. Nobody smiles, nobody even looks at me. Was I ever away?
I do some washing and the kitchen floods with brown sludge. Jesus, this is worse than Cambodia.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Kayaking in the mangroves north of Ao Nang. Excellent: 4 hours on a circuit, taking in coastal caves then a very deep canyon cutting into the steep limestone landscape. There are tons of crags that you just want to climb. As you go on, the canyon gives way to a huge area of mangroves, really quiet and total wilderness - there's no other way of getting to this place and sometimes the channel was only just enough to allow a kayak to pass. Saw monkeys, weird crabs, pipefish and a big scary monitor lizard.
Brigitte (the other half of the '6c Team' as we came to call ourselves, initially half-jokingly but then we meant it, man) leading p3 of Humanality, Ton Sai Wall. Skinny arms but charmed with uniquely bendy style, every move featuring a heel-hook, toe-jam, kneebar, impossibly wide bridge or some other crafty piece of footwork. 'So you don't need muscle to climb?' a French friend asked. Trouble was, he was asking me.
Krabi. Just eaten a delicious Pad Thai at the night market, watching a red moon rise over the river. Had an excellent morning kayaking around mangrove swamps on the coast - pics will follow.
In case anyone suspects that 'What Afterlife..,' represents a mid-life crisis, I should say that it's just a passing interest. Some people want to achieve immortality through redemption, others want to achieve it through their work. I'm with Woody Allen, I want to achieve it by not dying.
In case anyone suspects that 'What Afterlife..,' represents a mid-life crisis, I should say that it's just a passing interest. Some people want to achieve immortality through redemption, others want to achieve it through their work. I'm with Woody Allen, I want to achieve it by not dying.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Tonsai. A difficult place to leave! But the climbing's over and I'm moving on tomorrow. Today has been beautifully sunny, but there have also been days of torrential rain. In fact, the cool rainy days spent on overhanging, stalactite-encrusted limestone have been brilliant, even though I find the climbing intimidating and mentally exhausting. It's sooo steep!
Apart from a half-morning wasted with an unfortunate choice of partner (a tosser from Essex, who annoyed me so much I gave up climbing for the day and went to a Thai cookery class instead), all the climbing has been good or brilliant, and here's a list of the best. Climbers who have no interest in Thailand should look away now. Anyone else will give up soon enough...
Best crags: The Keep, Thaiwand, Eagle Wall, The Nest/Wild Kingdom.
Best routes: everything at The Keep, including Nutcracker (6c, technical wall) and Medusa's Lover (easy 6c); One-Two-Three: busy and polished but Make a Way (6a+) is smart; The Defile: Baboon's Ass (6b, reachy, slopey and pumpy), Monkey Gone to Heaven (6b, weird rounded groove, hard), Mai Pen Rai (6a+, good slab shock-horror!!); Thaiwand: Equatorial (6c, didn't bag this one, but one day), Circus Oz (p1 6a+, good position), Tyrolean Wall: Missing Snow (6b+, steep face); Ton Sai Wall: Humanality (5, 6a, 6b, 6b+, 6b, blank wall on p4 calls for a spacey 'behind you' stalactite manouvre); Eagle wall: Desayuno de Nono (6b), Lost in Space (6b), Where Eagles Don't Dare (6a+); The Nest/Wild Kingdom: Dozer Days (6c, wild overhanging stalactite) and Mutual of Omaha (6c, steep pump on good holds).
Apart from a half-morning wasted with an unfortunate choice of partner (a tosser from Essex, who annoyed me so much I gave up climbing for the day and went to a Thai cookery class instead), all the climbing has been good or brilliant, and here's a list of the best. Climbers who have no interest in Thailand should look away now. Anyone else will give up soon enough...
Best crags: The Keep, Thaiwand, Eagle Wall, The Nest/Wild Kingdom.
Best routes: everything at The Keep, including Nutcracker (6c, technical wall) and Medusa's Lover (easy 6c); One-Two-Three: busy and polished but Make a Way (6a+) is smart; The Defile: Baboon's Ass (6b, reachy, slopey and pumpy), Monkey Gone to Heaven (6b, weird rounded groove, hard), Mai Pen Rai (6a+, good slab shock-horror!!); Thaiwand: Equatorial (6c, didn't bag this one, but one day), Circus Oz (p1 6a+, good position), Tyrolean Wall: Missing Snow (6b+, steep face); Ton Sai Wall: Humanality (5, 6a, 6b, 6b+, 6b, blank wall on p4 calls for a spacey 'behind you' stalactite manouvre); Eagle wall: Desayuno de Nono (6b), Lost in Space (6b), Where Eagles Don't Dare (6a+); The Nest/Wild Kingdom: Dozer Days (6c, wild overhanging stalactite) and Mutual of Omaha (6c, steep pump on good holds).
Monday, December 12, 2005
Pain? she asks. Yes! I reply. Still? she enquires, pressing on the same spot even harder. Yes! I reply. Still? she asks, thumbs mercilessly probing. Ouch! Climbing muscles! she says, pummeling hard and grinning. I Thai-box you ahaha! she grins, whacking my aching body with her clenched fists. It's only pain, I tell myself. She discovers my weak spots and exploits them mercillessly. Then she throws in a few all-in wrestling moves and I am thoroughly defeated. This goes on for about an hour, after which I'm not even sure if I can stand up.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Three days' climbing. Yes yes! But now everything hurts! Total systems failure! I know just the thing...an hour's Thai massage!
Therebefore, am reaquainting myself with the Real World in Ao Nang, where they have roads, vehicles, shops, and a MacDonalds. And Cheese! And pizza Quattro Formaggio!
And the new Kate Bush CD (for 100 Baht, or about one pound fifty; version 1.pirate). I can't play it because I've 'upgraded' my mobile travel listening system from CD-man to i-pod, so anybody reading please let me know what she's up to in her latest incarnation. What I can do is muse over the sleeve photos, and remember how I once yearned futilely and agonisingly to somehow comfort the lovely but troubled goddess who gave us This Woman's Work, which sends even more shivers up and down my spine than This Charming Man by The Smiths, and is therefore the best song in the whole world ever. For today, anyway.
Which leads us, in yet another seamless transition, to the next installment of...
What Afterlife...? I was trying to keep it descriptive, but in this case the subject matter lends itself to one or two judicious comments...
Q3. What about...Creation?
Christianity: Six days' graft, job's a good un. Welcome to the the Working Week.
Hinduism. Hinduism wins again in the colour and imagination stakes. Hindu creationism sees the current universe as one of a series of cyclical Creations, in which Shiva's Dance of Death signals the end before a new Universe is created from the old. Several creation myths then, including one involving a navel (Vishnu's or Brahma's, I forget) turning into a lotus flower that spawns Shiva, if I remember rightly. Even weirder is the Churning of the Sea of Milk (as illustrated in an Angkor bas-releif, a pic of which I posted previously), which goes like this: under Vishnu's direction, Mount Mandara, home of the Gods, is encircled by the giant multi-headed serpent (or Naga) called Vasuki. Vasuki acts as a string that spins the mountain when pulled to-and-fro, by Gods and Asuras at either end of Vasiki's body. This spinning goes on for 1000 years, mixing up the cosmic sea or Sea of Milk, while an avatar of Vishnu in the form of the giant turtle Kurma supports the mountain from below to stop it sinking. Eventually all the animals and plants and other stuff are created from the churned Sea of Milk. Meanwhile, the Gods vie for its elixir of immortality, or Amrita, so they can carry on being immortal. Whether Hindus really believes these myths, or whether they are thought of as allegorical, I cannot yet say but I'll be asking around.
Buddhism. No creation myth. The question of creation is pointless, apparently, because our senses fool us and we cannot believe that the world around us really exists in any way outside our own heads. Well, we are turning out to be an elusive religion, aren't we? Might we just be a philosophy, instead?
Hinduism seems to break from the norm again by having multiple creation myths. The Sea of Milk myth strikes me as equivalent to that favourite straw-man of Christian creationists: putting all the bits of a clock in a box and shaking it for a long time. And that will never work, right? Wrong, I say, if a) you have infinite time on your hands and b) you choose exactly when to stop so you don't shake the clock to bits again. In the case of the Sea of Milk, the added Vishnu factor presumably cuts the time down to a manageable span. Many observers have commented on the similarities between Hinduist cycles of destruction and creation, and Big Bang theory.
The Buddhist dogma of the subjectivity of everything amounts to a denial of Science, refusing as it does to allow objective truth, or falsification by scientific method. Also it's no fun, as pointless questions are usually the most interesting ones.
In many American states, Christian creationists have won a battle to teach distorted misrepresentations of conventional biology, and pseudoscientific constructs supporting creationism, some of which are quite deliberately false and misleading. They call this Intelligent Design. Modern evolutionary theory soundly based on Darwinism and mutable self-replicating molecules is a well-established theory. Intelligent Design is not a scientific theory. In any case, only deluded people think that all theories are equal. It seems to me that if you're capable of believing in creation by any one of a number of postulated greater forces for which no evidence exists, or in fabricated and falsifiable evidence supporting them, then you're capable of believing in anything at all.
Therebefore, am reaquainting myself with the Real World in Ao Nang, where they have roads, vehicles, shops, and a MacDonalds. And Cheese! And pizza Quattro Formaggio!
And the new Kate Bush CD (for 100 Baht, or about one pound fifty; version 1.pirate). I can't play it because I've 'upgraded' my mobile travel listening system from CD-man to i-pod, so anybody reading please let me know what she's up to in her latest incarnation. What I can do is muse over the sleeve photos, and remember how I once yearned futilely and agonisingly to somehow comfort the lovely but troubled goddess who gave us This Woman's Work, which sends even more shivers up and down my spine than This Charming Man by The Smiths, and is therefore the best song in the whole world ever. For today, anyway.
Which leads us, in yet another seamless transition, to the next installment of...
What Afterlife...? I was trying to keep it descriptive, but in this case the subject matter lends itself to one or two judicious comments...
Q3. What about...Creation?
Christianity: Six days' graft, job's a good un. Welcome to the the Working Week.
Hinduism. Hinduism wins again in the colour and imagination stakes. Hindu creationism sees the current universe as one of a series of cyclical Creations, in which Shiva's Dance of Death signals the end before a new Universe is created from the old. Several creation myths then, including one involving a navel (Vishnu's or Brahma's, I forget) turning into a lotus flower that spawns Shiva, if I remember rightly. Even weirder is the Churning of the Sea of Milk (as illustrated in an Angkor bas-releif, a pic of which I posted previously), which goes like this: under Vishnu's direction, Mount Mandara, home of the Gods, is encircled by the giant multi-headed serpent (or Naga) called Vasuki. Vasuki acts as a string that spins the mountain when pulled to-and-fro, by Gods and Asuras at either end of Vasiki's body. This spinning goes on for 1000 years, mixing up the cosmic sea or Sea of Milk, while an avatar of Vishnu in the form of the giant turtle Kurma supports the mountain from below to stop it sinking. Eventually all the animals and plants and other stuff are created from the churned Sea of Milk. Meanwhile, the Gods vie for its elixir of immortality, or Amrita, so they can carry on being immortal. Whether Hindus really believes these myths, or whether they are thought of as allegorical, I cannot yet say but I'll be asking around.
Buddhism. No creation myth. The question of creation is pointless, apparently, because our senses fool us and we cannot believe that the world around us really exists in any way outside our own heads. Well, we are turning out to be an elusive religion, aren't we? Might we just be a philosophy, instead?
Hinduism seems to break from the norm again by having multiple creation myths. The Sea of Milk myth strikes me as equivalent to that favourite straw-man of Christian creationists: putting all the bits of a clock in a box and shaking it for a long time. And that will never work, right? Wrong, I say, if a) you have infinite time on your hands and b) you choose exactly when to stop so you don't shake the clock to bits again. In the case of the Sea of Milk, the added Vishnu factor presumably cuts the time down to a manageable span. Many observers have commented on the similarities between Hinduist cycles of destruction and creation, and Big Bang theory.
The Buddhist dogma of the subjectivity of everything amounts to a denial of Science, refusing as it does to allow objective truth, or falsification by scientific method. Also it's no fun, as pointless questions are usually the most interesting ones.
In many American states, Christian creationists have won a battle to teach distorted misrepresentations of conventional biology, and pseudoscientific constructs supporting creationism, some of which are quite deliberately false and misleading. They call this Intelligent Design. Modern evolutionary theory soundly based on Darwinism and mutable self-replicating molecules is a well-established theory. Intelligent Design is not a scientific theory. In any case, only deluded people think that all theories are equal. It seems to me that if you're capable of believing in creation by any one of a number of postulated greater forces for which no evidence exists, or in fabricated and falsifiable evidence supporting them, then you're capable of believing in anything at all.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Found some delicious Wonderloaf today and had banana butties. Cheese obsession has melted slightly.
I dived, or (seriously, someone from America said this yesterday...) dove, yesterday: 3 good dives (doves?), but visibility was rubbish compared with last week. First dive was a wrecked ferry at about 22m; not sure about wreck diving; until the reef builds up it's a bit like going to the scrapyard for a trip out. Lots of cleaner fish nipping my legs, that was a bit freaky until I realised they don't actually bite. Much better were Shark Point and Anemone Reef. Beautiful, beautiful, just beautiful.
Also had good snorkelling a couple of days ago when I tracked a big cuttlefish for about 10 minutes, watching it constantly change colour in dazzling ripples of unbeleivable variety. How do they do that? Then when I got too close, it shot off backwards using jet-propulsion: see ya mate. They have big intelligent eyes, and brains that wired very differently from vertebrates: aliens, basically. I want to know more. And coral snakes foraging around on the sea floor - they can hold their breath for yonks, it must come with the slow reptilian metabolic rate.
Did some 'deep water soloing' out on the local islands, but couldn't psyche for the big drops. Testosterone-driven maniacs like Yorkshire Alex, and oestrogen-driven sisters from California doing it for themselves, were soloing and jumping off from 45 feet up like back injuries never happen. I was content to back off the cruxes and jump in from 15 feet, along with the majority of motley punters forming the 2-boat team. Maybe next time...
Today cooler, and didn't rain. Puurrfect for crankin'. Sent 5 quality routes at Eagle Wall, which looks like Shorncliffe or Wintour's Leap from the ground but there the resemblance happily ends. Maybe the cool season is here at last...
Ton Sai: every night there's a gathering for food and beer, usually starting the Sea of Love cafe. They have a saying here: 'Same same but different', like John Peel descibing The Fall! Nothing and everything happens day-in day-out...might just stay here for another week or two...
I dived, or (seriously, someone from America said this yesterday...) dove, yesterday: 3 good dives (doves?), but visibility was rubbish compared with last week. First dive was a wrecked ferry at about 22m; not sure about wreck diving; until the reef builds up it's a bit like going to the scrapyard for a trip out. Lots of cleaner fish nipping my legs, that was a bit freaky until I realised they don't actually bite. Much better were Shark Point and Anemone Reef. Beautiful, beautiful, just beautiful.
Also had good snorkelling a couple of days ago when I tracked a big cuttlefish for about 10 minutes, watching it constantly change colour in dazzling ripples of unbeleivable variety. How do they do that? Then when I got too close, it shot off backwards using jet-propulsion: see ya mate. They have big intelligent eyes, and brains that wired very differently from vertebrates: aliens, basically. I want to know more. And coral snakes foraging around on the sea floor - they can hold their breath for yonks, it must come with the slow reptilian metabolic rate.
Did some 'deep water soloing' out on the local islands, but couldn't psyche for the big drops. Testosterone-driven maniacs like Yorkshire Alex, and oestrogen-driven sisters from California doing it for themselves, were soloing and jumping off from 45 feet up like back injuries never happen. I was content to back off the cruxes and jump in from 15 feet, along with the majority of motley punters forming the 2-boat team. Maybe next time...
Today cooler, and didn't rain. Puurrfect for crankin'. Sent 5 quality routes at Eagle Wall, which looks like Shorncliffe or Wintour's Leap from the ground but there the resemblance happily ends. Maybe the cool season is here at last...
Ton Sai: every night there's a gathering for food and beer, usually starting the Sea of Love cafe. They have a saying here: 'Same same but different', like John Peel descibing The Fall! Nothing and everything happens day-in day-out...might just stay here for another week or two...
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Stilton, Brie, Gruyere, Roquefort, Lancashire, Emmental, Jarlsberg, hard cheese, creamy cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, any cheese. I yearn, I desire, I lust, I ache, for cheese.
Bread, fresh bread, the smell of bread, crusty white, malted granary, baguette, oven bottom, pitta, rolls, buns, breadcakes, wholemeal, chappatti, nan, fougasse, onion-bread, croque monsieur, croissant, pain-au-chocolate.
Bread and cheese. Cheese on toast.
I have to stop now.
Bread, fresh bread, the smell of bread, crusty white, malted granary, baguette, oven bottom, pitta, rolls, buns, breadcakes, wholemeal, chappatti, nan, fougasse, onion-bread, croque monsieur, croissant, pain-au-chocolate.
Bread and cheese. Cheese on toast.
I have to stop now.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Ton Sai, 30 Nov. The smallness of the world, even the climbing world, is a given, but it's still incredible who you meet at the crag/cafe/bar/hangout... First off, a Polish/American couple who I met at the crag near Chiang Mai (OK, not so unlikely, as there are basically about 3 places to climb in Thailand), who have been excellent company over a few beers and green curries. They live in Boulder, CO, but don't know Andy Donson (which detracts from my thread a bit, but there you go. Andy?). Then, next morning over a coffee I meet Yorkshire Alex, who I'd only met once, a year ago, at Widdop (a crag near Hebden Bridge). I didn't place him immediately but that was all right as I bumped into him again in Wee's Bar last night (this shack in the woods has already lodged a firm spot in my World Top 10 of Hospitable Premises). Lastly, I was climbing yesterday with a Finnish woman of impressively muscular physique, appellation Erika. Let me think...climbers in Finland? Hang on...Dave Smith - we used to work in the same lab at Bristol Uni and would go down to Avon Gorge sometimes when the boss was away for the day. Now lives in Turku...I casually mention this, and it's 'Oh yes Dave, of course, I go cross-country skiing with him!' Turns out it's the same Dave Smith too. What are the chances of that?
And so...today went diving out near Ko Phi Phi; 2 dives, the first one awesome! Reef only 8/10, but massive shoals of fish, especially jack and tuna out from the reef, everywhere, and big shoals of sizeable colourful fish nearer to the reef. All the usual parrot- and lionfish, plus some very weird ghost fish and pipefish. Incredibly primitive-looking anemones, almost irridescent blues and greens, a huge blue starfish, and sea slugs like caterpillars on steroids. Someone claimed to have seen a (black-tipped reef) shark, but there's always one...
And so...today went diving out near Ko Phi Phi; 2 dives, the first one awesome! Reef only 8/10, but massive shoals of fish, especially jack and tuna out from the reef, everywhere, and big shoals of sizeable colourful fish nearer to the reef. All the usual parrot- and lionfish, plus some very weird ghost fish and pipefish. Incredibly primitive-looking anemones, almost irridescent blues and greens, a huge blue starfish, and sea slugs like caterpillars on steroids. Someone claimed to have seen a (black-tipped reef) shark, but there's always one...
Monday, November 28, 2005
Just read my book all day. Heavenly. Which brings me to...
Q2. What about...Heaven and Hell ?
Judeo-Christianity/Islam. Heaven: meant to be a hot ticket; exact nature undisclosed but aspirations vary from floating on a small cloud playing a harp (Christians) to having your own harem (indoctrinated young Muslim terrorists). General consensus that, even if not much goes on, it beats going to Hell, where you have to watch reality TV and cookery programmes all day and night. And no ad breaks.
Hinduism. 37 Heavens, where activities range from sitting around contentedly, to endless cavorting with willing apsaras (irressistable females who provide endless sensual pleasures). Not clear whether you get to choose which option, or whether women can opt for male apsaras if they want, or even if they can get in. Yama, the God of Judgement, with the help of his 2 assessors Dharma and Chutrayupta, make the call, but kings, nobles etc get a free pass to aspara Heaven. Haples sinners are hurled through a trapdoor to one of 32 alternative Hells where the punishments fit the crimes. Confusingly, reincarnation is also allowed.
Buddhism. There is no Heaven, and no Hell. There is even no soul that could go to either place. Life is supposed to be suffering, and to escape it is the aim. Nirvana, the mind-boggling state of nothingness, comes if-and-when you achieve enlightenment and escape the cycle of rebirth and death. So one way of looking at it would be that we are in Hell already. On the whole, Buddhists seem a pretty happy bunch though, here in Hell...
Q2. What about...Heaven and Hell ?
Judeo-Christianity/Islam. Heaven: meant to be a hot ticket; exact nature undisclosed but aspirations vary from floating on a small cloud playing a harp (Christians) to having your own harem (indoctrinated young Muslim terrorists). General consensus that, even if not much goes on, it beats going to Hell, where you have to watch reality TV and cookery programmes all day and night. And no ad breaks.
Hinduism. 37 Heavens, where activities range from sitting around contentedly, to endless cavorting with willing apsaras (irressistable females who provide endless sensual pleasures). Not clear whether you get to choose which option, or whether women can opt for male apsaras if they want, or even if they can get in. Yama, the God of Judgement, with the help of his 2 assessors Dharma and Chutrayupta, make the call, but kings, nobles etc get a free pass to aspara Heaven. Haples sinners are hurled through a trapdoor to one of 32 alternative Hells where the punishments fit the crimes. Confusingly, reincarnation is also allowed.
Buddhism. There is no Heaven, and no Hell. There is even no soul that could go to either place. Life is supposed to be suffering, and to escape it is the aim. Nirvana, the mind-boggling state of nothingness, comes if-and-when you achieve enlightenment and escape the cycle of rebirth and death. So one way of looking at it would be that we are in Hell already. On the whole, Buddhists seem a pretty happy bunch though, here in Hell...
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Ton Sai, near Krabi, S Thailand. Arrived here yesterday by long-tail boat (not all the way from Sukhothai, obviously; just the last bit). Ton Sai is a little beach and village surrounded by limestone crags, some small some huge, and the easiest way to get around is by boat. Have rented a wood-and-straw bungalow in the woods (about 4 notes/night), and there's climbing, diving and sea-kayaking all within easy reach. Yes yes! Hooked up with some S Africans today and did a few 6b's and 6b plus routes over at East Railay. Steep. Don't think I'll be sending 6c onsight or 7a worked, Crazy Horse-stylee, 'til maybe I get a little fitter.
Have been to the legendary Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia, since my last post. Cambodia is really crummy: lots of hassle, people trying to make money from you all the time, and rip-off prices for foreigners. Maybe that's just because there are so many tourists at Siem Reap. The country is still in an economic trough since the collapse of Communism and the Khmer Rouge some 13 years ago, and you can't really blame its underemployed and poor inhabitants for flocking to Siem Reap to fleece the rich for their dollaz. Anyway, it doesn't inspire you to explore further than the immediate Angkor area, which is quite enough to be going on with. Angkor is just amazing. No point in trying to describe the ruins, I'll post some pics at a later date.
The bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat have encouraged me to begin to get to grips with that most bizarre and complex religion, Hinduism. As an entity in itself, it seems to defy description and classification: it's about as multi-theistic as you could want, and it also seems to have lots of alternative belief-systems built into it. For example, there is a belief in reincarnation and also in Heaven. That I just don't get. However, when you compare and contrast it with other major faiths, things get quite interesting.
Lets imagine you are shopping for the best deal after death, and you want some practical help in a bewildering and competitive market. This new, ill-informed but easy-to follow, online resource What Afterlife?...for those with an existence to play with who know they will one day bite the Big One and want to back a winner. May cause Professors of Comparative Religion to hang their heads worldwide. The format is a simple Q and A...I might put some scores together later, we'll see how it goes...
Q1.What about...God?
Judeo-Christian/Islam: one God, mysterious in appearance but almost certainly bearded. Address unknown; thought to be Heaven. Quite active at first; wrathful and terrifying in the Old Testament and other texts; seems to have lost interest in human affairs about 2000 years ago. Rumours of extended gardening leave or early retirement fail to deter enthusiasts.
Hinduism: 3 top Gods and another 18 major ones. Each one rides a mount such as a chariot or elephant, and you can choose your favourite God, or worship different ones depending on what you want to happen next week. Gods can appear in different forms (eg as themselves or as an avatar, ie human or animal, or even both at the same time), are always fucking and fighting, and a multitude of colourful legends abound about their activities and exploits. Again, their complete inactivity over the last few millenia doesn't seem to deter the converted. Gaudy illustrations very popular.
Buddhism: there is no God. Simps as that.
Have been to the legendary Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia, since my last post. Cambodia is really crummy: lots of hassle, people trying to make money from you all the time, and rip-off prices for foreigners. Maybe that's just because there are so many tourists at Siem Reap. The country is still in an economic trough since the collapse of Communism and the Khmer Rouge some 13 years ago, and you can't really blame its underemployed and poor inhabitants for flocking to Siem Reap to fleece the rich for their dollaz. Anyway, it doesn't inspire you to explore further than the immediate Angkor area, which is quite enough to be going on with. Angkor is just amazing. No point in trying to describe the ruins, I'll post some pics at a later date.
The bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat have encouraged me to begin to get to grips with that most bizarre and complex religion, Hinduism. As an entity in itself, it seems to defy description and classification: it's about as multi-theistic as you could want, and it also seems to have lots of alternative belief-systems built into it. For example, there is a belief in reincarnation and also in Heaven. That I just don't get. However, when you compare and contrast it with other major faiths, things get quite interesting.
Lets imagine you are shopping for the best deal after death, and you want some practical help in a bewildering and competitive market. This new, ill-informed but easy-to follow, online resource What Afterlife?...for those with an existence to play with who know they will one day bite the Big One and want to back a winner. May cause Professors of Comparative Religion to hang their heads worldwide. The format is a simple Q and A...I might put some scores together later, we'll see how it goes...
Q1.What about...God?
Judeo-Christian/Islam: one God, mysterious in appearance but almost certainly bearded. Address unknown; thought to be Heaven. Quite active at first; wrathful and terrifying in the Old Testament and other texts; seems to have lost interest in human affairs about 2000 years ago. Rumours of extended gardening leave or early retirement fail to deter enthusiasts.
Hinduism: 3 top Gods and another 18 major ones. Each one rides a mount such as a chariot or elephant, and you can choose your favourite God, or worship different ones depending on what you want to happen next week. Gods can appear in different forms (eg as themselves or as an avatar, ie human or animal, or even both at the same time), are always fucking and fighting, and a multitude of colourful legends abound about their activities and exploits. Again, their complete inactivity over the last few millenia doesn't seem to deter the converted. Gaudy illustrations very popular.
Buddhism: there is no God. Simps as that.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The great thing when you're travelling: you have time to mull over the big questions. Like, do fish know whether they're happy or not.
In Buddhism, it seems that merit can be gained not just with good behaviour, but with money. You can buy a caged bird or a trapped fish, and gain credit toward your next reincarnation when you set it free. The animals are caught especially for this purpose by people who make their living in this way. A parodox is obvious, but that doesn't necessarily help you decide the best approach to the merit-gaining business. What's a conscientious person supposed to do? Participate or not...is your merit increased if you buy a fish and release it into the river? Answer a-g...
a) Yes, because you're setting free a caged beast
b) No, because you're condoning the behaviour of the trapper, who will go and do it again
c) Yes, because the fish might be someone you cared about, like your dead uncle. Best to check for a major characteristic feature (bald patch, facial twitch, cigarette habit), before deciding. That fish might be YOU next time around. Bummer!
d) No, because the fish has no idea that it's trapped and unhappy. It's just a fish
e) Yes: although trappers are scurrilous opportunists, they have to make a living somehow and you'll gain merit for being compassionate to them
f) No, because the fish is from some pond in a back garden in the suburbs, and will die as soon as it's put the river. Or there's too much of a temperature difference between the water in it's basin and the river it's getting dumped into. Then you'll get negative merit for killing it
g) Don't know. It's all too much
Maybe if we had score charts available for each option that would help. What about terrapins? Or unappealing fish like eels? The scientists are, as ever, baffled.
In Buddhism, it seems that merit can be gained not just with good behaviour, but with money. You can buy a caged bird or a trapped fish, and gain credit toward your next reincarnation when you set it free. The animals are caught especially for this purpose by people who make their living in this way. A parodox is obvious, but that doesn't necessarily help you decide the best approach to the merit-gaining business. What's a conscientious person supposed to do? Participate or not...is your merit increased if you buy a fish and release it into the river? Answer a-g...
a) Yes, because you're setting free a caged beast
b) No, because you're condoning the behaviour of the trapper, who will go and do it again
c) Yes, because the fish might be someone you cared about, like your dead uncle. Best to check for a major characteristic feature (bald patch, facial twitch, cigarette habit), before deciding. That fish might be YOU next time around. Bummer!
d) No, because the fish has no idea that it's trapped and unhappy. It's just a fish
e) Yes: although trappers are scurrilous opportunists, they have to make a living somehow and you'll gain merit for being compassionate to them
f) No, because the fish is from some pond in a back garden in the suburbs, and will die as soon as it's put the river. Or there's too much of a temperature difference between the water in it's basin and the river it's getting dumped into. Then you'll get negative merit for killing it
g) Don't know. It's all too much
Maybe if we had score charts available for each option that would help. What about terrapins? Or unappealing fish like eels? The scientists are, as ever, baffled.
Sukhothai, old town. Lovely park consisting of a ruined city, once the capital of Thailand. Dozens of buddhas and chedis; ruins spotted about over a large area. You can hire a bike, which makes getting around quick and easy. Been a while...tarmac-to-dirt-road transition...failed to compute for a one-speed sit-up-and-beg bedstead rather than a 27-speed MTB with front sus. Splat. Holes in my hand, elbow, knee, shin and trousers. Bah... No damage to the bike, though, which was die-cast from flying mallets by heroic industrial workers in a neighbouring Communist state.
Monday, November 21, 2005
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