The Hadith says that every Muslim man should know archery, swimming, and riding. Horses and camels are of utmost importance to the Muslims. Hence it is no surprise that these animals are such a large part of their culture. Horses can be seen everywhere around the UAE, to the extent that they have a 3 week long festival dedicated to horses and horse culture. Sharing the love for horses myself, I have begun going riding to Al Jiyad stables in Dubai. Owned by Ali Al Marzooqi, the stable is one of the best in Dubai, training champions in endurance riding. This weekend Ali took me through his private stable to show off some of his champion horses. It was here that I saw the side of the man that is not usually associated with Arabs. His love for his horses was something I had never seen before. It is a love that has ruined every relationship he has been in, because there is no woman that Ali has loved more than his horses. Seeing the way Ali touched, cared for, and talked about his horses inspired me to show this side of him to the world; it was the purest love I had ever seen.
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Visiting Thai Buddhist temples can provide one not only an aesthetic and spiritual experience but also allows to learn the basics of Buddhism and its principles, which are explained sentence by sentence on metal boards also in English (rarely, with funny accidental mistakes). This is the collection of 52 such Buddhist pearls of wisdom captured on photos: 24 of them coming from Wat Phare Rachsamjammadhevesrnechai (Buddhist temple near Tham Chiang Dao cave complex), and 28 - from Wat Tham Pha Plong (Buddhist temple in Chiang Dao 500 steps up a beautiful mountain in the middle of jungles). Buddhist Pearl of Wisdom "Today is better than two tomorrows" in Wat Phare Rachsamjammadhevesrnechai, Thailand, 2015. By Kristine Sergejeva Buddhist Pearls of Wisdom from Wat Phare Rachsamjammadhevesrnechai Buddhist Pearls of Wisdom from Wat Tham Pha Plong With this photography-based story, our new regular contributor, Latvian photographer Magda Jentgen who is currently living in Dubai, UAE, starts her series of weekly posts on exploring visually and conceptually the "strange" and different culture she is now living in. These posts will investigate the concept of "otherness" as well as similarities and differences between radically distant cultures, the one of the viewer, and the one of the viewed. Last night was spent at a friends' goodbye BBQ party in the Al Warqaa desert in Dubai. When we arrived at location, before us lay the trashed desert. While once it used to be the home for the Bedouin population, it has now become a popular hangout spot for the younger generation. The desert used to be sacred, but now it has become a dumpster for the used plastic cups and cigarette buds.
The term Badawî which is where the term Bedouin comes from, literally means plain or desert. They are the people of the desert. It is their home and was once their way of life. However, here in Dubai, with the boom of the oil industry, a large part of that lifestyle diminished in just a few decades. While it may be easy to transform the lifestyle of these people, it is much harder to change the culture and the mindset of them. I found that out last night, when I spent the night in the desert with the descendants of the Bedouins. While they did not grow up being nomads like their ancestors, the love for the desert is still in their blood. It could be seen in everything, from the way they set up camp, to the way they served their traditional tea. As an outsider it is always fascinating for me to see the few people left of the younger generation who still embrace their Emirati heritage and try to upkeep their traditions. However, it is sad to see the beautiful red sand dunes become trashed by the ones who do not understand just how much they used to mean to a Bedouin. On my map, the Chinatown district of Bangkok seemed tiny and walkable within one hour. But it took me a half day to stroll through it. So many colors; smell of rubber and fried food; little doggies, cats and also birds, which are treated as good as humans; entangled cables; Chinese symbols mixed with Buddhist and Hinduism icons and hideaways; canals covered with oily layer; roaring bikes, cars and buses mingling with bicycles and tuk-tuks; eyes feeling sticky from the heavy pollution; kind and non-inflicting smiles of strangers.. I would not have noticed it, if our shy bicycle tour guide had not turned our attention to it. This small circular sun- or wheel-like symbol at the fence of one of the Buddhist Wat (monastery-temple) buildings. It represents Dharma - teachings given by the Buddha in three so-called turnings. If the first and the second turnings focus on truths and the essence of all phenomena (and are being too conceptual), then the third one for me has always been illuminating and promising: it says that every single sentient being possess Buddha nature. Everyone can and will become a Buddha at some point! In order to illustrate it, I would like to quote Khenpo Sodargye from his book "Mysteries of the World According to Buddhism": Bangkok, Thailand, February 2015, by Kristine Sergejeva
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About BlogDAO.sophy is a platform for sharing stories in words and images of those who are searching their Dao (Way) in the contemporary world. Archives
January 2019
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