I came across an intersting piece of writing today which I thought I'd put on here.

An Asian View of Cultural Differences

We live in time. You live in space.
We are always at rest. You are always on the move.

We are passive. You are aggressive.
We like to contemplate. You like to act.

We accept the world as it is. You try to change the world according to your blueprint.

We live in peace with nature. You try to impose your will in her.

Religion is our first love. Technology is your passion.
We delight to think about the meaning of life.  You delight in physics.

We believe in freedom of silence. You believe in freedom of speech.
We lapse into meditation.  You strive for articulation.

We marry first, then love. You love first, then marry.
Our marriage is the beginning of a love affair. Your marriage is the happy end of a romance.
It is an indissoluble bond. It is a contract.

Our love is mute. Your love is vocal.
We try to conceal it from the world. You delight in showing it to others.

Self-denial is the secret to our survival. Self-assertiveness is the key to your success.

We are taught from the cradle to want less and less.  You are urged every day to want more and more.

We glorify austerity and renunciation. You emphasize gracious living and enjoyment.

In the sunset years of life we renounce the world and prepare for the hereafter. You retire to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Dr Mai Van Tran,

Chris,

Thanks for posting this. I'm reading a lot of Asian-themed literature prior to spending 3 months there from November '09 to February '10, which is en route to a longer stay (a year or so) in Australia. A lot of the material I'm reading alludes to a fundamentally different view on life and its complexities, so it was nice to read something as poetic and succinct on the subject.

Nice one.

Andrew

Quoted from Dr Mai Van Tran Religion is our first love. Technology is your passion.

I think Dr Mai should tell this to the guys from Sony.

Quoted from Andrew Chris, Thanks for posting this. I'm reading a lot of Asian-themed literature prior to spending 3 months there from November '09 to February '10, which is en route to a longer stay (a year or so) in Australia. A lot of the material I'm reading alludes to a fundamentally different view on life and its complexities, so it was nice to read something as poetic and succinct on the subject. Nice one. Andrew

No worries. I've been studying Buddhist Meditation lately, so it struck a chord with me too.

Quoted from sniper I think Dr Mai should tell this to the guys from Sony.

They probably have a good work life balance. A lot of business people through out Asia are really big on starting their days with Tai Chi, meditation and such.

Quoted from Takeshi I came across an intersting piece of writing today which I thought I'd put on here. An Asian View of Cultural Differences We live in time. You live in space. We are always at rest. You are always on the move. We are passive. You are aggressive. We like to contemplate. You like to act. We accept the world as it is. You try to change the world according to your blueprint. We live in peace with nature. You try to impose your will in her. Religion is our first love. Technology is your passion. We delight to think about the meaning of life.  You delight in physics. We believe in freedom of silence. You believe in freedom of speech. We lapse into meditation.  You strive for articulation. We marry first, then love. You love first, then marry. Our marriage is the beginning of a love affair. Your marriage is the happy end of a romance. It is an indissoluble bond. It is a contract. Our love is mute. Your love is vocal. We try to conceal it from the world. You delight in showing it to others. Self-denial is the secret to our survival. Self-assertiveness is the key to your success. We are taught from the cradle to want less and less.  You are urged every day to want more and more. We glorify austerity and renunciation. You emphasize gracious living and enjoyment. In the sunset years of life we renounce the world and prepare for the hereafter. You retire to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Dr Mai Van Tran,

I don't agree with the polarity suggested here (between East and West). Nor the grouping of Asia as one whole. I've spent some years all over Asia and I can tell you it's not like that. All in all, a pretty one-dimensional poem.



  

To be honest, Mango, it's kind of a rudimentary expectation that the writings come with the caveat: this is a generalisation and does not fully extend to all of those it describes. So based on that, we can certainly pick at some of the differences that this text exposes. If we didn't try and apply some generalities to a group of people we'd literally not understand people at all. I wouldn't say that this source material is completely outmoded. Asia is clearly not homogeneous but it does share more core fundamentals than it does with the 'West' and therefore gives a generous platform for the above views.