Sure. I was really refering to Buddhist South East Asia (China/Japan/Taiwan/Thailand/Korea etc) and not so much Hindu/Muslim India which is actually quite different.
Pretty much as you say. On 11/27/11, simran <sim...@dn.gs> wrote: > What a lovely picture you paint David... :) deep philosophical thought and > long term thinking :) :) :) > > It is so romantic (from an etherial point of view)... but in my experience, > having lived there for just under 4 years, all is not as it seems.. > > In my experience in the last four years: > * came across some filthy rich people (yes, filthy is the right word) - > those that do scams in the billions > * came across some very very poor people (and plenty of child labour, > abuse, etc) > * car stolen by neighbour's son, and the subsequent police involvement, and > bribery from both sides (including dingy deals in dark alleyways) etc... > * hit and run - including a court case - seeing bribes in the courthouse > under the photo of the "father of the nation" (Gandhi)! (in front of over a > hundred people) > (incidently, at least in karnataka (a southern indian state), if you hit > a **poor** person (with your car), the fine is Rs.2500 ($50), if you kill > him, its Rs. 10,000 ($200) + about $1k-$5k in bribes! > * the waiving of money before giving it to lawyers in the courthouse to > "progress your file" > * corporate deceit > * lack of family ethics and values in most personal lives there > * many hanging on to religion because they have nothing else to hang on > to... > * happiness in the midst of despair and calm in the midst of chaos > * staying in the largest slums of asia and seeing sometimes the most > horrific and sometimes the most beautiful things there! > > I feel like the experiences almost lend themselves to a shantaram type book > :) (although not drug ridden, but with equal duality of experience / > variances in corporate / personal life). > > We can romanticise the country, but only from afar, as for as material is > concerned, there is seldom a person not wanting to clamour for more wealth > at *any expense* - you don't often find saints/sadhus without golden > watches on their hands using the latest mobile phones, temple priests that > don't take bribes to "let you see the deity" - (there are temples in india > that are far richer than the vatican...; recently one was found where there > was at least between $2-20billion dollars worth of gold in the vaults; > no-one knows the exact value because they have not opened all the vaults)... > > Oh, the IT industry entrepreneurs want their millions today, in less than 6 > perceived months that it might take in silicon valley, belief in an > afterlife is contradicted with the everyday reality of no faith in "getting > it later" - it's the land of contradictions and as lao tzu says, things are > not shades of grey, they are black and white at the same time... there is > immense cruelty (for a land of so many vegetarians (comparatively) you > should see the cruelty to every animal and everything on the streets > (except in *some* cases, cows)), and yet there is hope too... the grapes of > materialism are only sour when they seem unreachable, and philosophical > thoughts of contentment kick in... > > One must maneuver carefully in that land, be not too quick to romanticise > it, nor too quick to discard it... for the devil and the god are the very > same thing there... you have to know how to extract what you need for the > outcome you desire... > > s. :) > > > > > > On Sun, Nov 27, 2011 at 11:21 AM, David Lyon < > david.lyon.preissh...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> What's interesting to understand about Asia is that India is (often) >> referred to as being the master-culture for Asia. >> >> For example, the Buddist Temples that you will see in Korea, Japan >> and China all come from India. Materials no, just the techniques and >> philosophies. >> >> Once upon a time when Japan was just a bunch of fishing and hillside >> villages, India was a powerhouse of philosophical thought. If you listen >> to the Guru's in India now, you might well believe it still is. :-) >> >> Anyway, why do we care in the IT/Business sphere ? well the Buddhist >> philosophy marks a different pace of economic development than what's >> found in Western Countries. >> >> Actually, the Asian pace of development is (self-described) as being >> much slower than the "make a 5 million bucks in 24 months" philosophy >> of the west. >> >> The core value however that powers Asia, is one of slow improvement >> of one's self. Meaning the skills that one has, in production and >> marketing >> of tech devices/hardware/software. >> >> "Just concentrate" (on the tech) is perhaps a skill that Australians could >> really learn and benefit from and is essential for doing business in Asia. >> >> Asia is a place where multiple innovations are expected. But more >> importantly, >> attention to the task of refinement is then demanded. It's slightly >> different way >> of working to what we might be used to here. >> >> Of course, it's similar in Silicon Valley too. But there's a lighter >> demand >> on production as it's assumed that more innovations are around the >> corner which may end up being bigger and better. >> >> In Asia, the philosophy is a bit different. Future innovations just tend >> to get rolled into the existing business. In better countries, a dozen >> at a time. >> >> Depending on which way we decide to trade, we need to understand the >> subtle differences between the two different markets. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach >> Australia mailing list. Vist http://siliconbeachaustralia.org for more >> >> Forum rules >> 1) No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. >> 2) No jobs postings. You can use http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/jobs >> >> >> To post to this group, send email to >> silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach > Australia mailing list. Vist http://siliconbeachaustralia.org for more > > Forum rules > 1) No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. > 2) No jobs postings. You can use http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/jobs > > > To post to this group, send email to > silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach Australia mailing list. Vist http://siliconbeachaustralia.org for more Forum rules 1) No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. 2) No jobs postings. You can use http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/jobs To post to this group, send email to silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en
