26 Dec 2004, a earth quake off the Sumatra island caused a gaint Tsunami (new word in my dictionary now - sound Japanese). The effect was so great that it spread to far away places as Somali in Africa.
This is a major natural calamity. I am shocked and saddened at the extent of the destruction and the large number of casualties in a number of countries in the region.
Our sympathies go out to the victims and their families, as well as to entire communities which have suffered in this disaster.
In most countries, we use Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to measure the development of the countries. A country with higher GNP/GDP is generally considered better than the one with lower GNP/GDP.
But is this a fair measurement? This is especially so in Buddhist country where material gain is not something the people are looking for.
Bhutan, a Buddhist country has in the late 1980s adopted a new approach - Gross National happiness (GNH)
GNH is a measure of a country people's happiness as an indicator of development and progress. It is a direct indicator in that it does not just depend on one indicator - wealth - to try to get a sense of people's standing in the development game. Rather, it goes to the heart of the matter and directly asks how happy people are, and if they are even happy at all.
So, what is your GNH? Care to share your GNH? Lets' say 100 is the most happy, what is your?
Russia and other central asia countries celebrate their Christmas on 7 January instead of 25 December.
The date of Christmas is different because the Russian Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the calendar that we now use. This is also true in Armenia.
Do you know that Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic year? And during this perios, muslim practices Siyam ("fasting"). Fasting during Ramadan is the fourth of the Five Pillars of Islam.
The usual practice is to have a pre-fast meal before dawn and a post-fast meal after sunset.
The purpose of fasting is for Muslim to practice patience and self-control. It is also serve as a reminder of the less fortunate in the world.
Do you have friend who is a Sikh and practice Sikhism?
Sikhism means a strong and able disciple. A Sikh is a person who believes in One God and the teachings of the Ten Gurus - the Sikh holy book (Guru Granth Sahib).
Sikhs are bound to wear five items, known as the 5Ks, on them at all times. They wear them out of respect for the tenth prophet, Guru Gobind Singh, who sacrify himself for the other religion. They also wear them out of a sense of duty.
The 5 items are: Kaysh, Kanga, Kara, Kirpan & Kacha which translate into: Uncut hair, small comb, bangle, small sword and shorts.
No matter who you are and what you are. We all live in the same planet called Earth.
So, let's us know each other cultures and live peacefully in this world.
