Showing posts with label Fatland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fatland. Show all posts

Wednesday, 27 November 2024

We don't just have one, we have many hells!

"I didn't think there was a hell in Buddhism," I said.
"Oh yes," Jinpa said, with a tut. "We don't just have one, we have many hells! We have one where it's hot, one where it's cold, eighteen different hells in all. Everyone is terrified of ending up there."
"I seem to remember reading that, according to the Buddha, hell is more like a state of mind," I said.
"Do you mean to say there really isn't a hell?" Jinpa looked at me, thunderstruck. "Then what is the point of walking all the way around Mount Kailash?"

E. Fatland, High (2020), 503

Tuesday, 26 November 2024

While it is constantly said that the world is getting smaller and there are fewer and fewer boundaries, never before have borders been more rigid than they are now

The days when caravans could freely cross mountain passes and national borders are long gone. While it is constantly said that the world is getting smaller and there are fewer and fewer boundaries, never before have borders been more rigid than they are now. There can be no doubt that the map takes precedence over the terrain: the abstract red lines of the map are fiercely guarded on the ground by cameras, motion sensors, armed guards, and often also by physical barriers such as barbed wire, fences and walls.

E. Fatland, High (2020), 65