Yoga, Buddhism ands 18 years in Asia – The Asian Woman

Men are funny creatures when it comes to sex and

women. Since living in Asia, I have seen as many

instances of this as I did when I lived in the United

States.

And perhaps, sadly, in both parts of the world, and I

am sure in other parts, men seldom know how to look at

women as being other human beings, but instead look at

them as their enemy, someone they want to have sex

with, someone they want to impress, or someone they

want to and think they have a right to control.

Men can be foolish, deluded and cruel children when it

comes to how some of them act to and react to women.

They many times do not know how to relate to women,

speak with them or to them, or see the struggles and

the issues that they have to live with.

Perhaps in Asia, the status and situation of women is

much worse then in the west, though women here do have

certain circumstances that give them support and

strength.

This main source of strength and support is the other

women in the family and extended family. They may also

get support from other women in the community.

Some years back, while I was in Japan, I stayed with a

family on the southern part of Kyushu that showed once

again how difficult the status of women can be here in

Asia.

I told the men in the family that I would be going to

South Korea shortly and they immediately expressed

their disdain and dislike for Korea, but then very

quickly commented on the sexiness of the Korean women.

Then later, while in Korea, I witnessed time and time

again the impatient and disdainful attitude of the

Korean men to the Korean women.

Another perspective that I experienced on the Asian

women and one that is widespread in the west was in,

of all places, among a group of Iraqi men who were

living and staying in Amman, Jordan after the Gulf War

of 1990.

They all mentioned that they wanted to have a

“subservient Japanese wife”, showing a misconception

of how Asian women are, plus perhaps also giving an

inkling of what the true status is of Muslim women

within the house, as all of these men were Muslims.

Having lived in this part of the world for 18 years

and met and known a number of women from the various

countries here, I would not and could not say that

Asian women are more subservient, exotic, wise, sexy

or passionate then women from the west or any other

place.

They are human beings with needs, wants and desires

just as women and human beings from any part of the

world are.

They suffer from the big and small events in their

lives.

They have husbands who abuse them and at times they

abuse their husbands.

They are honest and sincere, loyal and hard working,

and at other times not.

They strive for things out of wisdom and out of

conditioning.

They need to impress and want to be impressed.

They get angry at their bosses at work and many times

engage in behaviors that hurt themselves and others.

They deal with their emotions, feelings, conditioning,

needs, desires and wants with the same amount of

mindfulness, or lack of mindfulness that men and women throughout the world do or do not.

We show a lack of understanding of ourselves and

humankind as a whole when we make generalizations

about women from any particular part of the world, or

men, or children or people of different religions,

ethnic backgrounds and countries.

Many times our tendencies to making generalizations

are nothing more then a result of our own ignorance,

lack of mindfulness, unhappiness, and tensions, stress

and anxiety in our body, mind and consciousness.

If we practice meditation, perform the various

postures and techniques of Hatha Yoga and apply the

teachings of Yoga and Buddhism, we are engaged in a

process that lessens our tendency to make foolish,

ignorant and abusive generalizations about any people.

If we are relaxed and focused we see those things in

others, men and women from all races, ethnic

backgrounds, religions and walks of life that show how

they are worthy of our compassion, patience, love, understanding and respect.

©2004 John C. Kimbrough

(John lives and teaches in Bangkok, Thailand. He can

be reached at johnckimbrough@yahoo.com)