tristology
The Cycle Empire: Reflections on Tibetan Culture
about
I’m a self-taught photographer based in the Malay Archipelago. I favour capturing genuine moments and believe in sharing honest-to-goodness narratives of people and places from my travels. My work takes inspiration from the things in life that matter most to me. I love a hot cup of coffee in my room as much as I enjoy tenting in the wild.
the cycle empire
Reflections on Tibetan Culture
“The author travelled to a distant realm, seeking out a cultural world in complete contrast to his own Malaysian waterfront experience. The Cycle Empire is a journey of philosophical self-contemplation undertaken while exploring a foreign land that is Tibet – pondering the details of its geographical, sociological, and religious conditions, and its dissimilitude to the country of one’s birth.
What are the variables that define Tibetan culture and produce a civilization which sets itself apart from others? Although the telos is to learn about another culture without prejudice, comparisons are inevitably made – the gaze is not pure.
One can only note the progression of one’s thoughts which arise while witnessing an order of monks immersed in debate, or while bathing in the smoky fragrance of herbaceous incense. With tentative awe, one grasps the moment when the master apprehends the Yak, the mountaineer beholds the mountain, the Sanyasi contemplates the cycle of Samsara.”
A Book by Eddy Izuwan and Tristan Yap