The Materialist ๐Ÿ˜Ž

“Spiritualism and materialism are opposites,
obviously.” ~ Ho Chi Minh

“If the safari hat fits, wear it!”
~ Comrade Bo Ho

Meanwhile, atop of Monkey Mountain . . .

. . . where the guardians ๐Ÿ’
watch over their treasures ๐Ÿ™ˆ

Linh แปจng Pagoda


“Shakyamuni (Buddha) and Jesus both
want everyone to have food and clothing,
equality and freedom, and a world of
harmony.” ~ Ho Chi Minh

Photography:
David & Linda Redpath ยฉ 2025

61 thoughts on “The Materialist ๐Ÿ˜Ž”

  2. ๐Ÿšฒโ›ฑ๏ธ๐Ÿ—ปโ˜ธ๏ธ๐Ÿชท

    โฌป๐“‚€โœงย โ€Œ๐Ÿ”บย โœฌแƒฆโ˜†ย โ€Œ๐Ÿ”บย โ€Œโˆžย โ™กย โˆžย โ€Œ๐Ÿ”บย โ€Œโ˜†แƒฆโœฌย โ€Œ๐Ÿ”บย โ€Œโœง๐“‚€โค–

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      1. We escaped from Vietnam after the war so not so much missing home but rather miss having a strong sense of culture and roots. But overall im very happy and feel very lucky to be accepted into Canada.

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    1. A transpacific thank you, Liz ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜Ž

      Here’s another interesting quote …
      “I pray that God will bless our people
      to maintain the spirit of patriotism,
      strong enough to fight the French
      invaders, fulfill the sacred mission of:
      Serving God; Serving the Fatherland
      (Vietnam).โ€ ~ Ho Chi Minh

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      1. You’re welcome, David. Have you read by The Village Teacher or The Siege of An Lแป™c neihtn (Nguyแป…n Trแปng Hiแปn? I learned a lot about Vietnamese history and culture from them.

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  7. Beautiful photos. Lovely lady with the clear umbrella atop Monkey Mountain. You had the spirit of Marlin Perkins in that safari hat: โ€œHo Jim Minh. Go get a closer look at the monkey for me!โ€

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    1. Glad you liked the pics, Timothy.
      That monkey ๐Ÿ’ was hungry! He stole
      a smoothie right out of some tourists
      hand, and then sat up a tree drinking
      it with a big self-satisfied look on his
      face. That monkey deserved a good
      spanking ๐Ÿฅค๐Ÿต

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  8. Beautiful pictures indeed!
    I like the tag line “We’re all on a road to somewhere”, so well said and so are your pictures depicting.
    And yes, to reflect on what you declare “The Materialist”. Everyone of us are MATERIALIST the moment we came into being to ENGAGE and interact. But, it is when our identities loosen to expand, there is a path towards some unknow territory which will remain unknown, what is called as SPIRITUALITY!

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    1. A higher reality โœจ๏ธ above and beyond
      the material.By definition the material
      is finite. It has a beginning and an end.
      The material world is a creation, and
      is subject to destruction. Therefore
      the spirual must be eternal … infinite.
      I believe we are born spiritual beings
      but something gets lost, even broken,
      in this fallen existence ๐ŸŒŽ I believe this
      higher reality, we seem to all have an
      inate awareness of, is within reach.
      I believe there is an open door, with
      a personal invitation. The person of
      Jesus Christ is my spirituality.

      Thanks for your comments ๐Ÿ™
      Greatly appreciated, Shalendra.

      “Religion is for people who fear hell, spirituality is for people who have
      been there.” ~ David Bowie

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      1. What you said is True indeed, material is finite and then there is that which is Infinite.

        I meant that the fact that we are using language to interact, to recognize the other finite with whom we are interacting, makes us finite using finite and dealing with finite. But as you said, we are Infinite at the same time, but that aspect is what most tend to forget, because we cease to flow and be in that bliss.

        Thank you again David for engaging and being a conscious Infinite soul!

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      2. My eternal pleasure, Shailendra ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜Ž
        An interesting fact:
        Stephen Hawking, the world’s leading
        theoretical physicist, suggested that this
        material world was created from an equal
        measure of positive and negative forces.
        Together the sum total would be zero.
        In other words, the Universe was created
        out of nothing.

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      3. It reminds of the dialogue of one of my character from my recently published book –
        “If you deconstruct it, you will find that the ultimate truth, the absolute reality, the Brahman, whatever terminology one may choose, in its purest form, it is either Zero or Infinite. It is only when an observer comes into being and attempts to probe the truth or say play with it, it requires a cosmic language to manifest the inherent super consciousness.”

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      4. Perhaps Love is the dialect that flows
        from the living heart of mindfulness?

        “Beloved, let us [unselfishly] love
        and seek the best for one another,
        for love is from God; and everyone
        who loves [others] is born of God
        and knows God [through personal
        experience]. The one who does not
        love has not become acquainted
        with God [does not and never did
        know Him], for God is love. [He is
        the originator of love, and it is an
        enduring attribute of His nature.]

        John 4:7-8 Amplified

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  10. You look very content. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Yes, Christ wants food, clothing, equality, and freedom for all. But He wants so much more for us. He wants to restore the relationship between God and man (something Buddha could not do). He offers us not just political freedom, but freedom from our enslavement to sin.

    Christ died for that reason, and rose from the dead to give us eternal life (something else Buddha could not do).

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    1. Yes, the One and Only Jesus is the
      only one who’s risen from the dead.
      Buddha’s bones are in the grave …
      along with the mortal remains of
      Mohammed and Confucius. It is by
      Christ alone that mankind is saved.

      Had a wonderful time in Vietnam ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ
      being a free-range anthropologist
      with a special interest in politics.
      My reading on the subject of Ho
      Chi Minh, and his leadership, has led
      me to the conclusion that he was
      tragically misunderstood by the
      Western powers. Yes, he was a
      socialist (much like Bernie Sanders),
      but he was primarily a patriotic
      freedom fighter (much like George
      Washington). Ho Chi Minh was not a
      Stalinist style, atheistic, archetypical
      communist despot.

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  14. Your and Linda’s photography is so beautiful. The vividness of these shots are spectacular. I always wanted to visit Nam and I wanted to also see the rice fields and the beauty of the countryside. I enjoyed reading your comments back as usual, to others that comment. You learn a lot about the writer/photographer from reading their comments. Your and Linda’s travels are always such interesting locations filled with history. Madama Butterfly was beautiful like a statue on the top of the mountain. You looked pretty cozy in your carriage. I hope that you too were blessed in your travels there and that you found it to be a peaceful journey. Sending you both big hugs, love and blessings my friends. Joni

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    1. Thank you most providentially,
      Joni ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜‡ ๐Ÿ•ถ Linda and I spent a
      month in Vietnam and it just wasn’t
      long enough. I’d like to go back, but
      during a cooler time of the year ๐Ÿฅต
      It was rather humid until a typhoon
      cooled things down for a while.
      Going for a swim in the ocean ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿ˜Ž
      was like diving into a warm bath.
      Fortunately for you Northern ๐ŸŒŽโฌ†๏ธ
      Hemisphericals, the best time to
      visit is September to December,
      during your winter months โ„๏ธ
      Linda and I tend to stay home in
      sunny Australia that time of year
      as it’s Spring-Summer time here ๐ŸŒž

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      1. David, you two have such an adventurous life together. I have always thought the photographs of Vietnam are so beautiful. I enjoyed looking at both of your photographs so much. My husband and I laughed so hard at your choice of an entire cake for breakfast. It looked like something we would have chosen. I bet it was hot. What a wonderful opportunity. So glad you both got to enjoy the local flavor too. Blessings to you both my friend. I know your horse and doggie were so happy to have you home. Big hugs to you both. ๐Ÿค—

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    2. Thanks for viewing my postcard, Joni.
      Very glad to hear you enjoyed the pics.
      Coming home is sweet, regardless of
      how much you enjoy the travelling and
      living out of a backpack ๐ŸŽ’ Having six
      fur babies, of various sizes ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿด
      we can’t go abandoning them for too
      long. One of them actually cried ๐Ÿ˜น
      the day we got back ๐Ÿ˜Ž

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