I saw this amazing work of art on the way to the work site here in Thailand. They inlaid gold along the face of this mountain to create this. I asked the driver if he could stop so I could photograph it.
As we drove away I asked him about it. He told me it was Buddha. "Huh?" I responded, "I thought Buddha was really fat, and a man." As you can see from the photograph, this Buddha is not only slim, but looks to be female, with one breast exposed. He explained that Buddha takes on many forms, can be many things to many people, something along those lines.
Next time I'm at a Chinese restaurant in the U.S. I'll suggest to the owner that they will likely increase their business volume if they replace the fat male Buddha outside their restaurant with the slim female version, with at least one breast exposed. And don't forget the soda.
-Postsript:It turns out that I got mixed up on the whole Buddha/gender thing. I confused the image of Buddha on this mountain side to the female-looking statues that are in many of the shrines. I still don't understand completely, it is a complex religion, at least to me it is.
1 comment:
Seems a little risque', either that or Buddha was a Montrose kind of guy! I did some checking.
Actually it turns out that the idol likeness on the mountain is of Buddha himself. He is in the lotus position (crossed legs back straight, meditating) but notice the position of his hands and arms. They tell a mythical story. In this case he is receiving gall-nut fruit from mythical Indra while he is seated under the ket tree during the seventh week of his enlightenment.
Pretty fruity, and pretty nutty, if you ask me!
Here is a site that gives the low down http://www.buddha-images.com/phra-pathom-chedi-3.asp (see last picture on the page)
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