The Garden Buddha

There's a Buddha in our garden. We will miss it. Today, Georgie took a couple of photos of "The Awakened One". We are not Buddhists, but we like the concept of the "Middle Path", neither self-indulgence, nor self-mortification in life. I also like the concept that Truth can be revealed to oneself without the help of intermediaries, that all that we need is guidance, the conclusion being ultimately our own.

I still think the Buddha was too negative about the body in his teachings, concentrating too much on the mind and the state of bodiless Nirvana as the final destination. But what's a mind without a body? The work of neurobiologist Antonio Damasio, and his book "Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain" in particular, shows that the dichotomy between the body and the mind is artificial, and that our minds - apart from being the product of the brain's physical processes - would be unable of rational thinking were it not for our somatic experiences, which is often how our emotions are translated into being. Yes, I loved the book and I recommend its reading.

Back to the Garden Buddha... it's a beautiful statue, serene and peaceful, like all Buddhas are supposed to be. The squirrels like to sniff him and sit on top of his head. The Buddha looks pleased. If we get a house with a garden, I may even get one.

Around the corner from our house there's another Buddha. This one is a big statue of a standing Buddha, in the garden of a Buddhist Temple. We used to pass by the temple on our way to Chase Park. Georgie was always fascinated with the offerings of water and oranges, as well as flowers. Who was going to eat and drink them? Would the statue do that? But statues aren't alive, are they? I explained that the monks probably sneak in at night and eat the oranges and drink the water. They don't want any of their innocent followers to think that the Buddha isn't taking the gifts. As if the Buddha would need any food or drink after attaining Nirvana, the bodiless state of no wanting and of no needing. Religion... (sigh)

(L)