The Buddha

Dear Trent who gets upset when people don’t hold the same beliefs as him,

I was just walking through the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Galleries of Buddhist Art (deserves a proper shoutout given the dedication to the collection) of the V&A Museum in London. I was struck by the diversity with which the Buddha is represented in sculpture, painting, and art. The Buddha is shown standing, seated, or as a floating head. The Buddha is shown in robes, in gold, or extremely emaciated. The Buddha is shown as fat or skinny or sometimes even just… empty. An empty throne. An empty dress caressing an absent human form. All of these pieces are a completely valid interpretation of who the Buddha was to the one who made it (or, at least, commissioned it). It’d be difficult for me to say that one of these is the “wrong” form of the Buddha. The best I could do is say, “This one doesn’t work for me.” But do I need to prove to someone else that my version is “right” in order to further fortify my belief? Sure, of course, I’m tempted to try. I’m a tribal human being and that’s my natural inclination to feel justified. But when I take my attempt to convince a bit too far (for example: an act of violence), then I’m now beginning to forego the principles for which the Buddha stood (or “sat” or “floated”) for. It’s understandable that the Buddha has so many different interpretations because the Buddha’s legend transcends so many different times & places. India, Thailand, China are all represented in this single collection. The timeline of pieces extends from 100 AD to the year 1950. That’s crazy!!! 1,850 years separating these various interpretations. Of course there’s going to be some variation. How boring it would be if I walked into this gallery and they were all the same. It would fly in the face (or lack thereof) of the Buddha’s own teaching that “everything is changing.” So do your best not to judge other people’s version of their beliefs. As Chief Tecumseh once said, “Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours.” And “religion” here is a loose term. It could be a belief set about anything, whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or whether that person is automatically a “bigot” because they vote right-wing. Let these interpretations of the Buddha be your guide. If we learned to accept each other for each others’ beliefs, then we wouldn’t have to be so afraid all the time. So remember this gallery or remember the wisdom of the also-legendary Ricky Bobby, who once said, “Dear Lord Baby Jesus…” and when challenged on the validity of worshiping the infant form, remarked, “Hey, I like Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grown-up Jesus or teenage Jesus or bearded Jesus or whoever you want.” Beliefs, religions, philosophies, or any formulation of the non-physical becomes a grey area where the bounds of “what’s correct” is not always observable.

(Although, if I did learn one thing for certain today, it’s this: Leonardo took inspiration from the Buddha when he crafted The Mona Lisa painting. From far away the face looks serious, but up close… a smile appears. It’s as if the smile is ever-present underneath the surface. It’s as if the Buddha or Ms. Lisa knows that they are happy. But if they’re happy & they know it, they don’t need to clap their hands & show it… sitting quietly is sufficient for them. Because when you’re happy & you know it, that’s all that matters in the end.)

So, celebrate when other people have different beliefs than me. Life would be a lot more boring if we all just believed the exact same thing.

Namaste,

T. Happy

P.S. - this perspective is a belief in itself. So don’t expect agreement with this to be unanimous.