Lion’s Roar Editor Andrea Miller tells the story of the ceramic Buddha cup from her childhood and the way it evokes her on the Buddhist path.
Photograph by Megumi Yoshida
Once I was twelve, my pal Kim and I had dinner with our moms at a teppanyaki restaurant. I believed it was so fancy. Not solely did the chef flip a shrimp tail into his pocket, every cocktail on the menu got here in a distinct glass, and for those who ordered a cocktail, you bought to take the glass house with you.
When our mothers determined to get drinks, they stated Kim and I may hold the glasses. Kim’s glass regarded like a gorgeous Japanese girl peeking out from behind a fan. My glass was not almost as good. It was formed like some man with a bun and weirdly lengthy earlobes.
That buddha I obtained once I was child now has a chipped nostril, and naturally he nonetheless has a gap in his chest for a straw. However, you recognize what? He evokes me on my path.
Nonetheless, I saved the glass on my bed room dresser, jammed with dried roses and a flamingo feather. As a result of I by no means thought to ask who the man was presupposed to be, it took me years to be taught he was the Buddha. And even then, I wasn’t in any respect clear what he had performed that was so particular.
Quick-forward to as we speak, and I’m effectively acquainted with many teachings attributed to the Buddha and with many tales about his life. But, I nonetheless don’t actually know a lot about him. Nobody does.
He lived millennia in the past. So, the Buddha, the human being who wandered northern India, is essentially misplaced to the mists of time. However in myriad texts and in our fashionable understanding, he has so many elements which might be beloved.
Folks see the Buddha as the right trainer, imparting excellent knowledge, and a loving, caring pal to his disciples. He’s a miracle maker, strolling instantly after start, lotuses blooming from every of his steps. He’s a religious best—his enlightenment so manifest it may be seen within the mound on the highest of his head. And within the fashionable world, usually reflecting our personal beliefs, the Buddha has even come to resemble a neuroscientist, a progressive activist, a spiritual-but-not-religious kind, or an out-and-out atheist.
Personally, I don’t assume it issues if all of the elements of his story are traditionally correct, or if all of the teachings attributed to the Buddha really got here from him. What issues is that if they assist us get up. My view of the Buddha is that we form him in our personal hearts and minds. He’s of us, the perfect of us. Whoever we imagine he’s, he can level the best way for us to be our wisest, most compassionate selves.
I hope that on this concern you’ll encounter a new-to-you aspect of the Buddha. Maybe you’ll come throughout an anecdote or two about his life, which you weren’t beforehand acquainted with, and it’ll encourage you in your personal life and apply. Or possibly you’ll learn a reframing of certainly one of his foundational teachings, and all of a sudden the reality of it is going to crystallize for you in a brand new method.
That buddha I obtained once I was child now has a chipped nostril, and naturally he nonetheless has a gap in his chest for a straw. However, you recognize what? He evokes me on my path. There’s equanimity and compassion in his ceramic smile—and a bit humor.