{"id":5351,"date":"2022-02-26T14:48:27","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T21:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/?p=5351"},"modified":"2022-02-26T14:48:27","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T21:48:27","slug":"buddha-rocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/archives\/5351","title":{"rendered":"Buddha Rocks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We planted this stone statue of the Buddha under our American Cranberry Viburnum and placed some other large rocks found on our property nearby. Our friend Deb gave us a Daphne we planted near the statue to do dubious battle with the redwood roots, and over time other wind and bird-planted plants have taken hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With every passing year, the Buddha and the stones seem more rooted here. Moss is taking hold on some of the stones. Save for a little watering and very occasional weeding, we mostly leave the little ecosystem to the whims of nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other day I was taking pictures of the statue and stones and was reminded of my story Statues<\/em> from my collection of contemporary dharma tales Buddha In A Teacup<\/a><\/em>. Here is that story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Statues <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, of course,\u201d says Reginald, gazing out the\nkitchen window at the sitting Buddha beside the little pond in Kristen\u2019s\ngarden, \u201cstatues of the Buddha are the antitheses of the fundamental teachings\nof Buddha.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNonsense.\u201d Kristen half-smiles and half-frowns at\nher old friend. \u201cNowhere is it written that Buddha was anti-statue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is certainly implied<\/em>.\u201d\nReginald scowls imperiously as torrential rain batters the house. \u201cConcretizing\nthe metaphor is a cognitive attachment to illusion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kristen and Reginald are members of a small circle\nof highly intellectual Buddhists. She is sixty, he is fifty-nine \u2013 she a widow,\nhe twice divorced. They are friends not lovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t agree.\u201d Kristen lifts the lid of her teapot\nto assess the scent of the steeping oolong. \u201cNeeds another minute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a matter of historical fact<\/em>,\u201d Reginald continues disdainfully, \u201cthere were no statues of\nBuddha until several generations after his death.\u201d He clears his throat to\nforeshadow the importance of his next proclamation. \u201cHis original adherents, it\nis quite apparent, knew better than those lesser minds who came after.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPish tosh,\u201d says Kristen, pouring their tea. \u201cI\nfind statues of Buddha encouraging and thought provoking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou would.\u201d Reginald rolls his eyes. \u201cYou\u2019re stuck\nin a concept of form. Spaciousness versus emptiness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVersus<\/em>?\u201d\nShe reddens. \u201cSo you<\/em> must be stuck in\npolemics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He scowls. \u201cJust imagine your garden without that\nchunk of cement littering your ferns. Or is it too frighteningly natural\nwithout your bits of manufactured junk?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine practice without ideas,\u201d she retorts, her\nhead throbbing. \u201cImagine your mind free of dogma. Imagine no judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat statue is your ego.\u201d He smirks complacently.\n\u201cYou\u2019re just afraid of your non-self.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She sighs. \u201cI wish you wouldn\u2019t resort to attacking me<\/em>. I don\u2019t mind if you disagree with my\nideas, but when you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we are<\/em>\nideas,\u201d he proclaims with a shout. \u201cWe are tangles of competing thought\nconstructs vying for supremacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd our souls?\u201d Kristen\u2019s enormous gray tabby,\nElvis, jumps onto her lap and butts his head against her breasts. \u201cAre they<\/em> thought constructs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThe idea of\nthe soul is a very minor<\/em> thought\nform.\u201d Reginald waves dismissively. \u201cA mental statue, if you will. An idealized\nform. A wish fulfillment. An impediment to the experience of our innate\nemptiness, of our being<\/em> emptiness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis body,\u201d she muses, weary of their conversation,\n\u201cis a temporary coagulation of molecules meant for nothing, and only accidentally\ncapable of self-replication?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomething like.\u201d He gulps down his tea. \u201cShall we\ngo? Movie starts in fifteen minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink I\u2019ll pass.\u201d She fakes a majestic yawn.\n\u201cFeeling suddenly exhausted and hopeless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMad at me?\u201d He grins triumphantly. \u201cNothing\npersonal. I just happen to believe that statues are infantile, primitive\nobfuscations of the higher realms of thought.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She nods. \u201cNothing personal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The storm abates in the late afternoon. Kristen and\nElvis go out to inspect the garden and breathe the rain-washed air. While her\ncat has a drink from the pond, Kristen stands before the gray stone statue of\nthe placid, closed-eyed Buddha. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love your form,\u201d she says to him. \u201cYou inspire me\nto sit up straight and to seek balance. And to be patient.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A red leaf from the overhanging Japanese maple\ntumbles down and lands on the statue where the fingertips of the right hand\ntouch the fingertips of the left and are held against the stomach at the navel.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kristen, connected to everything, witnesses this reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

fin<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddha In A Teacup<\/em> paperback<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddha In A Teacup<\/em> Apple Audio Book<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddha In A Teacup<\/em> Apple e-book<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddha In A Teacup<\/em> Audible Audio Book<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We planted this stone statue of the Buddha under our American Cranberry Viburnum and placed some other large rocks found on our property nearby. Our friend Deb gave us a Daphne we planted near the statue to do dubious battle with the redwood roots, and over time other wind and bird-planted plants have taken hold. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4119,7278,7280,7279,4305],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5351"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5351"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5354,"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5351\/revisions\/5354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underthetablebooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}