I went to Penang last week to take some books to various centres on the Island and to make a few other arrangements while I was there.
At the last place I went to, as I was walking out the door, I noticed an incongruous life-sized Buddha Head sticking out of a cardboard box.
It looked so odd, as though peeking into the weird and wonderful “real” world, that I commented on it to the person I was with.
They immediately asked if I wanted it? So then I pulled down the cardboard flap and had a closer look.
It is very strange that what looked back at me was a sublime Buddha Head. It was damaged it is true, as part of its brass hair covering was coming off, but the face was truly remarkable.
She made a phone call and within five minutes I had carried the icon back to the car and he was again peeking out at the real world soaring past at 90km an hour.
I have now installed it at my main shrine and continue to be fascinated by it. Surely it was made by a fine artist who has managed to capture something he saw in his imagination.
I include here some photographs that I took of the Head, which only give a partial impression of the impact it has when face to face.
