[trettegeani]

We are told that as Buddhists, any image of the Buddha must be venerated, in whatever material, or however poorly made - the important thing is that we are not venerating the image, but venerating the Buddha: the image serves no purpose but to remind us of his immanence.

Even though I still feel very uneasy when I see a Buddha made into a table-lamp with a light-bulb sticking out of His head, or some of the grotesque and sentimental images that we are all used to seeing, made by the million, for tourists and cheap shops all around us, it's important to remember that all images and pictures are things in Dukkha; they will pass away - they are passing away as we look - and it is only the Buddha Mind itself that remains.

I have much sympathy with any group that hates to see these greatly loved images misused - but they ARE only images, and we must respond with moderation to all provocation, and not seek to defend things which are only 'real' in the conventional sense - they are no threat to us, and they do not belong to us.

Namaste.
Waxtaper