❤ dear ones,

While I was in Seattle I discovered this beautiful four-foot-tall Buddha in the window of a lovely shop in Pike Place. The gilding shimmered and shone, alighting my heart and much more than the shop window.

Seeing this statue–and more specifically his beautiful hands–healed a longstanding ache in me.

A few years ago my parents brought home a smaller Mandalay Buddha statue of similar design (pictured below). Fire had claimed Buddha’s hands, and only burn marks remained. Perhaps a human act of vandalism, anger, fear or hate, or maybe an intentional burn to use the hands in another sacred way–I will never know, but I connected to their Buddha so much through this loss no matter the reason. I accepted him as he stood, but wished I could see his original hands.

In Buddhism there are many different mudras–hand and body positions intending different energetic flows of body, mind and spirit. Finding this new-to-me massive Buddha. hands fully intact holding a Namaste pose–or Namaskar or Anjali mudra to be very specific–filled my presence with total joy! Holding hands together at heart level can mean many wonderful things, one meaning I contemplate the most: I bow to the light of you that also is me.

I was grateful and excited to take and send this photograph to my parents so they could envibe with me over the completeness of this Buddha. (Click below to enlarge.) Both Buddhas are very special.