Ready For The Buddha's Birthday

Yes, it's the Buddha, not just Buddha, as it is a title, not a name, and in this context it refers to a specific person -- born Siddhartha Gautama, son of a minor king in a kingdom which is now part of Nepal -- whose life is commemorated in this, the 2,570th year, of the Buddhist calendar.  His birthday is the 8th day of the fourth lunar month, and this year it falls on the 24th of May by the Gregorian calendar.

To mark the holiday a stupa of colorful paper laterns has been set up in the plaza.  It's surrounded by a fence of miniature lanterns, each of which carries a prayer or wish written by a devotee on a mock gold-leaf leaf (ha!).

What The Buddha Saw

 

An old man

A sick man

A dead man

and

A monk

"Uniquely Noble Am I, In Heaven And Earth"

It is the phrase (loosely translated) said to have been uttered by Sakyamuni Buddha at the time of his birth as Prince Siddharta.  It has been interpreted in various ways, but my personal preference is for succinctness.  It is a reference to the Buddha's role as a liberator of living beings who suffer in samsara.

Originally, I had this post titled "Another Also Sprach Zarathustra Moment" and the picture was accompanied by a flippant description of the 'Overman' theme.  I thought it would be funny, but once I saw it in print I did not like it.  Not only had preparing this picture taken a good deal of effort, but the image itself just seemed deserving of more respectful treatment.  Consequently I changed the title to the present one.