She had great glitter- infused black stockings on and a funky hat. The young woman turned towards me when I offered her the opportunity to choose a Buddha from my little bag.

Her wide smile reassured me that she didn’t mind the interruption.

I was delighted when she chose a very small earth Buddha with an indefinable face.

When I received this Buddha by parcel all the way from the UK, it had been damaged in transit. Some of it had crumbled and the face had worn off. It was if it had been ground away whilst underneath the pressure of much heavier postal items.

Whilst doing my best to glue the broken tip back on, I called to mind the wonderful  Japanese art form of Kintsugi, the process of joining the cracks in broken pottery with gold- arguably making it more beautiful than before. I had hoped then that whist on my pilgrimage someone might see the beauty of imperfection in this tiny Buddha. And now nearly 10 months later it was going to its new home.

She held it in the palm of her hand with great care and an element of tenderness was immediately present.

We talked about its qualities. She had been drawn to a feeling  timelessness she sensed in as soon as she saw it.   “Well travelled.” she said as her eyes took it in.

We talked about travel and discovered we shared a long held wish to visit the Buddhist temples of Japan.

Although only a couple centimetres tall the earthiness and groundedness of this Buddha appealed to its new caretaker.

She laughed as she declared that she could well do with some calm groundedness in her life at the moment.

Her friend was due to arrive soon and they were off to enjoy the African themed festivities happening that day at Federation Square.

I was very happy that the next journey had begun for the little Buddha with no face.

 

Buddha donated by Khemasuri UK