I love the way that this Buddha is becoming a part of everything. Lichens nesting on his shoulders, in his hair, grasses tickling his back, the weight of him settling into the bricks, little bits of detritus and moss and a heart stone from Lucy Vincent Beach in his lap. It reminds me of the story of the Skin Horse from The Velveteen Rabbit.
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real, you don’t mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out, and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real, you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
I feel like becoming real requires Buddha sitting – becoming a part of everything. Less doing, more being. Letting the body listen through pores, cells, breath.
I loved this post so much. You know I have never read the Velveteen Rabbit but now it’s a must! I can’t wait to read it. This touched me in so many ways. I thought of my foundered mare so alive in spirit even if her body may never return to the magestic stature it was. How some poeple can think she is not worth anyhting unless she has something physical to offer. I think of my old horse, one once sought after for his stunning looks now aging with hollow back and far less showy paces. yet still the same spirit in his eyes. Everyone who knew him then, sees the same horse, as they see his eyes and know that it is him. Newcomers see an old grey nag.
perhaps not enough people have read this book. perhaps not enough people have had a real skin horse.
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is wonderful blog. A great read. I’ll definitely be back.
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is wonderful blog. A great read. I will certainly be back.
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