When Mr. Mouse and I were younger, we regularly attended a New Year's meditation retreat. As part of the retreat, the teacher performed a ceremony on New Year's Day in which she opened the eyes of all her garden Buddhas by offering them incense and flowers, and ringing a bell.
It's a great opportunity to offer gratitude for the many joys that the garden has offered during the past year, and to make a commitment to take care of the garden and its flowers, pollinators, birds, and other critters in the year to come.
First we offered incense and flowers to a Maitreya Buddha that is supposedly from the area where the three gorges dam was built. It was sold to us as very old, but the price was much to good for the supposed age. But we really like the statue (and who'd want an old, expensive sculpture in their garden?).
The Javanese Buddha that was a birthday gift to me many years ago was our first garden Buddha. It's tucked away next to some native irises (the Camelia is of course not native, but the showy flower makes for a nice offering).
The final statue was a Buddha Face that I purchased from Studio Bridges. It was also a birthday gift, one of the first additions to our garden in this house. The face is starting to blend in with the stones and the ferns, California native ginger, and redwood sorrel. Moss is starting to grow, and I'm hoping to see some lychen some time soon.
Another Camelia and incense stick said Welcome to this final garden buddha, and Thank You to the garden for its many joys.
And to you, dear readers, a big Thank You for reading, leaving insightful comments, and, in many cases, having your own blogs to keep us inspired and engaged. Happy 2013!
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