How did a Buddha statue land in Viking hands?
Last month, Sweden Post released a stamp that depicts the Buddha sitting in a lotus as part of a series commemorating the Era of Vikings. The illustration is of a small, bronze statuette of the Buddha, which was uncovered by archaeologists in a small Swedish town in 1954. The archaeologists dated the statue to the 5th century, likely coming from Kashmir, Northern India.
Leather straps on the statue indicate that it was carried as a talisman by merchant traders. Historians hypothesize that the Buddha was carried over thousand of miles, up and down the rivers and steppes of Eurasia, before arriving on the mantlepiece of a Viking home in Sweden, perhaps after two or three hundred years of travel.
Today, the statue, which is on display at the Swedish History Museum, is regarded as the most famous and remarkable find from the site, hence receiving the special honor of appearing on a stamp.
Pema Chödrön and President Obama.
“I want to offer a special welcome to a good friend. [The Dalai Lama is] a powerful example of what it means to practice compassion, who inspires us to speak up for the dignity and freedom of all human beings.”
http://www.lionsroar.com/the-buddha-in-obamas-pocket/ (從影片的44分可見到歐巴馬的說明)
The Buddha in Obama’s pocket
Obama, in White House video, shows the tiny Buddha statuette he "carries around all the time."
In Friday’s White House-produced YouTube video, President Obama addressed a number of things — including what’s in his pockets. It turns out that, along with a rosary gifted to him by Pope Francis, a small Buddha statuette, given to him by a monk, is often found on the president’s person.
“Ever since I started running for office, people started handing me things […] lucky charms, or keepsakes, or things that meant something to them.” All of these items go into a big bowl, the president says, and he carries some of them with him “to remind me of all the people I’ve met along the way and the stories they’ve told me.”
Watch the segment in the video below, beginning at the 44:00 mark.
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