no apparent reason

I met the Buddha

There is a saying, or koan, or book title, or something, that goes "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." At least I know I've heard that someplace, and as it was explained to me, it meant that any Buddha you might meet is not the true Buddha and hence will only distract you from your path to enlightenment.

I never expected to meet the Buddha myself, however, particularly since I'm not Buddhist. But today, at Target, while pricing baby stuff (had to get the requisite baby reference in there somewhere), I did.

I didn't feel any closer to enlightenment, though. I did feel closer to bemusement however. And bemusement is probably as close to nirvana as I'll ever attain anyway.

It didn't take even a cursory knowledge of the Four Noble Truths or even a moment of meditation or study to realize that the Buddha I met was not the true Buddha. For one thing, I seriously doubt that it is possible to purchase the true Buddha. Nor would I expect to find the true Buddha, in several different forms, crowded onto a shelf at Target with a bunch of other "eastern"-looking home decor items.

The Buddha(s) I met today did cause me to wonder however: what does the Buddha mean to people who would buy a little statue of him at Target? How would I feel if I saw a bunch of crosses, communion sets, or other Christian paraphernalia crowded onto Target shelves with the scented candles and knick-knacks? And why would this bother me so much more than the vast quantity of Christian tzotchkes for sale at Christian bookstores and such?

I made no attempt to "kill" this false Buddha, thinking this might be a bit presumptuous me as a non-Buddhist. Also, I am morally and constitutionally opposed to making a scene in any way. It's an occupational hazard of being from the center of the country. If I did meet the Buddha on the road, I'd probably say hi and make some comment about the weather.

On the way out, I noticed along with some other kinds of trail mix a "Zen" variety, causing me to muse upon the ease with which it would be possible to suffuse every aspect of one's life with some weird version of the of a religion. And why Buddhism, of all potential world religions to tap? If one could answer that question, one would know a lot more about what the heck is going on in this country.

Posted by michele at September 17, 2007 1:19 PM