Little Buddha

Today’s entry is a tiny Buddha sitting in meditation on a flower throne. He was inspired by Tibetan Buddha statues and even has tiny prayer flags behind him. He was absolutely not inspired by the 1993 Keanu Reeves movie Little Buddha. Much. 

While making anything tiny tends to Kawaii it up, I still tried to keep this little Buddha true to traditional depictions of the Buddha.  His ears are elongated because as a prince Siddhartha would have worn heavy earrings that elongated his ears. When he left the palace to become a wandering ascetic he left behind worldly things. Elongated ears are also a symbol of great wisdom. There is a flame on the top of his head to denote enlightenment and he is smiling because to find enlightenment is to find bliss. In the 80 characteristics that describe the Buddha he is supposed to have long fingers and toes. This was something I attempted and failed. Because I sculpt with an Exact-o knife and a pin on such a small scale his digits are sort of stubby. But he mostly has them, so we're good there.

The Quarter is for scale

Little Buddha is on his way to Colorado right now as a gift for my Buddhist brother-in-law who received the gift of life yesterday through an organ transplant. I hope little Buddha brings him joy and peace.

Extreme close up