I collect Buddhas which I would imagine is a pastime that I share with many others (or maybe not).
What do you call a person who collects Buddhas?
I would imagine that you would be called a person who collects Buddhas.
Yet, I have never paid for a Buddha as I consider it bad luck to purchase your own Buddha and ask Caron or whosoever I am with to purchase them for me (even though I reimburse them later on).
This silly luck thing stems back to the 1970s when I picked a rather jolly stone Buddha up in Hanwell in West London. It was as I was running up stairs to catch the train that the stone Buddha (it was destined for the garden) unbalanced me and I fell up the stairs cutting my forehead open.
I missed the train and was forced to walk from Hanwell Railway Station (well worth a visit) to the nearest A&E where after I was cleaned up and given a pain killer, was told that I would not need stitches as head wounds are often bloody, but are normally pretty simply treated (there were no concussion protocols in those days). My mother made a fuss and the Buddha was placed in the garden with very little ceremony.
If my memory serves me, I went to Chelsea that evening to see a game and suffered no ill effects apart from a dull headache and looking like I had come second in a fight.
But I was hooked and have collected Buddhas ever since (it could be worse I might have become a trainspotter).
Now as most of you know, there are different types of Buddhas some are quite upright and stiff whereas others are seriously obese and round. I should know the differences, but sadly, I probably know more about nuclear fusion than Buddhism. It is just that Buddhas make me happy and calm me down (I often used to think of Buddhas when I was being trampled flat in pre-lockdown London – gosh how I miss it).
Buddhism is not a religion I follow and I would prefer to be in awe of its mysteries rather than research it to death as I have done with other religions. Caron once said to me that ignorance is bliss and I think I agree with her as Buddhas just bring me an inner peace (well apart from the Hanwell Railway Station incident).
When I was visiting a dear friend a few years ago, he pointed to the stream that ran through his garden. It was a pleasant yet ordinary fast flowing stream, but then he showed me what he called his water feature which impressed me greatly.
He had collected about twenty Buddhas of differing shapes and sizes (mostly made from stone and resins) and had positioned them along the banks and shallows of the stream.
The idea was glorious in its simplicity and I was blown away. I tried to replicate it in my garden in Maidenhead, but alas, we had no stream so I added a pond and a few Buddhas which was a bad idea as the local cats kept knocking them in.
But what has this to do with the arcade you might ask?
Well at certain times of the year, the Arcade is a good place to find all kinds of Buddhas.
There are usually some to be found in the garden section to the rear of the Arcade itself and are rather nice.
Caron has purchased the odd Buddha for me from the Arcade, being the lovely person she is.
She also found my first Deal Buddha which sits peacefully opposite me as I write. I tend to keep my Buddhas in all my rooms (apart from the loo) so they can look after me.
However of late, both Wildchild, Damien and Sassy Lil have taken an interest in Buddhas.
This in short means that I can purchase Buddhas again without the fear of falling over in railway stations as they are not for me. It is a form of Nirvana I suppose, but do not let me complicate things.
All I can say is the next time you are passing the arcade do pop in.
I missed the train and was forced to walk from Hanwell Railway Station (well worth a visit) to the nearest A&E where after I was cleaned up and given a pain killer, was told that I would not need stitches as head wounds are often bloody, but are normally pretty simply treated (there were no concussion protocols in those days). My mother made a fuss and the Buddha was placed in the garden with very little ceremony.
Now as most of you know, there are different types of Buddhas some are quite upright and stiff whereas others are seriously obese and round. I should know the differences, but sadly, I probably know more about nuclear fusion than Buddhism. It is just that Buddhas make me happy and calm me down (I often used to think of Buddhas when I was being trampled flat in pre-lockdown London – gosh how I miss it).
