How Buddha Came to Shree Yoga Since opening the studio in January 2005, I wanted to have a statue of the Buddha to grace the peaceful courtyard overlooking the Saddle River which we walk through every time we come to class. Funding this project was an issue. This January, I received a check in the mail for $500 as a gift from a student whom I used to see privately and whose company had done extremely well. She wanted to share their good fortune and abundance. At first I was utterly overwhelmed. Then I remembered I had wanted a Buddha for the studio! Now I could get one!I found a statue place in Greenwich CT; Lotus Sculpture. I called the owner, Kyle, and drove up to see his Buddhas. He had some amazing pieces. He had two bronze Buddhas in my price range. The first one was less expensive but not quite right. Then I saw the "July Buddha". He was perfect and listed at $895 – a bit more than I wanted to spend. I told Kyle about the studio and the gift of money that I had, and asked what his best price was. He replied, $600! Wow. Perfect. He gave me such a wonderful price - almost $300 below his list price. I was so grateful. I paid him, and he put the Buddha in the car for me. As we were saying goodbye, he said he had an "imperfect" wood Buddha which he couldn’t sell, would I like to have it - free? It was a beautiful wooden Thai statue with gold leaf and red paint and some very small insect holes in the face that were barely visible. I was overwhelmed, again, by this generosity and gratefully accepted the second Buddha. I drove home with two beautiful Buddhas in the back of my car. I was so excited! Two Buddhas! So many blessings! There had been such a beautiful momentum of giving. Wouldn’t it be perfect to give the wooden Buddha to the student who gave me the $500 in the first place and complete the circle of giving? Then a little voice in my head said, "Oh, but it was free! Why don’t you keep it and you can have two Buddhas!" "Hmmm", I thought. "If I keep this second Buddha, this circle of giving will end with me – I will stop the flow". That seemed such a pity and dis-service to the flow of abundance. I immediately called my student, and she was delighted with the prospect of having the wooden Buddha. It now adorns her healing room where she does energy work.The circle of giving was complete. Each participant was enriched and delighted.The bronze July Buddha has been installed to the right of the front door of the studio. He is a medicine Buddha, holding a medicine bowl in his hand. His demeanor is extremely peaceful and serene, just like the courtyard and pond he faces. His blessing is there for all the students who come to the studio to find their own peace and healing. He welcomes your offerings - a flower, a stone, a pine cone, a prayer.I feels so fortunate to have been part of this circle of giving. Thank you to Karen and Mitch Shalom for their boundless generosity, to Kyle from Lotus Sculpture www.lotussculpture.com for the great price, beautiful extra Buddha and his open heartedness, to Daniel and Glen for hauling rocks without complaint to build a pedestal for Buddha to sit on, and to my husband William for building the beautiful stone pedestal and installing and securing the Buddha at the studio. May blessings abound and the circle of giving continue to flow. Chaya
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