A Different Kind of Buddha

In most Asian countries, you'll run across Buddhas almost everywhere. From the Buddhas watching over the elaborate temples laden with offerings of everything from money to cans of beer, to the garish "fat" Buddha sitting on a pile of money on a shop counter, you have multiple opportunities each day to say a prayer.

Yesterday, Terry (Lisa's Mom) and I ventured to the Vietnam Museum of Art and discovered a really different type of Buddha style. For a short period of 14 years (1788 - 1802), under the Tay Son Dynasty, Buddhist Vietnamese Sculpture is considered to have attained its zenith. The sculpture is striking in its "realism and humanism" - and while they are religious subjects, it is supposed that the artists were using the subjects to reflect ordinary people's lives who lived at that time. Standing over 10 feet tall, with impeccable lacquer and detail, they are very striking.

In such a chaotic city packed with 6 million people, there is art everywhere. These sculptures really stood out for me as one of the most unusual, powerful pieces I have seen yet... Here's a few snapshots: