Buddha Images

Lawrence A.

Hall of Famer
Location
New Mexico
Name
Larry
I don't know how much traction this thread will get, but I couldn't find another suitable place for these pictures of Buddha statues taken at Wat Sisaket in Vientiane, Laos. The Wat was Chao Anouvong's personal Wat, which makes it all the more surprising that it is almost the only Buddhist temple to survive the Siamese invasion and sack of Vientiane after Anouvong's bid to free himself from the suzerainty of Siam.

Of the 2000 Buddha statues housed here, some have been restored from that invasion, apparently, and others have found shelter after having suffered the ravages of time. Walking the edge of the courtyard where the Buddhas are housed it is hard not to be deeply moved.

Ten photos follow, all taken with the trusty Leica X1, using the accessory optical VF. I find it an absolute joy to shoot and am attached to it in a way that the Buddha would have advised against.

L2291774-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


L2291733-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


L2291748-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)



L2291751-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


L2291759-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


L2291768-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


L2291741-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


L2291757-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


L2291765-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


L2291742_f-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Most of us in the West only think of the classic, out bellied Budda

Sent from my SM-N920P using Photographers Lounge mobile app
I don't think I saw any in either Thailand, or Laos where I have spent more time. Many of the Lao Buddhas are wonderful, I think. I do attempt to treat my few statues with the respect due to a religious artifact.

I think the Budai (fat bellied Buddhas) are mostly Chinese, but I'm no expert.
 
Beautiful series, Larry. I've visited Wat Sisaket many years ago, this brings back sweet memories. I didn't have a digicam back then, captured everything on film, most of it still waiting to be scanned some day.
Here's one of the four Ananda Buddhas from Bagan (Myanmar) instead - 31ft tall.

ananda_buddha1-50prz.jpg
 
Gorgeous, Ken. Hope to get to Bagan someday and Ayutthaya, but with people in Phonsavan and Luang Prabang to visit (whom I love, one of whom considers me his "father" and asked me to name his newborn son), it is hard to get away -- with limited time in SE Asia. Someday, but first I have to see my grandson! By the way, the name I chose was Thongsouk, after a very fine man and because it had Souk as part of it, which is the father's name.
 
Lovely story, Larry. I spent many years in Asia, more than five in the Himalayas (Nepal, India, Sikkim, Tibet) and can't wait to see my friends again next year.
Here's one from Chiang Mai, most probably taken on the way up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (Minolta Dimage X). (I've got thousands of Buddha images in my archives; been an active practicioner for many years :).)

buddhaschlaf-new copy-1k2q7.jpg
 
Two more from Wat Sisaket and the famous standing Buddha from Wat Phia Wat
in Muang Khoun, Laos, bombed during the second Indochina war. That the Buddha survived the conflagration gives it special local significance, and it is still the scene of many important ceremonies.

L2291792-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


L2291738-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


PB309289-XL.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
My personal shrine. Even if I cannot really claim to be a Buddhist, or a holder of any "ism", the images and tenants of Buddhism speak powerfully to me. The candle sits in holy dirt from a Catholic shrine in Chimayo NM, and burns for the intentions of my brother with cancer, my adopted son and his wife who have a brand new son, and against the slings and arrows that afflict many other people I know and love.

There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy Horatio....
P2030078.jpg
 
Last edited:
A beautiful shrine, Larry (I'll add a pic of my travel setup later).
BTW, I never called myself a Buddhist either, even though I've booked the whole package many years ago - Buddha, Guru, Sangha, vows, retreats, you name it.
Here's an image of a mani wall at the Tashiding monastery in Sikkim, one of the main monasteries of our Sangha and Guru Rinpoche/Padmasambhava - our Buddha, pictured on the right, next to Amithaba Buddha.
Let's get this thread going, Larry.

IMG_3355-new copy-1k6q7.jpg


Some pilgrims arriving at Tashiding for the Bumchu (blessed water vase ritual). They come from all directions, some of them walked for hundreds of miles to get there.

IMG_3594-1k2q7.jpg


Ixus 430


My personal shrine. Even if I cannot really claim to be a Buddhist, or a holder of any "ism", the images and tenants of Buddhism speak powerfully to me. The candle sits in holy dirt from a Catholic shrine in Chimayo NM, and burns for the intentions of my brother with cancer, my adopted son and his wife who have a brand new son, and against the slings and arrows that afflict many other people I know and love.

There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy Horatio....
View attachment 26366
 
Last edited:
from 2011 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, but in my disorganization, I neglected to note where in Chiang Mai:
I gave up taking notes a long time ago; just keeping my images organized takes a lot of precious time already.

Here's one from Mandalay, Myanmar - one of my most favorite places on this planet.
Sometimes I miss the simplicity of those point & shoot and not to forget old film cameras; 100% focus on the image, everything happens spontaneously and intuitively, no bl..dy settings to worry about and most of the time the results from 3-4MP sensors are OK for a nice A4 print.

buddha-1k2q7.jpg


Minolta Dimage X
 
I gave up taking notes a long time ago; just keeping my images organized takes a lot of precious time already.

Here's one from Mandalay, Myanmar - one of my most favorite places on this planet.
Sometimes I miss the simplicity of those point & shoot and not to forget old film cameras; 100% focus on the image, everything happens spontaneously and intuitively, no bl..dy settings to worry about and most of the time the results from 3-4MP sensors are OK for a nice A4 print.

View attachment 26372

Minolta Dimage X
Gorgeous! One of the things I really enjoyed about using the Leica X1 in Vientiane (and elsewhere on my trip, but I had given away my real point and shoot Stylus 1 by the time we got to Vientiane) is that on aperture priority it's just a simple, no nonsense, picture taking machine. I occasionally adjusted iso and aperture in Wat Sisaket to account for different lighting, but the camera design allowed me to focus my attention on the Buddha statues, which were breathtakingly beautiful. Right now I'm trying to come up with some Buddha images from our stay in Mae Hong Son, a starting off point for backpackers, I guess, but a beautiful little jewel in the mountains for old fogies too. Some lovely wats, including the oldest one on the mountaintop, which this old fogey actually walked up to.
 
Some lovely wats, including the oldest one on the mountaintop, which this old fogey actually walked up to.
Sounds familiar, Tashiding monastery is located on a hilltop as well and I usually live in the village, 500 meters below. Anyway, there's a little ramshackle kiosk next to the monastery with cold softdrinks, pan (betelnut bites) and ciggies and this always gives some extra motivation to get up there every day :).

One more from the Ein Daw Yar Pagoda in Mandalay:

PICT0702-FO copy-1q7.jpg
 
First, two from Chiang Mai, Thailand, the second one from Wat Chiang Mon (I'm pretty sure)
PB173577Chiang%20Mai-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


PB113163%20Wat%20Chang%20Mun_filtered-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


This next one is from Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang, Laos, and is housed in the building that shelters the old royal conveyance, the name of which escapes me - if I ever knew it. I is one of the smaller statues, and I find it arrestingly beautiful.

PB243912%20copy-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Another most beautiful set, Larry. I guess we could spend (and maybe already have spent :)) ages just photographing Buddha statues.

Two from Bago, a lovely little town north of Yangon ...
(The second largest reclining Buddha in the world, 55m long, dating back to 994 A.D.)

PICT1599-FO-1k2q7.jpg


I've spent a couple days there on each trip to Burma, just riding around the countryside, meeting locals and taking shots.
On the same day that I've took the image below I got into trouble with the police because I was photographing a steam locomotive. They called me a spy (dead serious) but I laughed my way out of it.

PICT1592-FullOpt-new copy.jpg


Minolta Dimage X
 
Last edited:
Two more from Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang. There is an endearingly goofy quality to some of the Lao Buddha statues that is well represented in this first shot. Maybe it's just my particular mental peculiarities, but these go straight to my heart, speaking of vulnerability and the need for aid and protection, for compassion, in short.

PB244119%20Xieng%20Thong-2-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


PB244170%20Xieng%20Thong-2-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
These are amazing images. Thanks to everyone posting. This past weekend I found myself noticing the statues in a restaurant and there was a Buddha shrine(?) set up in a corner of the restaurant. This thread encouraged me to look and pay closer attention.
 
Thank you Michael for taking note of the thread. I'm especially drawn to the Lao representations of the Buddha, but there is such a wide range of Buddhist iconography that it is a field of study in and of itself. I won't crack that nut, but the representations that speak to me do so quite powerfully at times.
 
Back
Top