Buddha Hoarder?

Yes, it is true. I have over 100 Buddhas in my home. That includes any Buddha image in artwork, statues and one Buddha tattoo on my neck. People who don't know me well always ask WHY? People who do know me well already know. This may sound like I am a "Buddha hoarder"or that my home is a cluttered Buddha mess but my house is large enough that it works. The majority are in my room, of course.

When I was 20, I received my first Buddha statue from my first spiritual teacher in Boston (which I still had until recently when my son broke it by throwing a ball in the house). She had introduced me to Hindu ashrams and taught me the art of meditation. That peaked my interest (although I had already been studying East Asian religion and Japanese language at Boston University).

The turning point was, however, when I traveled to Tokyo at 21 for two weeks as I planned to move and work there after I graduated. In between interviews at various companies, I decided to take the train to Kyoto (about 230 miles-similar to New York to Boston). This trip still makes me laugh because my kanji recognition was not so good at that point and I kept pressing the wrong button for a ticket to Kyoto   and this means you have to knock on the window and get your money back and try again and I did this, literally, three times without success.

Finally, a couple of hours later, I was in Kyoto.As I walked down Teramachi Street, I entered one temple after another. I felt an inner peace and a "knowing" that I had not felt in a church since I was a child.

The Buddha then became a symbol of inner peace and safety to me. The Buddhas surrounding me in my home and the one eternally etched on my neck remind me everyday to be loving, to be kind, to be tolerant, to be peaceful and most importantly, to be MINDFUL.