26 May 2021
One of the first gifts from my dad when I was a kid were 39 tiny conch shells.
In my late 40s I would learn that the couch plays a very important role in Hindu and Buddhist practices.
When a conch is blown, it makes an OM sound, believed to be the primal sound of creation, and from which other sounds emanate.
Of late I keep seeing similarities between the curvature of the conch and the fluidity of the drapes on the robes of Buddhist monks and nuns.
So I started reading up on the robes that had been on my mind for sometime.
At Boudha I was always entralled by the waves of maroon robes on monks & nuns as they circumambulated the Stupa.
But only today I learnt that in Buddha’s time, the robes were made from discarded rags found among trash. Monks would pick up rags, wash and dye them before stitching the pieces together to form a robe.
In “Buddha’s Robe” written 26 years ago, Noelle Oxenhandler says, “…the robe made from a discarded rag is the lotus that grows in mud.” ♥️
May tonight’s full moon on Buddha’s Enlightenment Day guide our mind to see the fullness within each being, so that we too may learn to turn the worthless to the priceless.🙏
Lisa Ong 