ORPHAN ARTIST
Lhasa, Tibet
July 1999
I visited this orphanage which is run by an artist monk. He teaches the children how to paint holy poses of Buddha. These children then leave this place at the age of 15 and go off and earn a living. I bought a painting from this young boy. I thought he was 8 but it turns out he is 12. So in three years, he will be on his own.
His painting shows a woman sitting on Buddha's lap. There are two interpretations of this common pose. One interpretation indicated that this is Buddha showing his feminine side. The other interpretation indicates that reaching nirvana is like reaching an orgasm. I think I am going to lean towards Buddha showing his feminine side.
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