Something Truly Useful

One of the finest things anyone can do is to collect, respectfully display, and make offerings to our sacred books. Many people do not understand this, and some even remark, "Why should I spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy books I cannot understand and will never read?"

Yet, these same people will happily spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy bronze images, or painted tangkhas, not realizing that they are identical with the books. It isn't what Buddhism looks like, but what it says that ultimately matters.

Under ordinary circumstances, the statues will not get down off the altar and speak to you, nor will the tangkhas climb down from the walls. But, there is always the potential that you -- or someone who comes after you -- will read the books.

In the photograph above, you see a lovely idea: something truly useful to do with your time and resources. 

I hope that this photograph inspires you to preserve and honor our shared heritage, and I wish you all the best of fortune.