Little Buddha
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I met this little boy during the International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony, under the Bodhi Tree which is behind the Mahabodhi Temple, the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.
He is a young Indian Buddhist monk and when he saw me taking pictures he started showing me an amazing state of happiness.
All his pictures came with a certain glow and I selected this one where his eyes are giving so much of joy and peace as if he has reached a kind of buddhahood which is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha.
In Buddhism, the term ‘buddha’ usually refers to one who has become enlightened.
The level to which this manifestation requires abstraction from ordinary life (ascetic practices) varies from none at all to an absolute requirement, dependent on doctrine.
oin the photographer at www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography
Designldg by Laurent G 
February 25, 2009 at 11:12
He is beautiful.. Amazing eyes!
February 26, 2009 at 10:02
good to promote buddhism. there was only one buddha in this world during this buddha “culpa” (periode). naming deciples of buddha as little buddha gives a wrong meaning to buddhahod. you can call this “little buddha” as Samenara, means little monk not attiand the higher ordance of upasampada.
again “i met this little boy” in your description does not give proper respect to a samanera monk. insted you can call little samanera.
Boy and little buddha to a samanera doesnot suit at all.
pl correct.
Lord buddha said not to think the samanera/small flame and small sancke as small since big or small the effect is same
thank you
February 26, 2009 at 13:23
Namaste Ganesh,
Let me thank you for taking the time to have a look at my picture and for reading my words.
I feel like answering to your words saying that I am lucky to have a Tibetan Buddhist teacher (guru) whome I am following since almost twenty years now and I believe that of course it has influenced my views upon the world.
I wouldn’t like to be indelicate and unrespectful towards anyone with my words or my pictures and this photo-blog is only “showing the world through my eyes”.
In this post I don’t think that I need to “correct” my words and this is not an immodest attitude from me nor a will to start anything controversial.
In a Buddhist context you are right saying that a novice monk can be translated by a samanera, it literally means “small samanera” or “small renunciate” and a man under 20 cannot ordain as a bhikkhu but as a samanera.
“Buddha” is a Sanskrit word that means “awakened one.”
A Buddha is someone who has realized the enlightenment that ends the cycle of birth and death and which brings liberation from suffering.
Theravada (the Ancient Teaching) Buddhism says that there is only one Buddha per age, and the Buddha of our age is the historical Buddha, the person born Siddhartha Gautama in the 6th century BCE and other people who have realized enlightenment during this age are called Arhats.
However in Mahayana (Great Vehicle), Buddha-nature is the true nature of all beings.
In a sense, EVERYONE is Buddha.
When I saw this child under the Bodhi Tree behind the Mahabodhi Temple, he reminded me Bernardo Bertolucci’s movie “Little Buddha” which was released in 1993 and in which Sogyal Rinpoche (whome I try to follow the teachings) is acting.
Little Buddha is a story about the quest of a group of monks seeking out the reincarnation of their great Buddhist teacher, they find three children upon the world who become candidates.
Those three children are reincarnations of the Lama, separate manifestations of his body (Raju), speech (Gita), and mind (Jesse).
His reincarnation represents the three most important aspects of life.
Maybe I should have mentionned that my title was inpisred by this, nevertheless I don’t believe that I don’t give “proper respect” to this samanera monk nor when I wrote “I met this little boy” …
Anyway I am trying to gather people with my pictures searching for links that makes all of us brothers and sisters and sometimes I find the begining of something that I would call a “bridge”.
I often lack of time in order to look deeper and my behavior depends more on my impulse and insctinct but I employ all my endeavor to be respectful and honest with everyone.
Therefore I won’t correct my words under my picture as you are asking me to do so but I appreciate your comment which allowed me to clarify what I wrote.
I hope that you won’t feel offended and that you will come often to comment more of my work.
Have a nice day and let’s keep in touch,
Laurent.
“The mission of the Buddha was quite unique in its character, and therefore it stands quite apart from the many other religions of the world. His mission was to bring the birds of idealism flying in the air nearer to the earth, because the food for their bodies belonged to the earth.”
—Hazrat Inayat Khan (Sufi Master)
September 7, 2009 at 16:37
Your photo reminds me of a line in a John Lennon song:
”
…beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy…!”