“I am awake”

 

One of his students asked Buddha, “Are you the messiah?”
“No”, answered Buddha. 
“Then are you a healer?”
“No”, Buddha replied.
“Then are you a teacher?” the student persisted. 
“No, I am not a teacher.”
“Then what are you?” asked the student, exasperated.
“I am awake”, Buddha replied. 

This is one more close-up of the statue of Maitreya Buddha at Thiksey Monastery in Ladakh.
The statue is huge and fills completely the room done on two levels.
I was alone at sunrise and I enjoyed taking all my time in order to shoot several pictures.
I didn’t mind the feshness of a cold wind coming from the Himalayan hills on my back couldn’t break the silence around me.