Over the years I’ve seen many Buddha statues. Usually you see them on the altar of a Buddhist practitioner – brand new -, or in the museum – ancient, but behind glass.

In Asia there are Buddhas everywhere and some quite old. There is no glass separating you from the Buddha and only respect and devotion prevent people from touching the representation of enlightenment.

This particular Buddha statue I saw in Kathmandu. It is really small, sitting on a small stūpa next to Svayambhu stūpa.

The description is what I once overheard from a Tibetan monk:”Buddha was a prince from India”. Even in the west some people still hold this as a truth. However, in  the time of the Buddha ‘India’ did not exist as a nation state and, while the Buddha mainly lived and taught in present-day India, he was born in Lumbinī and grew up in Kapilavastu, both of which are in present-day Nepal.