Sacred and Profane?

Sacred and Profane?

The Indian temple complex near the Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha is thought to have attained enlightenment was wracked by explosions this week. It was likely a terrorist attack, though no culprit has been named. The holy place is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

One imagines this youthful Buddha, by appearance classically Greco-Roman thanks to the intercultural trade winds that scattered Buddhism throughout Asia, would rue the distance he—and humankind—must continue to stride toward reaching salvation.

—Diane Richard, writer

July 10

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Photo: Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Source: “Series of Explosions Rocks Buddhist Temple in India,” New York Times, July 8, 2013