August 23, 2018 Dear Barbara, Thank you very much for the images and explanation of the Metropolitan Museum's Buddha statue. I'm much impressed. It's a subject about which I am ignorant and have much to learn. I'm a very slow learner, because I cling to what is familiar, and being 88 years old, I may not have time to learn. On the Internet I've found informative websites: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%81li_Canon#Pali_Canon_online but my brain is like a sieve which retains very little for any length of time. My initial and very tentative impression - please correct me if I'm wrong - is that the message of Buddhism is in the teachings of Buddha and his disciples rather than in their biographies, that these teachings have been transmitted to us in many languages some of which are now extinct, some of which are very obscure, and none of which are in contemporary common use; and furthermore that these teachings are continually rediscovered and confirmed by us humans who are fundamentally similar and have similar spiritual needs. That's as far out on the limb of my ignorance as I'm willing to venture this evening. Greetings and all good wishes to Micha and to yourself. Jochen