Buddhas, Etc.

My friend David Barnard always carries a pair of ear plugs when he goes to museums because he hates having to listen to docents, who usually have loud voices, explain what the art really means.



So I'm going to do the equivalent, and just show you a few of my favorite things on the third floor of the Asian Art Museum without too much commentary. Let's start with Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god which greets one at the top of the escalator.



This huge, absolutely glittering gold temple above is from Thailand...



...and across from it are scary demons from Cambodia.



From Nepal, there is a sculpture dating from 600 AD of a female goddess in the Buddhist pantheon.



In the "Jade Room" there is a beautiful little sculpture of Buddha with Big Ears.



Near the beginning of the China section of the museum, there is a long room that has a lot of natural light and a whole cornucopia of Buddhas.



My favorite is probably the large guy reposing above.



Now that the sand mandala monks have moved on, the big Samsung Hall was peaceful and uncrowded.



You could color in peace or if you were museum'd out, it was not a bad place to catch a snooze.