The Buddhas of Bamiyan ... "Gone" But Not Forgotten

In the caves in the mountains of the Hindu Kush in the valley of Bamian in the center of Afghanistan there once "stood" two 120+ foot tall buddhas. These near-mythical in stature statues had been carved from the stone of the mountain (a la Mt. Rushmore) and stood watch over the valley of Bamian in the Province of Bamiyan providing a welcoming presence to the weary travelers and buddhists on piligramage since circa the second or third century (AD).

Brace yourselves: In 2001, the Taliban (you can find videos of the event on-line if you're interested, but I warn you it will make your soul cringe to watch them) turned their tank barrells on the buddhas and obliterated them, wiping all trace of the buddhas from the face of the mountain-side. When the air cleared, all that remained of the awe-inspiring Buddhas of Bamiyan was a pile of sand.

I nearly wept with the realization that I will never rest eyes upon the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Even if the war ends and I return to this beautiful country in a time of peace I and the rest of mankind have been irreversibly deprived of the opportunity to marvel at the feat that once was the Buddhas of Bamiyan. The most tragic part, for me, was the "why" of it all: as if blowing the stones to smithereens could somehow also blow to smithereens thoughts, ideas and beliefs.

And yet, the fate of the Buddhas is, ironically, very Buddhist.

The Tibetan Buddhists are known for their sand art. Mandalas are sand "paintings" of what are considered to be the multi-level maps of spiritual consciousness. They are painstakingly exact in design and measurement and buddhist monks spend days and days tapping sand into the mandalas a few grains at a time. A few GRAINS at a time! Why bother? Because the value of the work can be accessed only through the process of making it... but the monks do not tap the mandalas for themselves - oh, no, they have tapped so many grains of sand that they possess internal multi-level maps with well-worn creases in the folds - no, the monks tap the mandalas for the benefit of all of humanity. And, when the mandala is completed, the monks walk away from the sand painting, leaving it on the steps of the temple to be carried away by the wind ... each grain of sand moving on to fulfill its next purpose.

Maybe I will see the Buddhas of Bamiyan. One grain at a time.