Bhiksham Dehi VIII
The alms bowl refers to the time in the Buddha’s life just before he attained enlightenment, when a young girl, named Sujata offered the Buddha a bowl of milk rice. Although the Buddha was practising austerity and eating only a little food at a time, he realised that to achieve the final stages of enlightenment, he would need to partake the offering of rice from Sujata. After partaking of the meal, the Buddha then threw away a small amount of food left in that bowl to symbolise non-attachment to material possessions. Another legend tells the story that the Buddha threw away the begging bowl itself into the river to symbolise this non-attachment.

Mixed media on canvas (48 X 36)
Acquired