Thinking Allowed: In Search of Buddha

Fate seems to have made Buddhist out of our toddler. Our last place came with a small Buddha already guarding the bathroom. When we moved we debated for ages over whether that small icon should remain where he was or whether we should bring him along. In the end, I figured there was a good chance he would be discarded by cleaners or the owners so we took him along and put him in a windowsill at our new house. It just so happened the the from courtyard of our new place has a large Buddha. Zadie was very glad to find this larger version of Buddha in her life and regularly goes up to him to caress him and make exclamations of joy. Buddha seems to do for Zadie what Mickey Mouse and Winnie the pooh do for other kids. Which makes me feel a little bad. Our child has gone and done exactly what Buddha did not want. She has spent no time studying any of the philosophies of Buddha but has opened her heart to the concept and icon of Buddha.

To make matters worse Buddha has become the center of some of Zadie escapades. She is at a stage now where she takes pleasure in rearranging our lives (basically make a mess). We find half eaten carrots in lots of unlikely spots. She will transport things a great distance for reasons we cannot explain. Shoes will be taken up to the top level. The utensils will be stowed in the back of the book shelf. Muffin Tins will end up in the bathtub. Cupboards will be emptied. When Zadie is quiet for more than a minute I brace myself for what I will find. One night Zadie was given an entire salmon sushi role. Thirty seconds later it was gone and we all searched frantically for twenty minutes with no luck and horrifying images in our minds of moldy sushi turning up weeks later in our underwear drawers (thankfully an hour later she reappeared with it in her hand). So in some ways it was no surprise when Zadie started taking the little Buddha. I didn't know she could reach that high but she found a way of climbing on a ledge to get to him. And so began a game where Zadie would hide the Buddha and we would all find him. I would try to replace him as inconspicuously as I could but Zadie always noticed his return. We could put the Buddha further out of reach but she is so upset by a disruption of her mission that we don't have the heart.

I have come to peace with the whole process now because I realized there is some truth to this game. In some ways Zadie is wise. She understands that the search for great things is sometimes mightier than possessing great things. She understands that as much as she likes to have Buddha there is no need to possess him or fret over his absence.