Thursday, October 27, 2011

Propitiation

So I was totally wrong and he doesn't weigh two tons and his name isn't Mahadev. His name is actually Mahavira, and he is an incredibly important Jain deity.

Also, Nick says he probably weighs about 400 pounds. In any case. He's too heavy for me to lift.

Be that as it may, Jordan still calls him Buddha, and I don't correct him.

Growing up, I was very used to offerings to the gods. I mean, they weren't our gods, but they weren't not. I can't remember living in a house that didn't include statues of deities. And while we weren't leaving daily food or flowers for them, we might if we went to a temple. When we were in Thailand, we would always buy flowers to put outside the spirit houses.

I like this idea. It's very hard to imagine leaving a bowl of milk at the feet of Jesus, though, isn't it?

Anyway, the other night I brought home a bag of clothes my friend Michele had given me. Her son had grown out of them.Jordan peered into the bag, saw some Thomas the Train underwear, and was enchanted.

"Oooh! What do we have?"

This is now what he says when he sees something new.

"Underwear."

Man, was he excited about the underwear. Oh, the underwear! The trains! The underwear!

"Here Buddha. Want some underwear?"

11 comments:

  1. That is just precious (what kid gets excited about underwear, and then even wants to share it?)! If Mahavira were positioned differently, I would be hard pressed to not dress him seasonally, like those cement geese people in Michigan have.

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  2. Not sure what's better, "Oooh! What do we have?", or offerings of underwear to a deity.

    Your son is brilliant.

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  3. omg too funny, always love the jordan learning to talk stories =)

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  4. I imagine Jordan meeting his lil bro or sis for the first time and saying "Ohh! What do we have?"

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  5. Love it! It's a perfect gift because it's something he loves. What better to offer to your household deity?

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  6. Oh, and 10 points for you. I had to go look up propitiation and I was an english major! Good show!

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  7. Susan H - Underwear is for Big Boys, and Jordan is still in diapers...and underwear is soooo intriguing! Plus the trains! Oh, the trains!

    Girl With Curious Hair - I LOVE the "What do we have?" I just love it. I need to record it before it goes away.

    Frugal Vegan Mom - The language acquisition interests me no end. I just love it.

    HK - I bet you are absolutely right! This makes me laugh!

    cla517 - Exactly. You offer what's important to you. And thanks! I love words. Love love love words.

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  8. My youngest would have put the underwear on the statue's head.

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  9. Also! Thank you for the correction. I was having a hell of a time finding images of Mahadev.

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  10. Oh man I wish my underwear had trains on it, he might want to start wearing this underwear, good way to start the underwear training, with something he loves.
    Have to agree you couldnt offer more to a deity than something you yourself treasure.
    Besides maybe Buddha was feeling the chill a little :)

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