[Buddha-l] Mermaids

[Chan Fu]

On 11/11/05, Richard P. Hayes <rhayes at unm.edu> wrote:
> One of the local Thai temples has a number of mermaids on the altar and
> outside. Outside, they sit adoringly at the Buddha's feet.
>
> Mermaids are not common in New Mexico, although we do have quite a few
> jackalopes. Does anyone know of Buddhist associations with mermaids, or
> might this be a quirk of this particular temple?
>
> --
> Richard

They're not uncommon in some temples around
the Gulf. Whether the goofy 8-faced Buddhas
of the north (Chaing Rai, etc.) are any better is a
matter of taste. I prefer the mermaids, though
they're a bit fishy.

In another few decades, we should expect simiilar
temples (with jackalopes, of course) in, say,
New Hampshire.

Personification and adaptation being what they are,
it shouldn't be long before a temple made solely of
wrecked Ford pickup trucks appears on this Virginia
landscape...