15th-16th Century Vajradhara. Height 9 cm.

15th-16th Century Vajradhara. Height 9 cm. Ming Dynasty Yongle style. Original base and contents intact. Notably, the base is adorned with a full lotus! Decades ago, some fearless antique dealers lacking faith would excavate the precious contents from old Buddhist statues. This is because, often, the valuable items hidden within were worth tens or even hundreds of times more than the statue itself! The author knows a fellow practitioner who once placed an old Dzi bead with six eyes and a cross – now valued at approximately 3 million [currency] – inside an old statue he venerated (the statue itself is only worth over a hundred thousand [currency] today)! Over the years, I’ve heard and seen accounts from antique dealers about the precious contents they've unearthed: Sutras, relics, small thangkas, miniature ritual objects (vajras, phurbas), old Dzi beads, even smaller Buddha statues (Buddhas within Buddhas), gold nuggets, several large rough diamonds (around 3 carats or more), and other precious gemstones (rubies, sapphires, pearls, etc.). To excavate the contents of a Buddha statue is considered equivalent to drawing the Buddha's blood according to monastic precepts, an act punishable by falling into the deepest hell. Yet, antique dealers, blinded by greed and the allure of these treasures, felt no fear at the time of excavation! I recall that more than ten years ago, it was very rare to find old Buddha statues with their original contents. If one were found, antique dealers would often demand prices several times higher than for ordinary statues! 80-200-1070310