This picture may not be as in-yer-face as those posted below, but it is really interesting. The pictures were taken by a good old friend and dharma-buddy of mine, Dave Lawson, who has done a lot of work as a professional photographer; these are from his early travelling days. The first one is of a stupa in the Swat Valley, Pakistan, close to where Guru Rinpoche is thought to have come from. Dave took this picture in the early 1970’s and thinks that it has probably been smashed down by now, as have the Buddhas in Bamyian (Afghanistan) – he took those two pictures, below, at about the same time.
Dave says that the shots are of poor quality as they were taken with a half frame camera, but points out that this is a panorama that can no longer be taken.
The single Buddha is the larger one on the left of the panorama.
As usual, don’t forget you can see more detail if you click the pictures.
Dave has just sent this view, again one that can not be taken now, looking back over the valley from the top of the head of the Buddha. He says he got sick afterwards, and I think blames it on the disrespectful act of standing there. But now that’s definitely balanced out, I think, as we can all see this glimpse from the past.
