“Why do the arrows not touch him?” his grandmother would ask. “Why do they turn to bouquets of flowers?” The usual answer has to do with the Buddha’s conquering of anger. Because he has stopped his own angry reactions, the arrows cannot hurt him. Bui’s grandmother had suffered tremendously at the hands of her in-laws. She had not come from their social class and they had been very derisive of her for much of her life. She might have interpreted the painting solely on that level, for she had endured much cruelty and felt much justifiable rage. But she gave her grandson a different explanation.
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