Discussing the dharma and 'Buddhist psychotherapy' in the snow at the Karuna Institute, Dartmoor, Devon.

Discussing the dharma in the snow at the Karuna Institute

I took this photograph several years ago when I was teaching at the Karuna Institute in Devon. In a quiet moment before the students arrived I took these little carved wooden figurines out of the shrine/teaching room and arranged them in the snow. Although they are scantily clad they seem unperturbed by the cold! The building in the background is the lovely Stable Cottage, where teaching staff used to stay.

I always liked these figures, they communicate such a lovely sense of respectful engagement and relationship. On a recent visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum I was surprised to come across larger more ornate versions of the same sculptures, the originals presumably, richly gilded and decorated (from Thailand?), though I think I prefer the simple unadorned yogis of the Karuna Institute. Namaste!