The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-08-25
0ClETY FOLKS
COLLECT IMAGES
Washington Men and Women, Caught
by Fad, Get Queer Carvings
Of Buddha.

WASHINGTON, Aug. e..-No so
>olety salon or boudoir In Washington
n now complete unless the placid
V ACE OF Buddha Is there On the eve
81 the treat revival of the Buddhist
faith In Japan and China, Buddha,
~ faith that has more than 100 mil
Hons OF sdevotees throughout the
4 world, has been caught on the hign
tide OF .fadism in the nations capital
Many aud sunique are the examples
Of wood and stone images wnicn nave
found their way here. NO rensious
& nignificancs Is attached to the pos
session OF the god OF the Orientals'
however. Many OF the society lead
ers possess them merely because IL
q quite The thing.
'>. Soome of the society folk, but they
i arc In minority, go as far as TO de-
clare that the restful countenance
OF tho sitting Buddha. in meditation,
or the reclining Buddha, portrayed
/. as entering Nirvana, bring a soothing
b influence, and that the upright mill
tant figure OF the standing, or preach
Tug Buddha, signifies TO them new
hope.
Among those who own Buddhas
are Mrs. william Murray Crane. wife
Of the senator from Massachusetts;
\ Mrs George Howard, Mrs. Clarence
X Moore, wife of the master OF the
hounds of the smartest fox pack in
Z the district; Mrs. Franklin Ellis. and
y among the society and clubmen,
Z Frederick May. well known in New
York: Rush Marshall. the architect;
Charles v. Wheeler and Larz An
terson are the pcssessors OF collec-
tiCns OF Buddhas.
cell For Good Prices.
Ruddhas range from the tiny ivory
amulet, which one may purchase from
y the takers at Atlantic City, OF little
worth or value, to the great golden
sleeping Buddha OF Siam, $50 feet long,
& before which thousands OF half-clad
(. brown men and women creep daily.
q Vet the finer examples, many OF
i which stand In palatial residences OF
Washington millionaires. sell for good
prices. Hundreds OF dollars some of
them bring.
\ "Washington society women, said
4 B. r. Collins, a veteran collector OF
4 washington, ARE perhaps not quite
n York neighbors, but within the past
\ year the desire for Buddhas and for
& Jade amulets has been remarkable.
There are lots of things which come
s into the United States without a
shadow OF moral right to justify their
n Dresence, and the Buddhas are the
B most notable example. Forty or fifty
Y years ago many were imported The
- he 1Ar
Japanese Buddhas here Is easily ex-
planned. The little gods were hung In
\ their black lacquered cases In front
u the doorways OF the Japanese
homes. Sailors on shore leave would
80 through a village and despoil
Z whole streets.
Then, too, a Buddha Is distinctly
( d church adjunct in the Orient. Where
In civilized countries memorial win
dows are placed in churches, In
4 China, Japan and India Buddhas are
placed in the temple as memorials
to the illustrious dead. More often.
(. with the connivance OF priest, these
little images were taken from their
inches and sold. Really good exam
pies Of Buddha are now becoming
scarce.
= Duddha, Not a God, but q Teacher.
"Buddha was not regarded as a
god even by his followers" the col
lector continued. He was to them
nothing by a great teacher, who had
. suffered and meditated until he at
tanned the highest state OF which
man 10 capable.
s'His period of meditation under
the DO tree at Buddha Gaya, about
125 miles from Benares, is depicted
In the sitting Buddhas. Here he sat
for six years in penance and morti-
4 flcation. He became a living skeleton.
was naked and covered with dirt and
was soon the object of contempt In
B the surrounding villages" said the
collector Angels and devils tempted
him. Hydra-headed demons fired vol
1eys OF poisoned arrows at him, but
before they could pierce him they fell
as lotus flowers at his feet, Throngs
+ OF beautiful women, from girlhood TO
maturity, came before him, but they
were powerless against him"
The movement toward the revival
OF Buddhism is fairly afoot In China
and Japan. In India, where Bnddha
lived, there Is, strangely enough, not
one Buddhist in 1000 natives. The
Impetus was given by the discovery
near Pashawur. In Arghanistan, OF
the ashes OF the great leader. The
relics, which have been declared au-
\ thentic, were presented to those of
Buddhist faith by the British authorl-
ties In India. ~g~--~
According to the accounts which
have come from India. the discov-
cry was the work of a Frenchman.
AZ CEEN EDNnE n