Rice Bowls

In Buddhist tradition, a woman named Sujata offered Sakyamuni a golden bowl of rice while he was meditating under the Bodhi tree. He divided it into portions that sustained him through his quest for enlightenment. (kinda reminded me of the Jesus and fish story).

Today's Buddhist monks own very few material goods, one of which is the begging bowl. They rely on kind-hearted people to fill their daily bowl.

I read somewhere, in Tibetan Buddhism Lama drink from cups made from skulls, like wrathful deities were supposed to have done, to remind the faithful the frailty and transcience of life.

Here, the skull-like bowls made of silk stripping filled with resin covered pupae drew from these ideas. My ancestors relied on the pupae as protein for their meals and the silk for weaving. The life of a silkworm and the seizure of the farm reminded me that life is brief and nothing is certain or permanent.