Buddha beehive goes global

You may have seen this story in the P-B last month:

Group plans celebration for Buddha-shaped wasp nest

11/21/2008

By Matt Russell

mrussell@postbulletin.com

The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester has scheduled a two-day celebration to commemorate what members believe is an apparition of the Buddha on temple grounds.

The Dec. 6 and 7 events will celebrate a wasp nest shaped like a seated Buddha that is tucked into the eaves over the entrance to a temple building. Monks and others in the Cambodian Buddhist community have called the nest a miracle, leading to national media attention.

The Dec. 6 event will begin at 6 p.m.; festivities start at 8 a.m. Dec. 7 and continue into the afternoon.

"It's just a celebration for the Buddha," said community member Tracy Sam. "We want everybody to know they are invited to the temple to help us celebrate."

The wasp nest, which members of the community have been calling a beehive, was noticed early this month. Beehives appear to have a special significance in Cambodian Buddhism: Honey collecting is a common activity in Cambodia, where Buddhist temples feature honeycomb-shaped towers.

Monk Moeun Ngop, 76, pointed to a colorful painting on the temple grounds of a monkey giving a honeycomb. He says the painting is a sign that the Buddha-shaped nest isn't a coincidence.

Experts who have examined photos of the nest say that the temple's eaves are an ideal place for a wasp nest to be located. There is nothing extraordinary about the nest's shape, they said.

The story has been picked up internationally, and yesterday I had a call from a magazine in the U.K., asking to buy reprint rights to the pic. Expect to see it in Fortean Times magazine shortly. Fortean is a journal of "strange phenomena."

Comments

[Alan]

The Fortean Times is one of the most entertaining magazines I've ever read. I subscribed to it for years--until the new publisher doubled the subscription price. Simulacra (things that look like other things) and people worshiping odd objects--like Buddha wasp nests and Jesus on a tortilla--are a staple of the magazine.