Buddha For You Still Rolling by Jeffrey Zlotnik
Twenty Five Hundred years ago, there were no statues of the Buddha. There was just the man himself: Siddhartha Gautama, the Prince who left the noble life to become a homeless wandering beggar—simply the Buddha. His search was for enlightenment, to understand the cause of all suffering. After his enlightenment, the Buddha continued to teach people how to live a simple, peaceful and compassionate life. After the Buddha’s death, many people were left wondering how the teachings would continue. The Buddha’s last two teachings were to be a light unto yourself and to be diligent with your practice. Considering the theme of Compassionate Living, I believe our inner reality reflects our outer life.
Many have turned to ancient traditions to balance the hectic pace of life and reflecting this, there are statues of the Buddha everywhere. The Buddha has become a trendy and cool item to have at home, work, in restaurants, and even on movie sets. People are attracted to the serene image of the Buddha and to me it is important to understand what the Buddha taught. The image of the Buddha is a reminder to live a simple and humble life.
Those of you who know the store called Buddha For You in San Diego, CA are sure to smile when you think of Alfred Baron, the 82-year-old man who started the business. He was a light unto himself and once you met him, he was hard to forget. Welcoming, informative and full of life, Alfred served his country in World War II as a member of the Army and went on to work for Bullocks and the May Company. He traveled the world to buy many items, resulting in his collection of rare Asian Art and Buddhist statues. In 2000, at the age of 72, he opened Buddha For You, which was, for him, the true love of his life. People would walk into the store and often spend hours looking for their perfect Buddha. Browsing over 2000 square feet of a huge array of Buddha statues could take awhile, so there was plenty of time to hear stories from Alfred about the country a particular statue was purchased from, or what had happened on that buying trip. If Alfred didn’t tell a story during the customers’ adventures, he might offer some friendly advice about how apple cider vinegar would heal all of their ailments.
Over the years Alfred did quite well selling Buddha statues, carrying the rarest pieces of the highest quality from around the world. People came from all over the United States just to see the latest collection.
Meanwhile, at the end of 2006, the desire to share the teachings of the Buddha actualized in the form of a little place in downtown San Diego known as The Dharma Bum Temple. It was a space for people to study and practice the teachings of the Buddha. There were no memberships and all meditation classes and Buddhist teachings were provided for free. It was and is a simple place, hidden from all who walk by and only sometimes recognizable from the little Buddha in the window (which was, by the way, purchased at Buddha For You.) At that time, we had no idea how connected The Dharma Bum Temple and Buddha For You would become.
At the end of November 2009, I received an e-mail from Alfred stating that Buddha For You was going to close. He had been telling people he was going out of business for a year. While no one believed him, it was true. Alfred let me know that unless The Dharma Bums could take over the store, it would close. As customers for many years, we knew the importance of the image of the Buddha. Knowing that thousands of people over the years had been there to buy statues that graced their homes and places of business, we wanted it to continue. There was one problem: We let Alfred know that we could not afford to buy his business. Alfred replied by letting us know that as of December 15, 2009, the store was ours.
So Maggie Lee and I now own and operate Buddha For You. In many ways, this was a gift from Alfred and a Buddha Blessing. We have struggled financially with The Dharma Bum Temple and this was now a way in which we could support our effort to share Buddhism with the people of San Diego. Much of the profit earned from the store would be used to support the Temple.
Maggie and I had met in April of 2007, a few months after the Dharma Bum Temple opened. Maggie is from Taiwan and came to the United States five years ago. She has an MBA and graduated as a gemologist from The Gemological Institute of America in New York. I was raised in San Diego and graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in psychology. I lived in a Buddhist Monastery in Taiwan for a year in 2005 and became committed to sharing the teachings of the Buddha.
Together we also founded The Meditation Initiative, a non-profit organization that shares secular meditation for free with the San Diego community. In 2009, The Meditation Initiative led over 2,300 people in meditation.
Continuing in Alfred’s tradition, when you come to Buddha For You we will tell you stories of the Buddha’s life and how it is portrayed in the different statues you see. We will teach you about the various Mudras (hand gestures) such as the Earth Touching Mudra or how Buddha’s serenity turned arrows into lotus petals, which fell to the ground. We will offer you guidance in your meditation practice, and selecting the right meditation cushion. If you are interested in setting up a shrine or sacred meditation space in your home, we can help you with this important task as well.
We currently have new Buddhist statues, singing bowls, incense and zafus (meditation cushions) from Nepal, Thailand, India and Tibet.
The lives of each one of us—Alfred, Maggie and myself—are so different, yet we have come together to share a message of compassion and love. We invite you to visit us, drink some tea, and take home a Buddha. We honor Alfred and thank him!
For additional information, please e-mail buddhaforyoutwo@gmail.com or call 619.582.1100. Buddha For You is located at 6360 El Cajon Blvd, SD, 92115 (near SDSU) and is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and also offers a free Introduction to Buddhism and Meditation class every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. You may also check out the soon to be renovated Website by Incompra Design at buddha-for-you.com, as well as meditationinitiative.org and thedharmabums.org.