Stolen Buddha Statue An Ancient Masterpiece From The Himalayan

[icy]

KATHMANDU: The 400-year-old masterpiece from Patan, which was stolen 19 months ago and was about to be sold to a museum in Austria, is to be returned to Nepal, thanks to some Buddhist sympathisers and scholars of Austria. The 1.2-metre tall gilded head of Dipankar Buddha was stolen on February16, 2002 from its caretaker’s house at Chibah Nani in Nag Bahal. The trust members reported the theft to the District Police Office but in vain. The idol was discovered later when a German art dealer, Peter Hardt, tried to sell it to Dr Schicklgruber, the curator for South Asian art of the Ethnographic Museumin Vienna, at a price of $200,000 (Rs 16 million) in May 2002.

When it was identified as a stolen object by scholars of University of Vienna, with the help of the Buddhist community of Lalitpur, the matter was reported to the Interpol and the case taken to the court, which has now ordered to return the image to Nepal.”

A series of lucky incidents led to the idol’s discovery,” Dr Alexander v Rosatt, who had been involved in rescuing the stolen idol, told The Himalayan Times today. He hoped that this particular incident would set an example and it would make the smuggling of ancient art objects more difficult in the future. A special function is being organised on Friday in Kathmandu to hand over the idol to the rightful owners.

[Blueupali]

It's very fortunate that they are giving that back to it's owners.  I think it is sort of um.... contra-recommended to steal statues of Buddha....

[pgdharma]

It is fortunate that due to its timely identification by scholars of the University of Vienna with help from the Buddhist community of Patan, the 'Dipankar Buddha' was returned in May 2002. Such an antique holy masterpiece must be kept in a museum with proper security.

[Freyr Aesiragnorak]

Lol. Blueupali, that's on way of putting it!

The theft of religious statues and other artifacts, even though occurring for centuries, is on the rise. One of the most contributing factors is the fact that there is an increasing number of those who are what we call "rich people." They seem to have the desire to have beautiful objects, and some of them think beautiful means old. It's a shame that the thought of money can lead someone to actually steal such a holy statue in the first place.

[Jessie Fong]

Many religious artifacts have become part of the art collectors' collection.  Due to this rise in demand for something unqiue and antique, many people are quick to cash in on this lucrative trade.



Statues of Dipankara Buddha in Kathmandu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C4%ABpankara_Buddha
According to some Buddhist traditions, D?pankara (also D?pamkara) was a Buddha who reached enlightenment eons prior to Gautama, the historical Buddha.

By the 17th century, D?pankara had become a figure of veneration in Nepalese Buddhist communities. These followers consider him a protector of merchants and associate him with alms-giving.
He is also considered the protector of the sailors, and sometimes statues of D?pankara are found on the coastline to guide and protect the ships in their route.
Folk worshippers in Taiwan also revere D?pankara.

[hope rainbow]

Is there bad karma associated to selling Buddha statues and turning a profit from it?

[bambi]

Thank goodness that the Buddha statue is being returned to Nepal. Of all the things to steal, the thief had to steal a Buddha?
Never use any Buddha images to commit such negative karma. To sell for profits... I dare not even think of the countless lives one has to spend in the lower realms...

http://huntingtonarchive.osu.edu/resources/downloads/sutras/01earlyTexts/Karma%20sutra.pdf
Buddha explained in the sutra about karma "To be struck by lightning or burn by fire will be the punishment for dishonest trade dealings"

[kris]

I agree with @Jessie that more and more Buddhism artifacts have become art collectors' item. They are just so beautiful, and that's why we should have more Buddhism art pieces for people to keep and display even if they are not Buddhists.

But there is a limit to it.. don't steal the holy items from temple or holy sites. it just sound so wrong.

On the other hand, more and more holy sites of Buddhism have been uncovered and I do hope that these historical sites are preserved well for practitioners to pay homage to.