The ash Buddha

Today JB and I cut down a volunteer ash tree right between the neighbor’s and our backyard. The tree has been getting repeatedly tangled in the powerlines. It was growing in the exact wrong spot, right underneath the place where the wires dip down before they enter the house. JB and I enjoy volunteers in our garden but this ash tree was a constant worry, right in the midst of our raspberry bushes. Cutting a tree down is a serious decision. With sadness but determined practicality, we decided to remove it, however we committed to using its wood and planting another tree in a more appropriate place in the garden.

So early this morning (Too early as it turns out. Someone called the police because we were making too much noise too early in the morning.), JB and I began to take the tree down. First the higher branches out of the power lines. Then the two main branches. When we cut through the trunk of the ash, there was a Buddha (see photo above).

I’m not sure whether this was a sign that it was OK we took the tree down, or a sign that we made a poor decision. In any case, the ash Buddha is drying on the back porch and the longer branches are drying in the garage. Now as I gaze on other trees in our neighborhood, I wonder what other sacred symbols are held at their individual cores. By taking the ash tree down, we discovered its Buddha and, consequently, the intrinsic Buddha inside all living things.