Several years ago I was fortunate enough to visit the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace at the Phap Vuong Buddhist Monastery in Escondido, CA as it was beginning its worldwide tour. As I looked through old photographs that I had taken of it, I started to remember my experiences there. I spent some time speaking with Ian Green, director of The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Australia and the man responsible for bringing the Buddha and its world tour to conception. Mr. Green relayed to me some of the details about the Buddha, which is a remarkable work of art. He told me that the jade was cut from a boulder in Canada near the Yukon border using specialized diamond saws. The jade is a rare, gem-quality Polar Jade and was carved by skilled craftsmen and women in Thailand. The Buddha stands 2.5 meters (8 feet) high and weighs … READ MORE»