I was moved to read in "In Vienna museum, Nepalis worship stolen Buddha" (#108), that devotees are worshipping the image of the Patan Buddha. It shows that the icons of Nepal's culture and religion are not some dead material objects of art. This is a vibrant and living culture, not a lost civilisation whose artifacts can be plundered and sold for cash. The German art dealer is reported to have wanted 200,000 euros for the Buddha mask. Does he know that some things don't have price tags, some things can be priceless, some things are too sacred to trade? The Buddha image is part of Patan's Samyak fesitval when hundreds of Buddhas from individual guthis are paraded around the town. Their combined sanctity is supposed to give devotees a spiritual sense of community. Having said that, I am appalled at the apathy of the Nepal government in bringing back its stolen property. How can a state that doesn't value its own faith expect others to treat it with respect?

The trade in stolen idols is a bit like drug trafficking. It is driven by demand. There is no point blaming the people who sell the objects, saying they don't value it so we will buy it for "safe-keeping". If the temptation wasn't there, no one would steal it in the first place. And the temptation comes from the high prices that these "art objects" fetch in western "art markets". The sooner both east and west learn to attach great spiritual value to their faith and heritage, the better it will be for the advancement of both civilisations.

R Fabian
Berne