{"product_id":"palms-joined-monk-statue","title":"Palms Joined Monk Statue","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt looks like praying. It is not.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e合十, héshí, means ten joined.\u003c\/strong\u003e Both palms brought together until the ten fingers meet. Nothing is being asked for. The right hand is traditionally read as the Buddha's side and the left as your own, so bringing them together is the whole point of it, and the gesture is made on arriving somewhere rather than while wanting something. It is closer to a handshake than to a prayer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bowing one is doing something more specific. \u003cstrong\u003e問訊, wènxùn, is the bow made on entering a hall, and the word is the ordinary Chinese for asking after someone's health.\u003c\/strong\u003e You bend first, and the first thing said is about them. Nothing of yours gets mentioned until that is done. That is the entire content of the gesture, and it is why the figure is bent from the waist rather than kneeling. This is courtesy between people, not worship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo the two of them are not two poses of the same statue. One greets and the other answers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStanding is the beige one and the taller of the two at 19cm. Bowing is grey, and 16cm.\u003c\/strong\u003e If you are only buying one, the standing monk holds a room better by itself. The bowing one is the more interesting piece, but it is bowing to something, so it wants a companion, a Buddha, or a doorway in front of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor a place where people arrive.\u003c\/strong\u003e An entry console, a desk where you receive people, a tea table, a counter. The gesture is a greeting, so it does its work where there is somebody to greet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhere to place it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEye level or below, turned into the room rather than at a wall, since it is directed at whoever walks in. Give the bowing figure something to bow toward. Keep both out of direct sun, which fades unglazed clay over time, and dust with a dry cloth rather than anything wet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Unglazed ceramic, matte with a fine sandy grain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStanding:\u003c\/strong\u003e Beige, 19 x 6 x 4.5cm \/ 7.5 x 2.4 x 1.8in\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBowing:\u003c\/strong\u003e Grey, 16cm \/ 6.3in high on a 6cm base\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGesture:\u003c\/strong\u003e 合十, palms joined. The grey figure adds the 問訊 bow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIntention:\u003c\/strong\u003e Calm and welcome\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIncluded:\u003c\/strong\u003e One figurine, the style you select. The pair shown is two orders\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hand finished, so colour and height vary a little between pieces\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCare:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dry cloth only. Keep out of direct sun\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Earth Tibet","offers":[{"title":"Standing","offer_id":52563686097198,"sku":"14:200006153#1","price":89.64,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Bowing","offer_id":52563686129966,"sku":"14:94#2","price":89.64,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Pair","offer_id":67597133349166,"sku":null,"price":153.78,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/4807\/7102\/files\/zen-monk-statue-2.webp?v=1788920278","url":"https:\/\/www.earthtibet.com\/products\/palms-joined-monk-statue","provider":"Earth Tibet","version":"1.0","type":"link"}