Cast your eyes upon the sage, there on his donut throne

As you may have seen here or on my website TheWorstHorse.com, I often write about Dharma-Burgers, which occur when pop-culture and Buddhist imagery or ideas collide in advertising and marketing — arenas that many Buddhists of yore probably never anticipated. Sometimes these are inspired, sometimes inspiring; sometimes, they're ridiculous. Sometimes they're just merchandise, exhibiting full-on cultural co-optation.

Usually, they're some mix of all these, and — despite or because of that, I'm not sure — they're a whole lot of fun. (Except for those who might be offended, and that happens too.) This new vinyl Homer Simpson-as-Buddha statuette, (p)reviewed by KidRobot recently, takes the cake. Some sample copy: "Long ears signify past wealth, a big head represents the disconnection between mind and body, a tuft of hair symbolizes great inner wisdom, and a giant fried dough topped with pink frosting and rainbow jimmies equals deliciousness." Check out more shots of it via KidRobot, here.

For more Dharma-Burgers and such from Shambhala SunSpace, click here. (And be on the lookout for more coming soon; they seem to have been piling up recently.)

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