The Identity of the Money-tree-shaped Buddha Figure—Refutation to Mr. Wen Yu-cheng

A halo,the raised open palm of the right hand and cross-legged sitting of the Buddha figure of a money tree are obviously characteristic of Indian Buddhism,and they embody a combination of the early Indian Candhara and Mathura artistic styles.The combination of a tree with Buddha manifests both the important events in his life and the combination of the symbolism and imagism of the early Buddhist arts.It was a symbol of the Buddha before the figure of Buddha came into being,and it was the transitory article from the symbol to the independently cast Buddha figure.The nature of the Buddha figure of a money tree is similar to that of the spirit of Queen Mother of the West.They can be called Buddha-God Worshipping Pattern.Laozi's Buddha Mirror unearthed in Mengjin,Henan Province of China was reproduced in Tang Dynasty.The Buddha figure of a money tree had nothing in common with Most Exalted Lord Lao(Laozi) or the figure of Laozi.