'Only no images, and above all no clearly defined ones' ('Nur keine Bilder, und vor allem, keine festumrissenen' ) Peter Handke is demanding in Ballade of the last Guest (Ballade des letzten Gastes)

In the 15th century Leonardo da Vinci noticed how decayed, sedimented or wet walls can play the most wonderful tricks on our imagination. The same he saw happening when staring into the fire or contemplating the clouds in the sky.

What might Leonardo's response have been to this unassuming wall in Bodh Gaya, North India, the place where Buddha found enlightenment 2500 years ago, with nothing to be seen in one moment while entire worlds can manifest in the next, echoing worlds within us (see also Mandalas of North India)?

Burkhard von Harder, 2024