Soportújar wants a 3-metre-tall Buddha statue… well, better said the Buddhist community does, which is just a 3-day camel trek and a packed lunch from the village.
The province of Granada, or ‘kingdom’ as it was about a 500 years ago, was a place where the three monotheists religions co-habitated in relative peace.
Of course, with the fall of Granada to the unwashed Christians; (i.e., heathens), these new landlords soon kicked out the Muslims and Jews, bless them.
For close to 30 years, however, Granada has been the home to four faiths, with the arrival of the Buddhists, who set up a temple in the Alpujarra, thanks to the reincarnation of llama Yeshe into the new corporeal form of Osel Ling, also known as Osel Hita Sánchez.
Sooner than you can say, “Ommmm and pass the curry,” there was a spiritual centre up there where people can meditate in splendid isolation. Locals refer to the place as the Pequeño Tibet, not unsurprisingly, by the way. Nobody in the village is quite sure how many people are up there – visitors come and go – but it is thought to be around 50.
Access is via a rugged track that only a decent 4×4 would tackle. One visitor claimed he had to find 1,200 to have the underside of his car repaired after having braved the access track.
Anyway, back in May the community requested building permission to erect a 3-metre-high statue of Buddha and the Town Hall saw no problem with this. After an inspection by the municipal surveyor and the setting of price of 120 euros for the said building permit, things are set to rock, it seems.
The request was made out in the name of Anne Wenaas from Norway, who runs the Retiro O.Sel Ling. The text of the document specifies a bronze statue of the before-mentioned size to be slapped on Parcela 87 on top of a suitable concrete base and firmly fixed to it, as it is worth a euro or two. Also included are medicinal-herb gardens for pensive wanderings, the odd flower & trees and a couple of benches.
The Mayor and the rest of the council didn’t see how they could possible oppose such a sublime request and fired off an approval signature promptly.