This Baccarat Buddha--now being featured in Bloomingdale's holiday ads--can be yours for $600, a price designed to help devotees achieve un-attachment to money.
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Here's another adorned New York sidewalk, this time from 1996, created in memory of homeless Lower East Side fixture Paul "Merlin" Hogan:
A wake and vigil of considerable moment, lasting for the better part of 2 weeks, was held in the neighborhood at Merlin's corner. Some nights the sidewalk and street around the memorial were so densely packed with people that it seemed that everyone in the neighborhood and the surrounding communities was attending, crowded together, all kinds of folks, from all professions and callings, from high and low paying their respects to Merlin.
More photos and reflections at the timeless civic shrine, Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.
This multifaith stained glass window is arguably the iconic image of the Lost finale, if not the whole series. The screenshot is from Jezebel, where Tracie Egan provides a characteristically insightful analysis of the show's Buddhist themes:
a component of Tibetan Buddhism, bardos are the different phases the deceased experience between dying and rebirth. It's a dream-like reality, created by the "awareness" (or a soul) that is freed from the body upon death. Because of the disconnect of the awareness from the physical body, the deceased doesn't immediately realize that he or she is dead. In the different bardo phases, the "awareness" needs guidance—from different deities, or, you know, guides (hello, Desmond)—to attain enlightenment, i.e., realize that they're dead. A karmic mirror (remember all those mirrors?) is held up to the deceased so that s/he can reflect and eventually recognize. Once this happens—and it can happen in any of the bardo phases, depending on how much emotional baggage a person has packed for the afterlife—the deceased achieves Nirvana, and can "move on." Depending on your belief system, this can be heaven, reincarnation, or some kind of simulated reality, like Eloise Hawking for herself and her son.
For more on how Tibetan Buddhism relates to other faiths, check out this new NY Times op-ed by the Dalai Lama himself--who, for all his spiritual insight, still fails to explain the deeper meaning of Lost's polar bear.
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Everyone's heard of Aphrodite, of course, but a luxury soap based on the Canaanite goddess Asherah--that's truly inspired! 
Via io9, Gade's fascinating artwork uses a blend of superheroes and Buddhist iconography to explore consumerist spirituality:
Gade points out "In most people's minds, Tibet is an ancient, mysterious and exotic place. The notion of 'Tibet' is a conundrum. When outsiders actually visit Tibet, especially Lhasa, they get culture shock when they see all the pop culture, fast food, rock music, Coke and beer, brand name clothing, Hollywood movies, the nightlife scene, etc. I think Lhasa ought to be renamed Lhasa Vegas."
Paintings from his 'New Buddha Series' and his 'Diamond Series' reflect this culture shock with images of such American iconic pop figures as Mickey Mouse, Spiderman and the Hulk appearing in the centre of traditional-looking works. Gade points out that these figures show up in every corner of the earth. "When I visited a tiny village called Pazi at the base of Mount Xishabangma (8,102 metres) in the Himalayas, the kids there had backpacks with Mickey Mouse on them, and were drinking Coca Cola. That made me realise the incredible power of those ubiquitous emblems of Western culture and Western values."
Although Gade's work deals with consumerism, which he finds fascinating, he says "I sincerely want my work to be part of the continuity of Tibetan art, to belong to a 'Tibetanised' context, rather than to a Western or Chinese language system". His new 'Mandala Series' takes the Buddhist mandala, which represents an entire world or state of mind, and puts in monsters, tools and objects or, as in Five new Buddhas, Mickey Mouse and Batman as two of the 'new Buddhas'. A Buddhist himself, Gade does not believe that such works are blasphemous as "The Buddhist gods are wise: they know precisely why I do what I do. … The responsibility of the artist goes beyond creating beautiful things. I just say what I believe."
Advertising "for a less painful world."
It's summer break time here at the BofG, which means intense pre-semester work for me but for normal folks, fun! If you have the time, I recommend hopping on a plane to Viet Nam to check out the Suoi Tien Cultural Theme Park:
Suoi Tien, or "the fairy stream," is the world's first water park devoted to Buddhism, specifically the Southeast Asian animistic form of Buddhism. The animism works well for the theme park; instead of Mickey and Daffy, Suoi Tien has chosen the Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Phoenix as its sacred animals, used thematically throughout the massive water park. Furthermore, workers in golden monkey outfits roam the park taking pictures with visitors and causing "mischief."
The park focuses on Vietnamese history, folklore, and of course on the Buddha himself. Among the parks many features are an oversized golden dragon whose mouth contains a neon haloed shrine to Buddha, avenues lined with pillars in the shape of giant elephant tusks, a swimming pool surrounded by a massive concrete facade of dragons and a giant rotating frog sculpture at the entrance. Particularly delightful are the twelve story face's of the Buddhist sages - with water slides emerging from their beards.
Thanks Michelle!
(For what may have been the first Christian water part, check out this retrospective of Jim Bakker's Heritage USA. I went on a research trip there after the Jessica Hahn scandal--it truly was a sight to behold.)
From 1953.
Pictured above is the logo for Buddha Bling, a UK fashion line worn by "socialites and celebrities." The secret to BB's success? Perhaps it's the "words of wisdom" on the back of each t-shirt--scroll down to the bottom of the BB home page for examples.