Small statue behind glass--the
    characters are too small and out of
    focus to read, but it looks like a Zen
    master.  The black body dressed in a
    robe is a representation of the
    technique of black-laquering the dead
    body of the master, after an iron bar is
    strapped to the back.  The organic body
    then decays.  Two of the most famous
    cases of this technique are 6th Patriarch
    Huineng, and Shitou Xiqian, whose
    laquered zhenshen, or mummified body,
    was supposedly taken to a Soto Zen
    temple in Japan decades ago, but this is
    now being disputed as to the
    identification of the real "Stonehead".  
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          oshobob  The Living Workshop                                         
                                Donglin Zen Temple-China--photos