History: This elegant calligraphic representation of the character for Buddha has been carefully copied from a Chinese engraved glass amulet. On the reverse is a Lotus flower, a blossom regarded by many cultures for it's purity, but none less than Buddhism, where Shakyamuni himself sits enthroned upon the Lotus. In nature, the flower emerges from stagnant and murky waters, yet produces a blossom of delicacy and perfection, a metaphor for the struggle to achieve enlightenment.