Icons and effigies

Caṇḍa Ānanda said, “Under the paint and gilding, our effigies are only wood and plaster. Where is the divinity? They are intended to remind us of the gods, symbols of divinity, not the gods themselves.” Caṇḍa Ānanda also said, “I’ve met a sculptor who’s made a hundred Ganeshas. Even if he invited Ganesha to inhabit each of them, where is Ganesha?”