Can you spot the Buddha in this image of Vishnu’s ten forms? July 16 marks the beginning of a renowned chariot festival in Puri, a seaside town in India’s southeastern state of Odisha. The festival honors Jagannath, “Lord of the Universe,” a beloved manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu. During the festival, the icon of Jagannath and his siblings, Balabhadra and Subhadra, are paraded through the streets on massive wooden chariots. Fun fact: the scale and power of these processions helped give rise to the English word “juggernaut,” now used to describe an unstoppable force. Vishnu is said to manifest in ten forms known as avatars, one of which is identified with the Buddha. For centuries, local traditions in Puri have associated Jagannath with this Buddha-Avatar of Vishnu, affectionately revering the deity as “Buddha Jagannath.” Stone carvings on the Jagannath temple in Puri also depict the deity with the iconography of the Buddha, reflecting a rich history of dialogue and exchange b...