The following flower bed started out as a Duck pond about 30 years ago and although I never convinced any Ducks to hang out there, the water it collected did help the pinon tree stay alive. After the first Summer I lost all interest and for the next 28 years it collected dirt and organic debris, then this year I tore half of the pond out, filled everything in, and planted what has turned out to be indoor plants. It looks better than it did, and I like the plant colors. Guy picked up the Laughing Buddha somewhere on the road and although I felt a little odd about using a religious symbol as an ornament in a flower bed, it seems to fit as the plants grow larger. Also, now that I have the statue I don't want to throw it away. I often get trapped in similar odd dilemmas. I still have a package of Holy Vibhuti that a friend brought to me from India. Although her stories of walking through India were interesting, I wasn't real comfortable with her reason for going (it was a religious pilgrimage, but she is a Protestant from New Jersey), and I really didn't want the package of ash that she insisted I take. Anyway, I've never used it for any thing (wouldn't know how) and haven't even looked at it since the day she gave it to me, but I haven't thrown it away either. I would hate to be inappropriate with something that someone valued so highly - she traveled half way around the world and lived in utter poverty until she could meet Sai Baba, whom she and her fellow devotees regard as a divine being. She then spent part of a year living in more poverty at his ashram and he materialized the ash for her during one of their encounters.
I may just sprinkle the Vibhuti on the Buddha and see what happens.