Rock cairns populate the area known as Buddha Beach at the Cathedral Rock Vortex along Oak Creek in Sedona. There are literally hundreds of tiny hand crafted rock piles, made from rocks and stones along the shore.

As I was walking through the area I overheard a woman telling a group of people that the rock cairns are started by one person, then other people will add to them. As you will see in the coming pages, the rocks are placed in unusual places and some you don’t believe should be where they are. It is also fun to see all the unusual shapes and piles and realize that this isn’t a permanent structure, but is a living garden of rocks. Each person that adds to it or moves something around is a part of it.

As I was photographing the tiny (and not so tiny) rock structures I knew they had to be paired with quotes and sayings from Buddha. I hope you will enjoy this journey through Buddha Beach paired with some insightful Buddha quotes.

~ Deborah Carney

What we think, we become.
Buddha