A buddha-image is not treated as a representation once its eyes have been opened. The eye-opening is the final act of making — often literally painting or carving the pupils last — accompanied by consecration, and by sealing relics, grain, or written mantras into a cavity in the body. From that moment the image is handled as a presence: it is not stepped over, not photographed casually in some traditions, not moved without ceremony, and if a temple is decommissioned the image is deconsecrated first. It is the clearest instance of a tradition that denies a permanent self nevertheless being precise about where presence lives.