On the night of May 25, on the full moon, Buddhists celebrate Vesak, a holiday in honor of the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. It was the Buddha that people erected the most grandiose monuments and monuments of stone, bronze and gold. We will tell you where you can see them.
 |
| Buddha Statues |
1. Spring Temple Buddha
Height: 128 meters
Where: Henan Province, China
33 tons of copper, 108 kilograms of gold and 15 thousand tons of special steel - this is how much material the Chinese needed to express their respect for the Buddhist heritage and erect the largest statue on the planet.
 |
| Buddha Statues |
The monument depicts Buddha Vairochana, one of the five sacred Buddhas who represent wisdom. The idea to create a grandiose shrine came to the Chinese after the Taliban destroyed two huge Buddha statues in Afghanistan.
The height of the majestic figure is 108 meters, the foot in the shape of a lotus flower is 20 meters, the pedestal is 25 meters. And if we add to this the height of the hill, recently transformed into two large stone steps, it turns out that the whole structure rises to the sky by 208 meters.
2. Laukun Sectuar
Height: 116 m
Where: Sikain Province, Myanmar
Laukun Sectuar is considered the second largest sculpture on the planet. Moreover, at the feet of the giant lies the world's largest oblique statue of Buddha. The entire structure is located in a remote area of Myanmar, so only a few European travelers know about it.
 |
| Buddha Statues |
The erection of the monument can be safely called the construction site of the century. It lasted 12 years (from 1996 to 2008)! During the construction of the inclined Buddha, it was used as a mold for casting the clothes of his vertical copy. The gilded plates were lifted and connected by workers by hand, without the aid of cranes.
The statue, 116 meters high, depicts Buddha Shakyamuni, and together with the pedestal reaches almost 130 meters.
3. Ushiku Daibutsu
Height: 100 meters
Where: Ushiku, Japan
The Spring Buddha from Henan, China, has a twin in Japan. This is Ushiku Daibutsu. The incarnation of a majestic deity ascends to the sky 120 meters (height with a pedestal), decorating a park in the Japanese city of Ushiku.
 |
| Buddha Statues |
The statue is even 16 meters or less than its brother in China, but it is also majestic and large-scale. Just imagine 2.5-meter eyes, a 10-meter ear and an 18-meter hand!
The hands of the Japanese Buddha, like the Chinese, are turned towards the interlocutor, the right one is raised, and the left is lowered along the body. This is the position of the vitarka mudra, which symbolizes the transmission of the dharma teachings. In other words, this is how Buddha shows everyone the path of enlightenment, liberation from suffering and attachment.
4. Guanyin
Height: 108 meters
Where: Sanya City on Hainan Island, China
You will also see it from the window of the plane landing at the Sanya airport. She gives the impression of a goddess walking on water. It is difficult to take your eyes off the white stone figure and the shining golden halo around her head.
 |
| Buddha Statues |
This is Guanyin, the female incarnation of the Buddha, also known as the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The goddess has three faces: she looks at visitors, holding a book in her hands, the second face is depicted with a rosary, the third with a lotus flower. Thus, the many-sided Guanyin represents the three aspects of the Buddha: past, present, and future.
5. Great Buddha of Thailand
Height: 92 m
Where: Miang District, Ang Thong Province, Thailand
 |
| Buddha Statues |
You can also meet the Great Buddha in Thailand. Ang Thong province has the largest statue in the country and the ninth tallest statue in the world. Sitting in the lotus position, the Buddha was built for 18 years, all work was completed five years ago. The statue is made of cement and painted with gold. It reaches 92 meters in height and 63 meters in width.
6. Grand Buddha
Height: 88 meters
Where: Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China
And this is the world's largest bronze statue of Buddha. The figure froze in the same pose as the Spring Buddha in Henan Province and his Japanese cousin Ushiku Daibutsu. The height of the statue, which rises on the Lingshan hill, is 88 meters. The giant weighs about 800 tons. To get close to the Buddha and touch his feet, you need to walk 217 steps.
 |
| Buddha Statues |
The Grand Buddha is adjacent to the Xiangfu Yozero Taihu Temple, where tourists love to rest. Recently, the Brahma palace and the palace in the shape of the Buddha's hand were built here.
7. Buddha Maitreya
Height: 71 meters
Where: Sichuan Province, China
Buddha Maitreya is another ancient Buddhist colossus. The statue of a monk radiating kindness and love is located near the city of Leshan and is visible for several tens of kilometers around. Locals call him Da Fo, which literally means "Buddha of the Mountain".
 |
| Buddha Statues |
It is incredible, but the 70-meter statue is indeed hewn thicker than one of the cliffs of Lingyunshan Mountain. The width of the shoulders reaches 30 m, the size of the head is almost 15 m, the fingers of the hands are 8 m, the length of the nose is 5.5 m. For 90 years, starting from 713, day after day, the rock gradually assumed the majestic image of Buddha.
His half-closed eyes look at Mount Emeishan, and his feet rest on the river. At the level of the Buddha's head, there is a temple complex, a park and a pagoda 38 meters high. And to the right of the Buddha's head is the lovers' park. Couples cling to padlocks here, and keys are thrown into the abyss so that they never part.
8. Buddha Lantau
Height: 34 m
Where: Lantau, Hong Kong
There is also a Buddhist symbol of clarity of thought and purity of thought in Hong Kong. This is a bronze statue of Buddha sitting on a lotus. The peculiarity of the Big Buddha on Lantau Island is that it faces not to the south, like all large statues of Buddha, but to the north.
 |
| Buddha Statues |
A staircase of 268 steps leads to the Buddha, but this does not stop the numerous tourists and pilgrims who come to Hong Kong to touch his feet.