Gigantic Buddha to smile over Southeast Asia from Vietnam

 

 

Gigantic Buddha to smile over Southeast Asia from Vietnam

Gigantic Buddha to smile over Southeast Asia from Vietnam

The construction of the great statue of Buddha Amitabha started in 2015 at the Khai Nguyen temple, Son Tay, Hanoi, 43 km west of downtown Hanoi. 

At a height of 72m (236 feet), the statue will become the tallest Buddha statue in Southeast Asia, potentially attracting large numbers of devout Buddhists as well as tourists for many years to come.

The 13-storey Buddha statue, of which 12 floors will be dedicated to Bodhisattva worship, is being built on the Buddhist perspective on reincarnation. Work on many inner parts of the statue is still underway and expected to take four or five more years to complete.

Small statues of the Buddha on the roof of the Khai Nguyen pagoda.

In the temple area stands another, much smaller statue of Buddha Amitabha in deep meditation.

The Khai Nguyen Pagoda, dating back to the first half of the 16th century, has undergone a lot of restoration work over the years.

The current ceiling of the pagoda has been elaborately painted by many artists for over one year.

A total of 1,975 statues were all cast by monks in the pagoda.

Many visitors write their prayers and wishes and hang them on branches of the banyan trees in the pagoda.

The abbots at the pagoda hope that the positive energy from the Great Statue would contribute to peace in the country and the world.