I Visited the Largest Buddha Statue in Thailand!!!!
Finally I visited the largest Buddha statue in Thailand in 2011, please watch the video below. ~Tsem Rinpoche
H.E. Tsem Rinpoche Visits Wat Muang
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/Thai01WatMuang.mp4
Dear friends around the world,
Patsy Lee sent me these beautiful photos of the largest Buddha statue in Thailand!! Wow. It is absolutely breathtaking. Even the pictures are taken in such a surreal manner.
Please take a good look and be blessed. Be inspired.
I love this so much. I love Thailand, it’s form of Buddhism, the people, culture and country so much also. I love their King and respect him so much because he lives/acts for the people. He gave his whole life in the service of his people.. What a wonderful country. One of the best places I have ever stayed, visited and lived in. I really like Thailand very much.
Tsem Rinpoche
Wat Muang, Ang Thong
Ang Thong is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand. The name means “golden bowl” which refer to Angthong as a central for prosperity as it has a lot of rice fields.
Wat Muang is located at Mu 6, Tambon Huataphan, approximately 8 kilometers from downtown. Go along Ang Thong Wiset Chai Chan route (Highway No. 3195) Km 29 for 1 kilometer, the temple will be on the left side.
There are several important attractions in the temple. The Wat boasts one of the largest statues of Buddha in Thailand – 95 meter (312 ft) tall – Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin. The ubosot of Wat Muang is surrounded by the biggest lotus petals in the world. Ground floor of Wihan Kaeo is a museum (open only on Saturday and Sunday during 9 am.5 pm.) exhibiting sacred objects, antiques, and figures of renowned monks from all over the country.
The upper floor of the museum houses the first and largest silver holy Buddha image of the country, which was constructed in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of His Majesty the Kings throne ascendancy. Within the temple compound, there are figures of heaven and hell, Thai god paradise, Chinese god paradise, and a huge statue of Kuan Yin (Avalokiteshvara) female goddess. Besides, there are figures narrating the history of Thai-Burmese battle in Wiset Chai Chan.
I was also sent a link to Wayne’s Dhamma Blog that has more pictures from the wat. So these pictures were extracted from someone’s Dhamma blog. I want to share it. I don’t know who Wayne is, but I thank him for posting these. I am reblogging here to share.
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left: Temple of Guan Yin
right: Thousand-arm Guan Yin (or Avalokita in Tibetan)
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left: Gold Ubosot (temple) with Chinese Dragon guardians and many lotus sculptures outside.
right: Silver Ubosot where the monks perform their daily chantings
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left: The inside of the silver Ubosot is filled with mirrors creating an effect of infinite space
right: The undecaying body of Ajarn Kasem, the previous abbot.What a holy monk, as his sacred body does not decompose in the hot Thai heat. Thousands go to his body to make prayers and get blessings. Wonderful! The power of the sangha.
The previous abbot, Arjan Kasem’s bucha and photo portrait.
Phra Malai (monk) preaching to the hell-beings on Uposatha days.
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left: Barbed tree where sinners who commit sexual misconduct are forced to climb up and down by the torturers and their hell-hounds.
right: A sinner who cheats others being hanged by her limbs and mercilessly slashed by her torturer.
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left: Sinners who are addicted to alcohol and other intoxicants are force to drink boiling metal liquid by the torturers.
right: Sinners who constantly lied, abused or slandered others have their tongues hooked in hell, or are forced through the meat grinder.
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left: Those who killed, murdered or slaughtered other beings are themselves slaughtered alive by the torturers in hell. They die and keep coming back to life to go through the same torments again and again due to the force of their own evil karma.
right: Thieves and robbers are impaled and sawed up in hell.
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left: The ungrateful sinners who repay kindness with evil re thrown into the wok of boiling oil to be fried alive.
right: The Hall of hell where King Yama and his judges decide on the appropriate punishments for the sinners, in accordance to the unwholesome deeds that they have committed. Every good or evil karma done shows up in the judges’ record books without fail.
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left: Tall statues of male and female hungry ghosts, who have to suffer constant hunger and thirst.
right: A statue of Phra Sivali, the symbol of great merit. Indeed merit is the thing that sustains all beings; for without merit beings are doomed to suffer endlessly in the wheel of Samsara. The Hell Park serves to reminds us to avoid evil and make as much merit as we can when we are alive. Once we die and fall into the lower realms, it will be too late to repent.
You can watch a short clip of the surroundings of the large Buddha Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin by clicking the video below:
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/v20496309TwNMAwSf.mp4
What a wonderful place to visit on our next break or holiday!! I recommend people to go definitely. You must visit Thailand and it’s many places of interest at least once in your life. It’s not be missed..trust me!!!!
Tsem Rinpoche
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BELOW IS EXTRA INFORMATION FROM WAN WHO OF COURSE IS FROM THAILAND:
wan (wasukamol@yahoo.com) has left you a comment:
Thank you rinpoche for sharing about this big Buddha statue. I’m looking forward to see big Lama Lama Tsongkhapa statue at KWPC. I would like to share some information about this big Buddha statue which i read from Wat Muang website in Thai language, This big Buddha Shayamuni statue, its hight 95 metres and width is 63.05 metres. Phar Arjan Kasem and his students started build from 2 May 1991 and completed on 16 February 2007, it took 16 years to complete. Estimate fund used about 104,261,089.65 baht or about 10 million ringgit, all funds came from donation. U might view more photos from Wat Muang website gallery as http://www.watmuang.com/gallery1.php.
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
It’s really beautiful and amazing to see from the images above especially those at the rice fields. Looking at the huge buddha statue it really brings a sense of calm and peace looking at this big buddha adorning the big skyline. This gold-painted statue took 18 years to build. Ang Thong houses a number of cultural and historical attractions, as well as a large number of Buddhist temples. This huge Buddha statue could be seen far distance and those who merely looking at it is a blessing. I have not be there but would love to see for myself the beauty of this huge Buddha statue. Thank you Rinpoche and blog team for this sharing of a magnificent Buddha statue. 🙏👍😍
Amazing big Buddha which is the tallest Buddha statue in Thailand and the ninth tallest in the world . That’s the towering Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin of Wat Muang. It’s also known as the ‘Great Buddha of Thailand’, located 140 km north of Bangkok, in Ang Thong Province. This gold-painted statue took 18 years to build. Ang Thong houses a number of cultural and historical attractions, as well as a large number of Buddhist temples. This huge Buddha statue could be seen far distance and those who merely looking at it is a blessing. I have not be there but would love to see for myself the beauty of this huge Buddha statue.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing of a magnificent Buddha statue.
Its really beautiful and amazing to see from the images above especially those at the rice fields. Looking at the huge buddha statue it really brings a sense of calm and peace looking at this big buddha adorning the big skyline.
Big statues and religious Artifacts of Buddha images are used as inspirations to create and spread rememberances of good humane qualities, such as compassion and loving kindness, as-well-as inner peace .Thank you very much for this beautiful article.
Thailand is a Buddhist country, there are many Buddhist temples and outdoor Buddha statues all over the country. It is very meritorious to construct a big Buddha statues as it will benefit many sentient beings. If each atom is a merit, the bigger the statue is, the more atom it takes to build. Therefore, the bigger the statue is, the more merits we can collect if we contribute to the construction of it.
It is said that a Buddha statue can calm the environment and reduce natural disaster in the area. The big Buddha in Lantau Island, Hong Kong was built for this purpose and it has calmed the sea. One community in the US has a high crime rates but after the residents installed a Buddha statue, the crime rates dropped.
The photographs of Buddha Statues are awesome. i am wondering about my feeling when i see the Buddha statue in real.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these beautiful pictures and video on Wat Muang. It is an amazing Buddha statue and I love that it is build in the middle of the paddy field.
So natural and stunning in every angle and time. May the statue bless everyone who visited the place and also the area.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this photos of the largest Buddha statue in Thailand . Its really beautiful and amazing to see from the images above especially those at the rice fields. Its so beautiful.Hope to visit Wat Maung one day…..and the temple of Guan Yin too.
thanks again
I think this is the largest sitting Buddha statue even in the world.
Seeing the image of the statue makes me thrill.
All of the images are quite beautiful and so informative.
Other various figures are quite beautiful. Are they people from the hell?
Omg So big statue of Lord Buddha.
No wonder it is the biggest statue and its so beautiful too.
The photographs are quite good. Looks like a pro-work.
This is the second time I am reading this article and I had the good fortune to go with Rinpoche. Looking at the huge buddha statue it really brings a sense of calm and peace looking at this big buddha adorning the big skyline. There is magic in having a Big Buddha on the horizon, magic in the sense you want to see more pictures of the buddha or you like to look at the buddha picture much longer.
Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing.What a holy site to see and experience when we get a chance to view it live in Thailand.It is great to have such a large and magnificent statue of the Lord Buddha to bless the land and the area surrounding it.
It would be great to have such a beautiful statue at Kechara Forest Reserve for people all over the world to do pilgrimage there,What a sight to be remembered.
No wonder Wat Muang is said to be having one of the largest statues of Buddha in Thailand – 312 feet tall. It is so wonderful, but it is not merely the size of statues that count. It’s the great devotion of the Thai people, who go to pay homage frequently and spend a lotof time praying and meditating. Big statues and religious Artifacts of Buddha images are used as inspirations to create and spread rememberances of good humane qualities, such as compassion and loving kindness, as-well-as inner peace (such as Kwan Yin Pusa). These are also said to be used to purify negative Karmas of past actions and to develop future positive good qualities so that they can be of great benefit to the World.!
Thank you, Rinpoche for sharing such beautiful images with us. This pictures are so beautiful and makes me feel like wanting to go there! I must convince my mum to take me there som day 😛
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this. All these photo of the largest Buddha statue in Thailand are really beautiful and amazing.
Series of photo of the Hell Park really remind us to be mindful of our actions. For every sin that committed by us, there will be appropriate punishment for the sin. We need to accumulate as much merits as possible while having this human life in order to help us in our dharma practice and be out of samsara which the suffering is unlimited and never ending. Human life is precious.
The Buddha statue is really magnificent and I always fancy the curls on the Buddha’s hair. I came to learn that the curls signify one of the mark of the enlightened beings.The moment I place my eyes on this wonderful statue, I feel really calm. I believe the people of Thailand will be blessed with the erection of this huge and majestic statue being erected in their land. Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing.
I absolutely adore animals! Please, we need more posts like this from you!
[…] ලැබෙන්න ඇත්තෙ මෙතනින් වෙන්න ඇති…..ඊට […]
This image is also present in the website polyboon.com. Where you can make a virtual waiphra, or so, virtual buddha puja to this statue. Here is the link: http://www.polyboon.com/worship/inside/waipra087.html
May all benefit
Sadhu!
The vivid display of sufferings undergone by the sinners in hell in the hell park is best used as reference while reading the Heart Spoon by Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche (http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/2010/07/a-prayer.html).
The sufferings by sinners in hell reminds us to make good use of our current lives to collect as much merits as as possible through virtuous deeds in order to be liberated from samsara. It also reminds us to stay away from non-virtuous acts that would only burry us deep down into the three lower realms that would deprive us the chance of redemption, until our bad karma has been exhausted, that probably would only happen after thousands of lifetimes.
Dearest Rinpoche,
Thank Rinpoche so much for sharing with us such a magnificent view and such splendid craftmanship. It is so awesome! I am so happy see these pictures. Seeing this makes me think about our upcoming KWPC project. It is so exciting and I am hoping we can see it up soon. Which makes me think about the KWPC & KSK fundraising charity show on 18th July 2010 in Sunway Hotel. Hope everyone will attend the show and with such support, we will be able realise our Kecharian Legacy! Thank you Rinpoche, for guiding us towards such a great vision and we will see it manifest surely and that time we will also be part of the legacy worldwide.
Sawadeekrub!! I love Thailand too!! I even think of retire there when I get old. There are few reasons I like Thailand – “Land of Smile”. Generally, Thais are friendly and easy going. I like see people smiling, of course smiling without the intention behind which I believe most of the Thai people do. Their lives seem to revolve around “sanuk” (fun), and they give the impression that if something isn’t sanuk, then why bother with it?
Most of Thais are Buddhists and Buddha temples with marble stones and golden statues are the common sights all over Thailand. It is such a good merit can access to dharma at the doorstep. Thailand saw increasing political turmoil recent year. I hope things will getting better soon.
Thanks Ripoche and Patsy for sharing this. I like to travel especially to the Buddhism country. This will be in the list of my next travel destination.
Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) is another temple I would think should visit if you got a chance to travel to Chiang Mai. I was there year 2009 and it is so impressive although it still under construction. And I was told will be taking years to complete. Huge project!!
“It is planned to comprise nine buildings including the ubosot (chapel), pagoda, hermitage, crematorium, monastery hall, preaching hall, museum, pavilion, and rest room facilities which will be built on an area of 7 rai (about 3 acres).” http://www.thailand-travelonline.com/thailand-destinations/northern-thailand-information/wat-rong-khun-white-temple-of-northern-thailand/1182/
AWESOME!!! Can you imagine if that’s Lama Tsongkhapa? Can’t wait for KWPC to manifest… then we’ll be able to see a HUGE Lama Tsongkhapa there.
When you look at the 1st picture Buddha is big, but when you look at the Buddha from a distance, He is even BIGGER. Look so unreal almost like a doctored pictures.
The benefit of looking at a huge Buddha statues for a layperson like myself would be a peaceful mind. You feel so at ease, so happy, you can feel the peaceful surroundings… also remind me of how small we are. We are just as small as an ant under the Buddha’s finger.
Such a magnificent sight! What splendor Thailand holds! It takes very strong faith and reverence to create such homage to Buddha. Thailand is famed for its beautiful beaches and friendly people yet it is riddled with unrest and social problems. I wonder why? When it’s obvious they strongly believe in karmic repercussions, why do they continue the mistakes over and again?
It’s a great inspiration for Kechara and KWPC though – to form the largest Tsongkhapa in the world but Kechara will emulate the good and learn from the bad. It’s good to know that the aim is for KWPC to be the perfect spiritual sanctuary to find peace & happiness through faith and living your lives to benefit others
Very well taken!! It’s strange to look at these artistically taken pictures and not to think of how spectacular will it be when our very own enormous project (KWPC) finally completed. By thinking of it already giving me a moment of bliss, can you visualize if people for all walks of life were actually making offerings and prayers in the main hall? WOW…and all of us be able to benefit from this vision thru our very owned Guru, Tsem Tulku Rinpoche. Truly amazing!! At times, I feel like am in another world when Rinpoche is giving a Dharma talk in the centre. It’s like I am without my own body but with just my mind listening to Him. Is Rinpoche really in front of me? Surreal…
Beginning of this year Chia, Chia’s sister, Pamela and I went to Bangkok. Believe it or not it’s my first trip to this amazing city and it’s very sad to know that what just happened in Bangkok not too long ago. Streets whereby all of us can strolled freely while indulging our samsaric fulfillment became a battlefield among themselves. The very same people might be greeting, sitting or standing side by side together in a public transport during the normal days ended up fighting with each other. Sad…Bangkok surely an amazing city, during our stayed there beside the samsaric activities we did went for multiple temple visit and did some offering to the Sanghas. Studying and observing the temples, the Buddha statues, the stupas and their way or style it’s a little different which reminded me what Rinpoche said to us long time ago if I remembered correctly.
He said “Water is water, no matter which cup you poured the water into it, it is still water. Be it a tea cup, coffee cup or a plastic cup from the local mamak store. It’s still water.” In another words, a Buddha is a Buddha. No matter how different the appearance is, due to the design or different culture of a certain country, it is still a Buddha. Solely depending on how your imprint mind is set and how you perceive the Buddha should looked like.
Post behalf of Adrian Chow
it is a delight to see so much resources put into creating such a beautiful landmark such as this 95 meter tall statue of lord Shakyamuni. I am sure a holy relic of this size will surely bring harmony and peace to its surroundings. I hope this can inspire all of us to play our part to build KWPC that will have a similar effect for our country, our loved ones, ourselves and most important for the spread of the goodness of dharma. I have gone to google earth and saw the statue of Lord Shakyamuni at Wat Muang in the satellite images. How cool would it be if we could find KWPC on google earth. I think it’d be awesome to the max. Lets take Wat Muang and all the other legendary landmarks as a inspiration to believe that KWPC is every bit possible.
Wee Liang
It all started as a vision – a dream!
With lots of sweat, money and 16 years later, Phar Arjan Kasem and his devoted students made it into a reality. They understood the immense benefits it would confer not only to people involved in the project but also to all the visitors to the site in the future. Due to their kindness and untiring efforts, we are able to visit, enjoy and receive blessing from this awe-inspiring Buddha statue.
One of the reasons of building huge and beautiful Buddha Statues is that it attracts more visitors to the site, and thus seed of enlightenment can be planted into more people’s mindstream.
H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche also has a similar vision – dream, Kechara World Peace Center (KWPC) with the largest indoor Lama Tsongkhapa statue. Let’s make it a reality too.
the statue is truly magnificent. somehow when i’m presented in front of such imposing figures a wave of calmness always fills me, replacing any negative emotions that stir occasionally within. will definitely check it out when i’m in thailand. 🙂
Wow! Huge! How serene this statue of Sakyamuni made to the otherwise typical Thai’s country side!
I see my self as the peasant ploughing my land in the pictures. When the harvest is bad, I gaze upon the horizon, there I find my answer and refuge. When time is good and harvest abundance, I gaze over the horizon; there I found my answer and refuge. I for refuge to the three jewels…I take refuge in my own karma…
Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma sambuddhassa
My heart goes to the holy one in saffron robe, the one worthy of to make offering to, the one that bestow the greatest knowledge to me. The one that untiring serving others welfare.
Sahdu Sahdu Sahdu
It just trully amazing how human can build such a big statue. I believe to build something this big trully needs lots of planning, effort,prayers and funds. Beside that the iconography of a buddha statue is one of the most important part in the making of a buddha statue. Each and every hand,leg,body,eyes,mouth,hair colour,face, gesture have their respective meaning. Kechara Discovery one of the 12 departments of Kechara Organization will be involve in the making of the largest indoor statue which is a long life form of Lama Tsongkhapa statue.
For more information one can check out Kechara Discovery Website
http://www.kechara.com/discovery or join us Kechara Discovery in facebook
http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Kechara-Discovery/116321801726706
Prostrating to such a big buddha statue must bring tremendous merits. When KWPC manifests, the largest Lama Tsongkapa statue in the world will be able to bestow countless merits for people who are able to see it and prostrate to it. Merits that would enable people to understand the dharma better. May Lama Tsongkapa’s teachings spread far and wide from KWPC and benefit many people , just as I’ve had the fortune to receive it.
There can be no doubt about images in the likeness of Buddha being able to bestow blessings and plant good seeds.Even from the above beautiful pictures of Buddha we can already feel its positive calming energy in us.
The largest Buddha statues in the world arise from the collective faith,merit and good energy of the people and believers in the 3 jewels.
When virtues are declining , as in the dark ages, temples and images of Buddhas will be neglected ,destroyed and forgotten.
Rinpoche’s mission to build the tallest Lama Tsongkapa statue in the world in KWPC is opportunity for all of us to practice virtue in order to manifest this holy Retreat and World Peace Centre so that many can benefit and be blessed by it.
After looking at the photos of this brilliantly constructed Buddha Statue in Thailand, it makes me think about the number of people that will be visiting our KWPC (Kechara World Peace Center) when it comes to live! This being built majestically along the padi fields with the believe of blessing the whole padi field with more harvesting in future. It is also said to calm down the whole area with this WHOPPING 90 feet tall statue. It also shows to the public that Thai are very devoted not to Buddha but their king. What struck me was when i scrolled down further the pictures and saw some images in hell. Makes me feel the importants of hindering oneself from negativites. Not only it creates unhappiness ultimately but also extreme sufferings in the end of our lives when the karma ripens. Scarry!
What an awe inspiring sight to behold. Imagine seeing this everyday when we wake up. How amazing it must be for the farmers that live there and visitors that go there… This statue must be visible for miles and what a great addition to the horizon. We need KWPC and Tsongkhapa statue to be up and evoke these precise feelings for all to benefit.
The very vivid Hell Park images on the other hand is so thought provoking and in your face that it does in a way give one the same thought processes as seeing a beautiful Buddha image but in reverse. Not reverse in a bad way but in a way where we see the negative aspects of our nature and dwell upon that and hence get the same if not swifter results. Both thought provoking aspects (serene Buddha image versus stark vivid depictions of hell) to me lead to the exact same thing. To aspire to be a better person and to reach Kechara Paradise!
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures and also the writes-up about the big buddha in Thailand.
I would like to share one of the holy places i have visited in my Thailand trip.
Thailand is know as a land of SMILE, you can see the smile everywhere in Thailand, even there’s alot of stray dogs at the steet, but you can feel the smile from them, seriously there are gentle and they dont bite people, some of the stray dogs are very cute also, feels like want to adopt them.
Ok, during my trip in Thailand, i have visited a few holy temples, besides of those Commercial temple like Wat Poh (The Big Reclining Buddha), Wat Trimtir (Pure 100% Gold Buddha Statue), The Emerald Buddha (Thai Palace), Golden Mount and etc. I came across to one of the temple which really cacthes my Eyes, the temple is called “Wat Intharawihan”. Yes, is another temple, but inside this temple, there’s a buddha statues which really touched my heart and also catches my eyes — is a Very BIG BIG and TALL Maitreya Buddha (about 32m High and 10m wide), and i do read the story about this temple, and it said that, this BIG and TALL Maitreya Buddha is build using 24k Gold and glass mosaic, one things that touched my heart is, this Big Maitreya Statue is fully build by the monks in Thailand and it takes abt 60 years to complete.
When i read that i was like WAO, this BIG statue is fully built by the monks, i was totally touched and my tears drop, imagine that how many monks is needed to build this BIG statue? and takes about 60 years to build, imagine that, what have we done for our life for now? Immediately i take out my Mala and sit in front of this holy image and do my prayers. You can feel the peace and calm in this place, when i walk around, sit and make offerings, i can really feel the strong energy, maybe because this buddha is highly blessed, and in my mind i can imagine the drop of every sweats of every monks trying to make this Buddha up.
This was really amazing experience for me, and i realize that a monk spend their whole lifetime to do meditation, study dharma, do prayers just to benefits other, or for the monks who spend their whole lifetime to build this Buddha Image to blessed people and plant dharma seed. Think of that, i’m as a normal human being, i should do more dharma works and practice and transform myself. This was the things that suddenly came into my mind.
Thank you rinpoche for always there for us to teach us and also share your teachings with us, and i’m glad and happy to know you as my mentor/ guru throughout my life.
For information, you can find out more information by google this temple name –> Wat Intharawihan. It is very near to HuaLompong where all the commercial temples located, from there u can take a Cab or a “Tuk Tuk”, tell them this temple name, or tell them this temple near to Khao San Road. (P.S: Sometime the Tuk Tuk or Cab might not know this place, so you have to tell them a temple which got big buddha near Khao San Road).
As said, Thailand is known as land of smile, but to me Thailand is a country known as land of Buddha Smile…
Cheers.
Peter Hoh
It is said that sponsoring and building large representations of the enlightened body of a buddha brings a lot of merits. Wow, I am really happy for all those that have been involved in the project of this Buddha statue, they have a lot of merits to dedicate and the statue will definitely inspire many people to find out what it is that makes buddhas worthy of such large statues. When they find out, I hope they like it a lot, and get inspired to achieve the same qualities in turn. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? What are we waiting for, let’s all become buddhas!
(well, at least, we certainly don’t want to go to these places where there is so much suffering going on as depicted by the scenes from the hells… brrrr…)
I love Thailand! Beautiful people, good food and culture. Most of the Buddhists there are very devoted. They would make offering everyday, circumambulate the temples especially when it is a special occasion. The years and hardship of the Sangha in building this Buddha is inspiring. To know that no matter how hard and long it will take, the determination and love to benefit others is so strong. Cant wait for our very own Kechara World Peace Centre (http://www.kechara.com/peace-centre/news/what-is-kwpc/)to be up and ready with a HUGE image of our very own lineage…
TSONGKHAPA…tadaaa…
Not forgetting…
A Foundation for Social Responsibility…
An Institute of Alternative Arts…
An International Tourist Destination…
A Journey of Personal Discovery…
A Centre of World Peace…
HOLY WOW – The images of the Buddha’s statue is breathtaking! Makes me want to run out and jump on the next plane out to Thailand and make my way there right this moment! (first making sure I have enough memory cards for my camera!) This reminded me a lot of the Tian Tan Buddha Statue in Hong Kong’s Lantau Island at Po Lin Monastery; which I absolutely love. There is a certain calm in the air when a Buddha statue is present, regardless of the size and where the location is. I can only imagine the vibe in those places; charged with positivity and peace. When are we getting our own huge Lama Tsongkhapa statue? I can’t wait! 🙂
Thank you Rinpoche and also WAN Shared the informations and amazing pictures about this largest buddha statue in Thailand.
The minute i saw the pictures, i vividly visualized our KWPC outdoor or indoor statues to be manifested. Grand & holy statues can be seem atop of KWPC.
The manifestation of this buddha statue in Thailand took many years and with the support of many people . By knowing the history and hardwork behind, we will learn and we can take an good research obout this project.
Rinpoche mentioned in one of his teaching, Statue , especially huge Tsonkhapa Statue will stabilize the region, to calm down people’s mind. This Shakaymuni statue by looking at the pictures already calming down my mind, it would be nice physically seeing this, wish to be there soon.
Dear Rinponche, The pictues are indeed beautiful (postcard quality)… what really caught my attention was the short video clip. If you really listen carefully you can actually hear the peace and serinity of the temple grounds, with crickets and birds chripping in the back ground. Can you imagine sitting at the mable steps in the early morning right at the foot of this giagantic buddha… just sitting quitely, absorbing the energy around the environment and mindfully contemplating why people all around the world would go thru so much effort and spend vast ammount of resources (thailand is kinda poor) to build huge beautiful images of the teacher. Why? Before I got to know Kechara, know a little bit more about the dharma… i cannot really appreciate the significance of such undertakings. (being ignorent)But now, I can understand why people do it even if they have to eat less and go hungry. These images of our teacher represents hope and his teachings (Dharma) are formula to liberate our selves from the slippery slopes of samsara… one small mistake down we go to HELL… which takes me to the second part your post… All I can say about HELL is Ouch, Ouch and more Ouch… The illustrations was more than VIVID to deter most people to even contemplate on breaking the 5 Basic precepts… which we normal lay people can so so… easily , unconsiously and eagerly transgress without even us being aware of it… such as lying through out teeth daily, having uncontrollable bad thoughts and intentions. Hmmmm…. This post really makes me contemplate and meditate on how one should conduct oneself on a daily basis… “OH BOY….”
This is certainly a massive Shakyamuni Buddha! The people of Wat Muang are very fortunate to have Lord Buddha emanate Dharma seeds in all ten directions upon them everyday.
I dare say that the nation’s consistent commitment to Dharma all these years is the cause to accumulating the merits to have this auspicious achievement. I can only imagine the gentle, peaceful and blissful energy the wraps around Wat Muang. I look forward to the manifestation of the largest Tsongkapa image at KWPC as well. As Rinpoche taught, for KWPC to manifest, we need to generate a lot of merit TODAY through consistent Dharma work.
KWPC will bring limitless benefit to the whole world because it will communicate spiritual education in a manner that will transcend race, religion, nationality, gender, age…everything. A complete text of formal spirituality education will be available to lay people for the first time. How exciting!
On a different note, with reference back to the photos Patsy shared, the illustrations on the hell realm are awfully horrendous and frightening! I have heard about the sufferings inflicted in this realm from Rinpoche’s teachings. However, seeing “real” illustrations of what happen in hell leaves no more room for pretense. The last thing any sane person would want is to die every few minutes from having your body torn apart and return again to experience the same gruesome fate. Seeing this, we should do everything to reach enlightenment.
Thank you Patsy and Rinpoche for this glaring reminder so that we will not waste our precious human life to create causes to “go to hell”.
so my question is this rinpoche, how would worshipping a buddha statue make me go to nirvana? If not, what the point ? Why Golden Buddha statue? Sometimes traveling in Thailand i see Thai people are really poor, with so much spent on such lavish statue; and although i cannot but feel awed, i also cannot stop from feeling that it’s a waste of money, and could benefit people that needs the money more. Or even if the goal is spiritual in nature, shouldn’t there be better way to help people achieve spiritual awareness? Couldn’t the money be use to better people’s life, poor people life so that they might be less burden by everyday life and be able to take a breather and learn more of the Dharma? What if this statue that cost million, were built to materially enrich some party ?
Oh wow, that’s a huge & impressive statue. I can’t help but feel awed, and the location of the statue make it even more stunning. I love how the surrounding backdrop, magnify the beauty of the statue. I think i would love to see this statue. Thought its not really buddha’s teaching to worship his image; but still.
It’s breathtaking at the sight of the Buddha image surrounded by paddy field. Imagine, this grandeur image is able to be viewed from far and wide with many thousands of eyes to feast on! Wow! Such great benefit to even to see it! Just cannot wait for our largest Tsongkhapa statue to be up in KWPC. What most beneficial in this is planting the seed of liberation and enlightenment onto every being’s mind whoever sees it whether near or far. Bigger the better. Even contributing towards building such huge magnificent Buddha image outdoor is very meritorious and beneficial. Thus, it is important to educate and promote the importance of having such huge Buddha images.
Thank you Rinpoche for all the information on the giant budddha statue, I hope to visit it some day. The pictures are indeed amazing. I liked the one in black and white the most. I would like to see the figures of the monks, hungry ghosts, heaven and hell. Are the figures depicting the correct information as if a person commits all the crimes stated below like stealing, lying etc would they have a different torture, specially for them? So all the people in the slaughter houses are immediately sent to hell for just doing their job, so is there any exceptions for the conditions to be slaughtered over and over again in hell if you kill mosquitos, ants or other insects…. Thank you to aunty Wan for providing extra information to help us know more about the 95 metre tall statue
Oh no… I saw the picture months ago from an unknown senders mail. But I thought it was just digital picture that was created. Really never thought is real. This Buddha Statue is really big. From afar is so real and shining… Seeing the statue brought me back to the time of my photography project in some Thai temple in KL and also one in PJ State. I have pick up the one in PJ State instead as it was nearer to me. It is not a big Temple but it is really beautiful.
Having to see this Buddha Shakyamuni statue in Thailand it’s an inspiration already. It reminds me that every thing is possible if we work as one. In the near future KWPC will grow very big and our big Lama Tsongkhapa statue can come to a stage that will inspire many others.
Wow what spectacular statues and there sure is a lot of detail put into the hell scenes! Those scenes are always a good attraction for anyone who visits them. I know for one my dad gets easily fascinated with such depictions and so do most kids because it is a clear and easy way to help spread the idea without words. So people who cant read can still get the message.
perhaps this is why huge statues are so important: the more people who see them the more people benefit from them. Lama Tsongkhapa’s statue in KWPC would be really beneficial for Malaysia and the whole region as Lama Tsongkhapa unified the teachings and lineages in Tibet at that time, and thus represents unification and harmony. His image would be able to bless any being that would come in contact with him.
I cant wait for KWPC to manifest!
Khartmandu, December 2008, was when I was taught what Buddha images meant by Rinpoche. I have seen many Holy images, of Buddhas and Jesus Christ (The Sugar Loaf in Brazil) and to me they are just images for tourist attraction.
Now I am not so ignorant thanks to the patience of Rinpoche to teach me.
There are many reasons for the devout to sponsor and create huge Buddha images and of the many reasons the major one is that when gazed upon by us lowly sentient beings, we have created the potential for our Dharma seeds to be opened and become better people whereby our thoughts and actions will benefit others.
Secondly is that on the images, are actually aspects of the Dharma from the Head to the feet of these images are teachings. This happened long long ago when people could not read and write and these images were their text.
Wonderful to know that some one like me who had no knowledge of what statutes stand for, with education from Rinpoche and my fellow Kecharians now appreciate the true meaning of them and love to gaze on them for blessings to have Dharma seeds within me to open.
Wow, I am really looking forward to the largest indoor Tsongkapa statute, planned for Kechara World Peace Center. Wonderful!
I like the Hell park very much, it reminds people of doing good things is very important.
When I was young, I always listen to the story about hell, they said “if you lie, your tongue gonna be cut off!” I thought they just want to scare me, and now I realized it’s all truth.
I think a lot of people have same thoughts as I was, treating all those just a story to scare people.
In fact, it’s we ourselves letting us to go to hell, to suffer all those. If we only see the things we have now, only want to be happy just for this moment, by lying, cheating, hurting people etc just for our own will, we will go to hell. It’s the hell that’s created by ourselves.
Wow. Those pictures are absolutely awesome. In all honesty, I’m usually a wee bit cynical when ordinary people say things like, “I saw this picture and was filled with so much faith”, but that’s exactly how I felt when I looked upon those images.
The sheer size of the statue seems to reflect the significance of the Dharma, and the magnitude of the meanings that lie within the teachings of the Buddha. As Wai Meng said, the images are breath-taking, and I echo his remarks and wish for all great Buddha masters to return for the benefit of all beings. This is simply a beautiful post, Dear Rinpoche.
Kindest regards,
Sandy
This Hell Park will reinforce Day 11(Suffering of the Lower Realm) in the Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. With Rinpoche’s guidance on walking the right path, we should try our very best in this lifetime to escape being reborn from these realms. Big Buddha Statues are all over the South East Asia especially Thailand. More people will benefit from the great blessing by just looking and visiting these holy sites. With KWPC coming soon, it will be a new additional blessing to the people around the region. Despite the general assumption of being the outskirt state, Kelantan housed 4 big Buddha statues. These temples are supported by the Malaysian-Thai and devotees in the surrounding area with the blessing from Malaysian and Thai government. Each holy statue is bestow with a specific title or name by His Majesty King Bhumibol. The 4 famous sites are Wat Macchimaram (Kg Jubakar), Wat Pothikayan(Balai), Wat Pothiviharn (Reclining Buddha, Tumpat) and Wat Pikulthong (Walking Buddha -Tumpat).
In every Thai’s heart regardless of their religion is the love for their King. As such, many meritorious deeds in Thailand is done in honor of their loving King as they in turn love their King very much. Such a massive Buddha statue must have taken much effort for the farming folk and members of the Sangha a long long time to build. As u can see from the proportion of the Buddha statue, the grandeur is simply amazing!
One thing that really stuck out in my mind is that the abbot and Sangha took so much effort in raising the funds, looking for the materials and engaging people in building of the statue is really monumental. And for monks to fundrasie for RM 10 Million in a country such as Thailand over a span of 16 years is really something we need to bow our heads at their feet. The holy Sangha really work hard for our benefit of such an astounding image of the Great Sage
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu!
I remember about 12 years ago when I first heard about the Maitreya project which was then a plan to build a huge Maitreya Buddha statue in one of the poorest states of India, Bihar. I didn’t know much about Buddhism then and wondered why they wanted to spend sooooo much money to build this huge statue yet there were so many starving people in Bihar.
Then it was explained to me that if they built hospitals or donated food to the starving, they would only be helping them for this life. However, if they built a huge Buddha statue, they would be giving Buddha imprints to everyone who saw him and these imprints would benefit them in the future. Much more permanent than medication or food.
I love this Buddha statue. This is the form of Sakyamuni Buddha I grew up with. The sight of it is simply awesome and it gives a calming effect on the viewer. With a size of this magnitude, many people in Thailand and visitors will be able to get a glimpse of this holy image from a distance and be blessed by it. The fact that the Thai people were prepared to spend almost RM10 million to build this statue over a period of 16 years simply shows their deep understanding of the benefits of making enlightened images. A Buddha statue can bless the environment, calm down negative forces and bring peace to the surrounding place. The Thais understand there can never be too great an investment for enlightenment.
Wah!!!That is very beautiful Buddha statue. This statue is huge and very real. I thought a living Buddha sitting in from of me. I like Thailand very much. Many years ago every time I went to Thailand I must go into one or two temples nearby. I like how Thailand people respect Buddha. I like Thailand temple because I feel warm and comfortable when sat inside.
When I first see those pictures of the largest statue in Thailand, I am very touched. How beautiful it is. How fortunate people live nearby. This big holy statue will blessing all the people and environment around there generation by generation. I am rejoice for them!!!
Oh my… this beautiful, holy statue look so MAJESTIC, so mystical, and gives a nostalgic feeling…It is so stunningly beautiful. What comes to mind besides this holy image bringing blessings and plant the seed of enlightenment in the minds of thousands of visitors, building and maintaining this temple will also be a vehicle for many to collect merits.
I’ve heard questions from people asking what’s the rational to build big statues especially when so many people goes without food. Why not just use the money for food and to improve living conditions? From Buddhist teachings, our experiences stems from our own karma..which includes poverty and any other unfavorable conditions. Making offerings to the sangha, creating holy images etc purifies and the collection of merits from virtuous deeds will uproot the cause to be poor, the causes to suffer..
Dearest Rinpoche,
Thank you very much for sharing these beautiful photos with us. It was indeed beautiful and serene. I miss visiting Thailand very much as I have not been there for the past 3 years even for those times that I visited Thailand was pray for material needs at the Erawan Shrine, golf games and getaway. Now with better understanding of the Dharma after meeting Rinpoche’s teachings looking at these big Buddhas and the torturous hell. It brings back memories of my childhood days when my mom would bring us to Haw Par Villa to teach us about the Karma and the torturous hell for wrong deeds. In the 70s, then when I first visited Thailand, I was full of ego wonder why they keep bring us to the temples, I was more interested in the shopping and would not go to temples now it seems to me that I have wasted all the golden opportunities because of my ego and all the maras. If I have not been so egoistic and a close mind. I wouldn’t have waited so long. But nevertheless, it is gives me chance to see what I have gone wrong in my past and I shall not dwell in my past but moved on be humble. Even now if I regret my stupid deeds I cannot go back and re-do. I can tell myself not to create and/or collect more negative karma. Thank you once again Rinpoche. Meeting the Dharma is the best thing that happens to me.
Upon seeing the magnificent glowing golden Buddha statue in front of me, as I visualize myself driving past padi fields in the land of humble people, Thailand leaves me a feeling that “we are so small in size” compared to the statue.
Being so small in our good deeds to others
Being so small in our spiritual achievement in this lifetime
Being so small in our guru devotion, faith and belief
Being so small in our generosity of kindness to our centre, guru and spiritual growth
These images showed us how much the Thai people have paid their respect to their King and in to their faith. How much they understand that our very own “negative karma” result in consequences we have to bear after our life ends.
We are responsible for our own after lives.
The Buddha statues are awesome! I have been to Bangkok countless times and never thought of venturing outside the metropolitan for sightseeing. Next trip will be different
These are the thoughts I have after seeing the breathtaking pictures and Rinpoche’s descriptions:
(1) We are extremely lucky to be blessed by Buddha’s teachings thru the kindness of our Guru, hence we should treasure this golden opportunity which is as rare as the golden egg yolk floating on ocean
(2) Its a LONG road ahead of us in our spiritual journey – start NOW!
(3) Stop all wrong deeds and hold our vows well – the horrible images of hell and the endless sufferings not REAL!
The Buddha statues are awesome! I have been to Bangkok countless times and never thought of venturing outside the metropolitan for sightseeing. Next trip will be different 🙂
These are the thoughts I have after seeing the breathtaking pictures and Rinpoche’s descriptions:
(1) We are extremely lucky to be blessed by Buddha’s teachings thru the kindness of our Guru
(2) Its a LONG road ahead of us in our spiritual journey – start NOW!
(3) Stop all wrong deeds and hold our vows well – the horrible images of hell and the endless sufferings are so REAL!
Every good or evil karma done shows up in the judges’ record books without fail.
My aunt used to tell me that every good and bad deed will be recorded in my personal book and on judgement day, I will have to attend an interview to decide whether I go down to hell or up to the happy land. I used to laugh it off as just a ruse to keep me in check.
Now I don’t need her to remind me of my “lives” ahead – a glimpse at these pictures already tell a thousand words.
What a good way to remind us of do’s and don’ts.
Where is the biggest Buddha in Kuala Lumpur, I want to go there. hehe
From Rinpoche’s article, I not only learned about Thai Buddhism but also about Buddhism in general. Thai society is very supportive of the sangha and highly revere them. Once, Rinpoche reported that even the Thai king would bow to a sangha. This is what is missing in Malaysia where lay people do not know how to show respect to monks and nuns. But I think most people respect the sangha in their hearts although there is no outward display of respect. Rinpoche asks us to look at the big Buddha and be blessed. This is because Buddhists believe that merely seeing a Buddha statue will plant the seed of liberation and enlightenment in the mind. So there is much benefit to be accumulated in the building of large Buddha statues. This is what Rinpoche wishes to do in KWPC – to build the largest Lama Tsongkhapa statue in the world. The hell park is a reminder to human beings not to commit evil. The role of the sangha in helping hell beings is also highlighted. After reading this article, I realize the importance of promoting mass consciousness among the Buddhists in Malaysia so that there will be more support for the sangha, and to help build big Buddha statues in our retreat land because this will not only bring peace and prosperity to the land, but also help many sentient beings.
Amazing stuff, large statues really make you feel the insignificance of the human existence, at the same time a reminder to the great human potential in all of us. It doesn’t have to be Buddhist to give this same effect. What makes a person so important to have a statue made in their likeness.
Thai style, takes one look to know where you are. Can’t wait for KWPC to come up, in all its grandness. This region is going to look soo good in the coming future. That hand the reaches down to the people circumambulating is sooo nice gives you that shrinking feeling.
Wowww! This Buddha statue is amazing. The Thais are so fortunate. Malaysians will be just as lucky if we, the Kecharians, know how to treasure the opportunity to erect the Largest Tsongkhapa statue in KWPC.
When I was small, a visit to the Haw Par Villa in S’pore scared the shit out of me and left a deep imprint on my mind. That’s my first introduction to the different realms.
The figurines depicting the 3 lower realms at Wat Muang Ang Thong are impactful. Hopefully they will help prevent people from doing non virtuous things and develop conviction in the spiritual path.
These are indeed such inspiring pictures! They really take my breath away. Rinpoche has said many times that Buddha images truly bless us. By just viewing a Buddha statue, we would be receiving so many blessings and the seeds of Dharma are planted within us. The Thais are so fortunate to have such a massive majestic Buddha statue to bless their entire land, people and environment. This is something for us to benchmark when we build our KWPC. Imagine when we can see our KWPC structures from afar, from all the ten directions – the image stands out so regally amongst the madness and hustle bustle of our daily lives. Buddha images, in whatever shape or form, always have a calming effect on me. It’s therapeutic and comforting in all respect.
It is mindblowing to see how such massive Buddha statue was built with so much devotion and committment. Some people may ask why Buddhists always like to build huge gigantic statues, the answer is pretty simple. In our normal daily lives, don’t we crave for a bigger car, a bigger office, a bigger house? So the sheer gigantic size of a statue reveal that the oject is of great importance and priority to the people. Check out the link below, it shows more than 40 grand gigantic remarkable statues in the world. Those shown are mostly buddhist statues.
http://losu.org/architecture/grand-gigantic-great-remarkable-impressive-statues-world
It is also said that the bigger the statue one can afford to buy or to build, the more merits one can collect form such action. I am so looking forward at this point to the largest Tsongkhapa statue to be built in our Kechara world Peace center(KWPC). May Lama Tsongkhapa blesses this region with peace and harmony for many eons to come.
Thank you very much Rinpoche for all the wonderful pictures of the big Shakyamuni statue. He is really breath taking! Just looking at Him gives me a sense of calmness, serene and surreal no matter which angle you view from.
I can imagine when our Je Tze Zin Ma is up at KWPC, the grandeur of Him will put everyone at awe! Blessing the environment and people who lay eyes on Him!
The second part depicting the scenes in the hell realms serves as a gross reminder for everyone to always be mindful of our daily conduct and not to create more negative karma that will sent us further down to the hell realm. This reinforces the chapter I read in Lamrim on being born into the hell realm where our negative karma catches up with us…. Real scary!
The undecaying body of Ajam Kasem is such a miracle and it also signifies the power of a pure sangha who holds on to their vows and to benefit others. Even after their death, they still continue to benefit others!
We are really lucky to have Rinpoche with us whose every incarnation has built huge institution to benefit others. There is still hope for us especially me! Thank you very much Rinpoche!
How they depicted hell in this manner really created an impact. Scared the shit out of me! I will share this to others to scare the shit out of others too. Hehe.
I love Thailand too … I especially love their food. I have not been to many places in the world but Thailand is one of the countries other than Malaysia I did visit several times. When I was younger, I had wanted to visit Thailand because of the temples. Until today, I still have not visited any temples in Thailand. I did see the King passing by. I was walking by the side of the road in Bangkok and everyone will stop and just salute him. The Thais truly respect their King. I will definitely make a point to visit this temple or any temple as it will always be a blessing to see a Buddha statue.
I agree with the others that the pictures are breathtaking and surreal. Imagine once KWPC (http://www.kechara.com/peace-centre/) manifest, people around the world will come visit and photograph our Lama Tsongkhapa statue and beautiful world peace centre and post it on blogs and even selling photographs on stock image sites. There are so many possibilities of things to come.
I love all the photos on this blog because they are so surreal and the Buddha statue looks supernatural on the verdant landscape of Thailand. Thailand is truly a beautiful country and a great example of one of the last Buddhist countries in this world!
I am really proud of it because it shows what an amazing influence Buddhism can have upon a whole culture. Thais are known to be very gentle, graceful and artisitic. I am pretty sure Buddhism has everything to do with that because it permeates every aspect of Thai culture. These golden Buddhas are a testament to how Buddhism can be successfully integrated into modern society that fosters enlightenment. I guess Thailand would be the closest thing to what Shambala must be like or even a distant cousin of Kechara Paradise.
I have been to Thailand many times and visited some of its beautiful and holy Wats but this one at Ang Thong is really splendid!
Buddhism is so steeped in Thailand with the support from its government and people that the sangha members are well respected and taken care of. Even the kindly King of Thailand humbly pays respect to the sangha.
KWPC aspire to infuse some spiritual aspects while providing a landmark for tourists, local and abroad, to visit. KWPC wish to draw tourists especially from abroad to visit Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, and other beautiful states within Malaysia, to see and experience the many diverse cultures and traditions that Malaysia have to offer.
http://www.kechara.com/?cat=701
Thank you for these photos Rinpoche. I haven not had the chance to see this Buddha but have been lucky enough to visit the Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho and several other really beautiful temples all throughout Bangkok (especially near the Banglapur area). What is remarkable is not merely the statues but the devotion of the Thai people and how highly they regard the Three Jewels.
The temples are alive and vibrant – they aren’t just some tourist attraction but a place where many locals go to pay homage and spend time praying or meditating. This makes the practice alive, relevant and real.
Even if people do not enter into deep practice in Thailand, there is still a great deal of respect for people who are on the path, the Sangha, the Buddhas. As Rinpoche has often explained, just having respect for the Three Jewels and acting well in relation to enlightened beings is positive and creates merit for a spiritual practice to flourish later in time. I think this is what is most beautiful about Thailand – that there is so much great support for people who want to dedicate their lives to the service of others through their spirituality and religious practices.
It’s exciting that under Rinpoche’s guidance we’re now creating KWPC, to create a new generation of practitioners in Malaysia. We hope very much that this will create a whole community and mass consciousness as it has done in Thailand.
Awesome! Massive! Amazing! Anymore superlatives? This is an expression and extension of the Thais devotion to their belief; Buddhism. Afew years ago, i had the merits to visit Dharmakaya Foundation. It is about an hour away from Bangkok city (barring traffic jams). The main prayer hall can fit 100,000 people at any one time. And they were planning to build a bigger one, to fit 1,000,000 devotees in a hall!! The guide who gave us an orientation of the place told us that if muslims have mecca, buddhists also deserve a place that they can concregate at one time in a big way. The “Mecca of Buddhism” is now in Thailand.
This is awesome! I have not come across such a huge statue in my life! This is truly amazing! Yes, I love Thailand too for the country people’s dedication to Buddhism and it is no surprise that the people are well mannered, soft spoken and very dedicated. This makes Thailand a very unique place on earth.
I will be going to Bangkok soon, and I believe this trip will be very different and more meaningful since I’ve known Dharma and it won’t be just pictures taking at the temple and admire the great architectural of the temple anymore. I will visit and get all the great places to visit from Paris and Jean Ai and I am excited!!! hehe…
Thankyou Rinpoche for your support and this will definitely be a satisfying and meaningful holiday. 🙂 I wish one day i will have a chance to have a trip visiting this beautiful Buddha Shakyamuni Statue with my Dharma brothers and sisters… am I hinting a pilgrimage tour soon? hehe…
Blessed.
Wow! Awesome!!! The pictures are beautiful and the Buddha is so alive amongst the surreal landscape. Imagine a Lama Tsongkhapa one. I remembered Rinpoche’s teachings that the bigger you built an image of a Buddha, the more merits you collect as it is equal to amount of atoms in the Buddha image itself. So imagine how much merits all those involve in building that Buddha image will be getting and purifying! Not only that, Rinpoche has always mentioned that it also brings peace, protection and prosperity to the area and its surroundings. A lot of people don’t understand that and they always question why we have to built this and that and be so called “extravagant”. That just shows how little Dharma knowledge they have.
Thailand and Thai people are so lucky they have Dharma as their foundation. That whole village and area is so blessed. I hope one day we too can have a huge Buddha over looking our beautiful land in Malaysia and blessing everyone .
Thank you rinpoche for sharing about this big Buddha statue. I’m looking forward to see big Lama Lama Tsongkhapa statue at KWPC.
I would like to share some information about this big Buddha statue which i read from Wat Muang website in Thai language, This big Buddha Shayamuni statue ,its hight 95 metres and width is 63.05 metres.
Phar Arjan Kasem and his students started build from 2 May 1991 and completed on 16 February 2007, it took 16 years to complete. Estimate fund used about 104,261,089.65 baht or about 10 million ringgit, all funds came from donation.
U might view more photos from Wat Muang website gallery as http://www.watmuang.com/gallery1.php.
Dear Rinpoche ,
Amazing statue of Buddha Sakyamuni ! Thank you for sharing. Yes indeed Thailand is a place where people live , eat and breath Buddhism. I have been to Thailand many many times and i simply really love it due to the fact that there are a Buddhist nation. Its amazing how the people there incorporate Buddhism in to their daily lives. You can actually see it in every nook and cranny of their society.
But Rinpoche , i am curious is it true , thats how Hell will be depicted in Buddhist scripture ? Is it really like that ?I am very curious.
Awesome! What the beautiful Buddha shakyamuni statue at Thailand. Thank you Rinpoche post out this beautiful picture on your blog to share with us. Thai people ready have the good merit born in these Buddhism country. Buddhist temple, huge stupa, Buddha statue everywhere at Thailand.
Having big Buddha statue at that area will always find peace and serene energy blessing by the powerful Buddha image. People can collect merit by making offering to the Buddha statue. I can’t wait for our KWPC land come up soon and build the largest Lama Tsongkhapa statue in the world.
The second posting pictures look like at “Ho Pa Villa” at Singapore. All the sence from about the hell remind me the if we create negative karma will cause us to the three lower relms.
Regards,
Chia
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing, the Buddha is Beautiful!
I LOVE the image of Buddha, HE LOOKS SURREAL.
It’s shows how POWERFUL THE BLESSING OF DHARMA IT’S, IF WE PRACTICE…Even the body of Ajam Kasem who was the holy monk, after he died the body does not decomposed at all, although the weather in Thailand is hot. WONDERFUL.
I like this blog very much especially Phra Malai ( monk) preaching to the hell-being on uposatha days’s pictures.
It’s a important reminder to me that always keep me in track, what action is good and bad, eventually where i am heading to,( my next life). Thank You Rinpoche for such a WONDERFUL reminder.If i have a chance, i will visit this HOLY places in Thailand.
Love,angel
Terima kasih Rinpoche!
I first saw these similar pics of Wat Muang Ang Thong posted on a Theravadin Buddhist website some time ago back in Feb of this year and especially saved a copy of that black & white astounding image of the large Buddha overlooking and dwarfing the entire landscape and posted this thought:
“Every time I start feeling petty, self pity, anger and all that yadayada…I will make it a point to contemplate on this image…simply breathtaking”
(Looks like the Thais have not quite forgotten their Mahayana past and are quite open to the Chinese Buddhist influence as well.
To my knowledge, I ‘met’ Wayne since 2008 on the huge online Buddhist Forum site E-Sangha before its collapse last year and both of his blog plus the other site at http://www.lianhuayuan.net is a great source of info on many pilgrimage sites and Dharma thoughts on both of the Theravada and Mahayana traditions.)
Holy. Crap.
That statue is MASSIVE! It’s SO beautiful and I agree that the photos are taken in such a surreal manner. The photos look like an architecture’s impression on what he wants the finished statue to look like! It looks perfect. I gotta say that it’s a good thing that the video was uploaded – makes it more believable 🙂 Now this part of Thailand is the 2nd most eager place for me to visit!
I find it incredible how much devotion the Thai people have in Buddhism. Seeing the photo of a farmer in the fields with Buddha Shakyamuni in the background clearly displays where the Thai people’s priority lie. With re-incarnation generally accepted in Thailand the people understand that you have to make the most of this life to gain merits to prepare yourself for the next. This is reflected through the Thai’s way of life. They’re globally known to be accepting and indiscriminating people. One of the ways shown is through their acceptance of transgender people.
The second part of the post poses to be quite daunting. Creates a huge fear in me that my bad karma might cause me to be reborn in the three lower realms where I’m stabbed and sawed for countless lifetimes. I realise though that just like how we would be given a good spanking if we did anything bad growing up, that sometimes we humans need to see that there are repercussions for bad doings.
I mean how can one expect to not have ANY repercussions for murdering, raping, killing animals etc? The fundamentals of karma, cause-and-effect causes us to live more decently and reminds us to uphold our morals and principles and live ..well, humanely.
I find the “scary” images very poignant, strong and refreshing. Thank you for posting them up even though some might be repelled by them.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing such beautiful pictures with us. The pictures are really breathtaking, the sheer size of the Buddha across the Thailand landscape is very awe inspiring. The larger the Buddha statue the more merit we accrue when we pray or make offerings to such representations of the Buddha.
In previous times in Tibet large Lama Tsongkhapa would be built in areas where conflict abound. Lama Tsongkhapa’s harmonious energy serve to calm down the surrounding areas.
Thailand rich forest monk traditions have produced countless Buddhist masters in the past. There are two of the famous teachers I have had the good fortune to come across their teachings one is Ajahn Chah and his student Ajahn Brahm. Ajahn Chah has already passed away, Ajahn Brahm is English and resides in Australia he has a wide appeal in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. May these Buddhist masters always reincarnate to benefit sentient beings.