largest Buddha statue. Leshan Great Buddha in China

Leshan Great Buddha in China
Leshan Dai Buddha, also known as Lang Van Dai Buddha or Gia Dinh Dai Buddha, is the tallest stone Buddha statue in the world. This Buddha statue was carved into the Tewan cliff of Lingyun Mountain, located at the confluence of three rivers, Danjiang, Daidu and Qingyi in southern China's Sichuan province, far from Leshan prefecture. about 3 km east. The stone statue faces Emei Mountain and the river flows at Buddha's feet.

The initiator of the construction of the Leshan Great Buddha was Venerable Hai Thong, a monk of Lang Van Tu on Lang Van Mountain. One day, monk Hai Thong stood on the mountain, looking down at the convergence of three rivers (Man Giang, Dai Do, Thanh Y). The water flowed fiercely like thousands of thousands of horses, smashing into the cliffs as if to scream want to scream. Boats traveling back and forth here often encounter disasters. The monk made a vow to build a Buddha statue, hoping that the power of the boundless Dharma would subdue sea monsters and protect the peace of people and passing boats.
When the statue was half completed, Venerable Hai Thong passed away and the project was forced to stop. Ten years later, Truong Cuu Kiem Quynh, the porcelain master of Kiem Nam Tay Chau, donated 200,000 taels of gold to continue the project. Because the great project also required a large amount of funding, the royal court specially rewarded the locality with a tax on fig hemp oil as funding for sculpting Buddha statues. When sculpting up to the knee of the statue, Truong Cuu Kiem Quynh, due to his merits in building the Buddha statue, was appointed Minister of the Household, so he had to attend the inauguration ceremony, the work of renovating the Great Buddha was once again forced to stop.

It was not until the fourth year of Trinh Nguyen during Duong Duc Tong's reign (788), when Vi Cao became the governor of Tay Chau, summoned stonemasons and donated money so that the project could continue. With the efforts of three generations, after more than 90 years, the Leshan Great Buddha was finally completed. The splendid robe and majestic appearance made the whole body of the Buddha statue shine with glorious gold.
With a height of 71m, the statue depicts Maitreya Buddha sitting with his hands on his knees. The body of the Buddha statue is 59.98 m high, head 14.7 m high, 10 m wide, eyes 3.3 m wide, nose 5.6 m long, mouth 3.3 m wide, ears 7 m long, neck 3 m high, shoulders 28 m wide, body body 28.5m wide, 10.3m long, 9m wide. The top of the head has 1,021 tufts of hair and the smallest fingernails are large enough for a person to sit in. On both sides of the Buddha statue are two dharma protectors, about 16m high, about 6m wide, wearing combat robes and holding dharma weapons in their hands.

The scenic Emei Mountain Area, including the area containing the Leshan Giant Buddha, has been listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site since December 6, 1996.