Bhutan to have the tallest statue of Lord Buddha
Bhutan will have the largest and the tallest statue of Lord Buddha ever to be built in the world.
The 169-feet bronze statue of Buddha Dordenma, Vajra Throne Buddha, symbolising indestructibility, and
seated on a vajra throne, will be erected at Kuensel Phodrang in Changbangdu, overlooking the capital city.
Now in ruins, Kuensel Phodrang was once the palace of the 13th Desi Sherab Wangchuk. It is located
some 100 metres above Thimchu on a slope.
Approved by His Majesty the King and the government, the Buddha Dordenma project is being initiated by
the chairman of Menjong Chhothuen Tshogpa, Lam Tshering Wangdi, to commemorate the hundred years
of monarchy in 2007.
In order to fit the structure exactly on a one-acre land the foundation and the concrete structures, which will
support the statue, will be built as soon as the government clears the five-kilometer approach road.
The Buddha statue will overlook the capital city Within the gigantic bronze structure including the thri
(throne) there will be enough space to house 17 storeys of different lhakhangs.
These include three storeys within the throne, two each inside the lotus, waist, chest, face and shoulder and
one each in the legs, neck and head.
In the first two storeys, which are both 15 feet high there will be 25,000 images of 12-inch Buddha
Dordenma which is made of copper and gilded in gold they will be displayed around the walls of the
meditation hall inside the throne. The names of the individual sponsors of the statues will be engraved on
copper-plate with powder coating.
The first storey, which surrounds the centre, will house eight 10-feet standing bodhisattvas, the miracle
sons of Buddha Shakyamuni.
The second storey surrounding the centre pillar will have eight more 10-feet sitting Medicinal Buddhas.
The third storey inside the lotus seat will house six-feet high 16 arahats, King Hashang (Maitreya
Bodhisattva), Dharmata Tiger, Sutra Holder and the four direction kings. In the centre chamber will be
seated the main Buddha Shakyamuni.
The rooms from the third storey till the top will accommodate 100,000 statues of eight-inch Buddha
Dordenma made of copper and gilded in gold placed in multi-layered grid-boxes.
The Bhutanese master sculptors had built a 12-meter high model statue of the Buddha and given it to a
Chinese company, Aerosun Corporation in Nanjing, China. The work on the bronze statue began towards
the end of 2004.
To make sure that the statue is given a Bhutanese look, the master sculptors who made the model are
frequently visiting China.
The contract was given to the Aerosun Corporation for US$ 20 million, which includes shipping the
600-tonne statue to Bhutan after its completion in 2007 and assembling it at Kuensel Phodrang.
Another 10 acres of land will be required to build public galleries, restaurants, large parking spaces,
camping grounds, dharamsalas and quarters for monks.
The statue is expected to be a major pilgrimage centre and a focal point for Buddhists all over the world to
converge, practice, meditate and retreat.
A Singaporean businessman, Rinchen Peter Teo, is the main sponsor of the project.
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