Big Buddha China. The largest buddha in the world, Leshan, China

Maitreya Buddha Statue in Leshan (Leshan Dafo) is the most tall statue Buddhas on the planet (at least sessile). Over the last millennium, it remains the tallest sculptural work in the world. Located in picturesque place in the Lingyuanshan rock near the confluence of 3 rivers and the city of Leshan. The face of Buddha is directed towards the Chinese sacred mountain Emeishan.

Almost a hundred bodhisattvas are carved on the walls to the left and right (on the southern and northern walls of the Buddha).

The statue was carved for 90 years during the Tang Dynasty, starting in 713. The height of the statue is 71 m, the height of the head is 15 m, the length of the finger is 8 m, the length of the toe is 1.6 m, the length of the nose is 5.5 m, and shoulder span - 30 m.

Until the 17th century Buddha's body was hidden up to his head behind the walls of the 13-story Daxiangge Temple, but it was later destroyed by fire.

There are many more attractions in the park, including a pagoda, several temples, a large old bell, gazebos and ponds.

The main temple, right behind the Buddha, is impressive in its scale and interior sculptures, which at first glance are not at all Buddhist, but rather Indian in theme.

There is even a tiny cave with a statue. The cave is very small, but this becomes clear only when you look inside with a light source.

Another important “feature” of Buddha Park is the queues for the descent to the Buddha. I read somewhere that the queue for the highest outdoor elevator in the world in the Avatar Mountains in China can reach 4 hours. It’s not all that scary here; you’ll only have to go down for an hour and a half.

But for me this is too long and I, using my long legs, climbed over the fence several times and climbed in front of the astonished Chinese. Amazed and jealous of me, I guess. Some, for example, grandmothers, were sometimes unhappy and subsequently tried to beat me on the narrowest sections of the stairs as a single person. I certainly deserve it, but their behavior is truly dangerous and creates unnecessary congestion.

At the entrance to the park, after the bridge, there is an inconspicuous inspector with whom, in principle, it is quite possible to come to an agreement. At the top of this nearby park is a large, cute wat.

The view from it is also good.

On the way to it there is a small complex of burial caves, typical of this region, where the custom of burying the dead in caves with gifts is very common. There are at least 100 such caves in the region.

There is also a beautiful bridge on the way.

To visit the park and Buddha you need to buy a ticket for 90 yuan (45 for students). But I recommend for those who like free passes to come to the second one, to the side wooden bridge, exit. There are not very bright-eyed guards on duty here, and I personally saw how a foreigner coming towards me right in the building of the passage in this place passed very successfully. I don't think there is any good reason not to try this.

You can reach Leshan and the Big Buddha from Xingnanmen Station in Chengdu by regular bus 2 hours one way. From the bus station in Leshan you need to take bus 13 and after 40 minutes get off at the entrance to the park if you are going to enter through the main entrance.

You can go back on the same bus, even going down from the second park. From the wat at the top of the mountain there are signs to the bus.

You can also view the Leshan Big Buddha from the water by purchasing a ticket at the Leshan pier near the bus station. This is what most foreigners do. It is also cheaper, but you will spend about 10 minutes near the Buddha himself, no more. But within the park itself there is room to wander.

Dujiangyan Irrigation System

Dujiangyan and its famous ancient dam (irrigation system) dating back more than 2,200 years are located in the opposite direction from Leshan, northwest of Chengdu. This is the oldest surviving irrigation system, which has been regularly saving Sichuan from droughts and floods since the 3rd century BC.

Before the construction of the dam, the Minjiang River valley was flooded every year, which significantly affected crops and safety. In 256, the official Li Bin, with the support of his son, created a unique and inherently very simple water management system, which successfully copes with its task to this day. The dam, shaped like a fish, divided the river into 2 branches and allows irrigating 5300 sq.m. arable land of Western Sichuan.

Li Bing was deified by the local population for his services, and at their expense a temple was built at the top of a hill in the park.

By the way, in order to gain the support of the local population, Li Bing, in addition to creating the engineering solution itself, was forced to overcome animalistic superstitions, staged a banquet with the participation of a river deity, a scandal due to his impoliteness and a subsequent battle with the “spirit”, which was portrayed by a prepared bull. Subsequently, convinced peasants allowed themselves to be involved in the construction and for 7 years they destroyed the thickness of the rock, heating them with fires, which were then filled with streams of cold water.

Entrance to the park with a dam costs 90 yuan or 45 for students. If you do not exit from the main entrance/exit, please note that there is no public transport and you will need to walk a kilometer to find one. Taxi drivers, even if you order a car through the app, will charge 30 yuan to any point, even not very far away. The guys with whom I came to this park were so taken aback by this behavior of the taxi driver that it was not difficult for me to persuade them to go back the same way. True, it was not possible to climb up to the temples. The guys were in a hurry.

You can get to Dujiangyan from Chengdu by bus, but I don't know exactly from which station. I was driving from the direction of Jizhaigou and reached this place from a completely different direction. I wouldn’t specifically visit this place, but if you’re somewhere nearby or going to the Chinchenshan Mountains, then it’s worth dropping into the city for the dam.

While in Dujiangyan, I tried a cool herbal drink originally from Guangzhou.

Look at one of the largest in the world buddha statues possible in Chinese province Sichuan. On one of the rocks of a mountain called Lingyunshan, which is located near the city of Leshan, a huge Buddha is carved, which is visible for many kilometers around. This statue is listed as a monument World Heritage UNESCO.

The work on creating the sculpture lasted for 90 years, starting in 713, but after its completion the multi-meter image was not visible, because it was covered by a temple building 13 floors high. But in the 17th century the temple burned down, and the huge Buddha appeared in all its splendor.

Idea to do giant statue Buddhahood was born from a monk named Hai Tonga. The guide told us a legend: this monk hoped that the statue would be able to calm the stormy current of the river, thereby allowing ships to cross the river in safety. According to the same legend, during construction, huge blocks of stone were thrown into the river and it, in fact, became calmer and safer.

In general, this place is a whole complex with a park, a temple and many sculptures.

A long winding staircase leads upstairs.

There are a lot of interesting things along the way, where the Chinese are crowded and several guides with loudspeakers try to shout over each other.

Hieroglyphs are carved on the rocks.

The ancient images were slightly damaged by vandals.

The steps end at a platform located at the top of the hill. There is a Buddhist temple here. There are many very beautiful and unusual sculptures of saints inside.

Behind the temple there is a small and beautiful park, where we walked for almost an hour. There is even a small pond with fish. On the outskirts of the park there are several abandoned temples, where there was not a single person at all.

This place is called "Tiger Cave".

Sculpture of a deity in the park.

But the highlight of the whole complex, of course, is the impressive statue of Buddha. When you see this statue, it seems that the glare of the giant literally radiates nobility, greatness and kindness.

Gifts are laid out at the foot of the Buddha statue.

The statue faces the sacred mountain called Emeishan, which is located opposite. The Buddha's head is at the same level with the mountain, and the soles of his feet seem to rest on the river.

The dimensions of this statue are simply amazing: the total height is 71 m, an almost 6-meter nose is carved on a 15-meter head, the width of the shoulders is almost 30 m, the length of the toes is 1.6 m, and the length of the hands is about 8 m. But The beauty and grandeur of this statue lies not only in its size, but also in its artistic design. The spiral tufts of hair built into the head appear to be one whole. The 7-meter wooden ears of the statue are so perfectly inserted into the stone head that even modern builders respect this.

Even during the construction of the statue, a complex drainage system was installed in it. Surprisingly, even now this plexus of pipes, invisible from the outside, built into the body of the Buddha, works properly. Pipes drain rainwater and prevent the destruction of stone. In general, once upon a time there was a huge pavilion with a golden roof above the head of the statue, which protected it from the sun and rain, but in the 13th century it was destroyed by the Mongols and for some reason they did not restore it.

The observation deck is located at the level of the Buddha's ear. From it you can look at the city.

I liked everything, except for the huge number of tourists, so it is best to come to the complex on weekdays.

The largest Buddha in the world, China

There are places in the world that you seem to know everything about, that you see repeatedly in photographs, but all the same, when you once again come across an interesting image, you admire the people who did it. And when the opportunity presents itself to see them in person, you are filled with such excitement that it seems that this is one of the happiest moments of life.

In the Chinese province of Sichuan, near the city of Leshan, a giant sculpture of Maitreya Buddha is carved into a rock. For 1000 years, the Leshan statue, 71 meters high, held the first position in the ranking of the tallest monuments in the world. According to the ancient architects, the great must be embodied in gigantic proportions, because Maitreya is revered by all schools of Buddhism. Maitreya is the future Teacher of humanity. Sooner or later he will appear on Earth, achieve enlightenment and preach dharma - the path of piety. The Leshan Buddha statue is one of the oldest in the world. It is installed in the place where three rivers merge, the oncoming waters of which create dangerous whirlpools.

As the legend says, the monk Hai Tun decided to appease the elements by carving a sculptural image of the supreme deity in the rock. For many years the monk wandered through cities and villages, collecting money for the construction of the statue, and in 713 he began construction. Hai Tong died when the statue of Buddha was made only to the knees, but he managed to achieve his noble goal.

While cutting down the statue in the rock, the workers threw stone fragments into the river, as a result of which the water streams were partially covered. Thus, it turned out that the Buddha tamed the stormy temper of the river. According to legend, when the local ruler demanded that Hai Tun give him the donations collected for the construction of the statue, he replied: “I would rather gouge out my eyes than give away the Buddha’s treasures.” Soon the ruler came to the monk for money, but he pulled out a knife and fulfilled his oath, depriving himself of an eye. The confused extortionist retreated. After the death of the monk, his work was continued by the rulers of Sichuan, and after 90 years, in 803 the statue of the Enlightened One was completed.

Buddha statue in Leshan- the embodiment of the universe. A giant, 70-meter tall Buddha sits facing the expanse of water, with his hands on his knees. His huge, 15-meter head rises level with the rock, and his feet rest against the river. The Buddha's ears (each 7 meters long) are carved from wood and skillfully attached to the stone face. The enlightened one is “dressed” in a stone tunic, the folds of which drain rainwater, preventing rock cracking.

In the walls surrounding the statue are carved stone images of 90 bodhisattvas - spiritual mentors of people. At the head of the giant a pagoda is installed and broken temple complex with a park. Against the background of the monument, spectators appear to be tiny insects.

A stream of tourists, like a swarm of bees, surrounds the Buddha's head on all sides and cascades down the rock to his feet. A small group of tourists can sit on any of the giant’s toes (the length of the toe is 1.6 m). Each viewer tries to find the most convenient point for an overview, but is forced to examine the statue only from a side angle. From the top of the rock, the impartial face of the Enlightened One is visible, while his legs and body are hidden under the ledge. Below, the entire panorama is occupied by the knees of Buddha, above which a gigantic face can be seen somewhere above.

The statue is not created for contemplation: in Buddhism, the entire universe is nothing more than the body of the Buddha (Buddha-kaya) or the body of Truth (dharma-kaya), and it is incomprehensible through the senses or the mind. But it is Dharma-kaya that connects a person with the truly existing, allowing him to achieve the purest and highest state of “supramundane” existence. As they said in China: “We achieve Perfect Enlightenment when the heart merges with the base of the stone monument.” Interestingly, in the Middle Ages, the body of Buddha was hidden under a 13-tiered temple-tower, but this building burned down in a fire.

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The Big Buddha impresses not only with its size, but also with its expressiveness: the appearance of the giant literally breathes nobility, grandeur and kindness.

Maitreya Buddha in Leshan- pacifier of the water element.

Inside the sculptural work there is a skillfully constructed drainage structure, which is almost impossible to notice from the outside. Grottoes and grooves, hidden in the folds of clothing, on the hands, head, and chest of the Buddha, serve as drainage systems and protect the sculpture from weathering and destruction.

At the top, on the mountain itself, at the head of the Buddha, there is a 38-meter-high pagoda of souls, as well as a temple complex and a park. On the walls around the giant there are carved images of Bodhisattvas (there are more than 90 of them) and numerous images of Buddha.

Maitreya is considered the future incarnation of the Great Teacher of humanity, and he is revered by all Buddhist schools, believing that one day he will appear on Earth, will definitely achieve enlightenment and begin to preach to people the path of piety - the dharma.

Buddha statue in Leshan installed at the confluence of three rivers. Once upon a time, their rapid streams, meeting, created stormy and dangerous whirlpools. According to legend, the Buddhist monk Hai Tun, seeing this, decided to pacify the elements by sculpting a giant sculpture of the Teacher in the adjacent mountain gorge.

Now, having arrived in Leshan, any tourist can admire the impressive sculpture. The face of Maitreya Buddha is turned towards the river, giant hands folded on his knees; its 15-meter head reaches the top of the rock, and its huge legs (toes are about 1.6 m long) almost touch the river. The Teacher's 7-meter ears, carved from durable wood, are skillfully fitted to the stone face. The Buddha is dressed in a tunic, along the carefully carved stone folds of which water flows during rain, preventing the destruction of the rock.

At the head of the colossal monument there is a temple complex with a small park, and in the rocks surrounding the statue there are carved statues of 90 bodhisattvas - the spiritual mentors of humanity.

In the Middle Ages, the Buddha sculpture was hidden under a 13-tiered temple built above it, but this building was destroyed by fire, and now, as before, the rocks are the only walls for the giant statue.

Interestingly, it is almost impossible to completely take in the Buddha statue in Leshan: an impartial face is open from above, but the legs are hidden under a mountain ledge, and from below the legs can be seen perfectly, but the face of the statue is almost completely covered by huge knees. The best angle is from the side, but it doesn’t allow you to see the entire monument in detail.

This feature was not given to the sculpture by chance. It is perfectly consistent with the Buddhist doctrine of the universe, according to which the whole world is the body of the Buddha (Buddha-kaya) or the body of the Law (Dharma-kaya), which is incomprehensible from the point of view of the senses and mind. That's why buddha statue in china not intended for viewing. Being the material embodiment of the Dharma-kaya, it connects people with the truly existing, allowing them to achieve a special state of the purest supermundane existence, which, according to Buddhists, is the true goal of every person’s life. On this occasion, the Chinese say the following: “We achieve Perfect Enlightenment at the moment when our heart merges with the base of the stone statue.”

The Maitreya Buddha statue is one of the tallest and oldest Buddha statues in the world. This grandiose creation is located in the Chinese province of Sichuan, near the city of Leshan. The gaze of the 71-meter-high statue has been directed towards the sacred Mount Emeishan located opposite for more than a thousand years. The figure of God is visible from several tens of kilometers away.

Until the middle of the 17th century, the body of the Big Buddha up to the very head was hidden by thirteen floors of the wooden Dasyange temple, protecting the shrine from rain and snow. This building was later destroyed by a strange fire, which could not be extinguished despite all efforts. After this, Buddha in all his stone beauty and divine steadfastness appeared before the eyes of ordinary mortals.

Construction of the statue began during the Tang Dynasty and continued for 90 years. According to legend, by erecting a sacred monument, the monk Hai Tun wanted to appease the element of water, because too often local residents became victims of stormy rivers.

It is worth noting that the very name of the province “Sichuan” is translated as “Four Rivers”. The monk chose a place for the monument in a rock near the confluence of two rivers - Minjiang and Daduhe. For the next 20 years, Hai Tong wandered the lands of China and collected donations for the construction of the statue. In 713, when the necessary amount was collected, the monk returned to Sichuan to begin implementing his plan.

But before he could begin to make his dream come true, government officials came to him and demanded half of the donations collected in exchange for local government support for the construction. The monk’s answer was short and clear: “I would rather gouge out my eyes than give away the Buddha’s treasures.” When the extortionists came to Hai Tun again, he fulfilled his oath by drawing a knife and depriving himself of one eye. Confused and dissatisfied, the officials decided to leave the old man alone, but not to help him in his endeavors.

By the time of Hai Tun’s death, the statue was completed only up to the knees, but the monk’s work was continued by his students and by 803 the statue of Maitreya Buddha was completed. Carving the monument into the rocks, workers threw stone fragments into the river. Over time, this reduced the intensity of the water flow. Thus, it turned out that Buddha still tamed the harsh temper of the stormy rivers.

Currently, the statue of Maitreya Buddha is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts many tourists and pilgrims from all over the world. Some are looking here for answers, others for healing, and others come for the contemplation of divine majesty, which even time cannot destroy.

Video – Great Buddha (Sichuan, China)

Hello, dear readers – seekers of knowledge and truth!

All Buddhists on the planet know about the beginning of a new time, which will be associated with the coming of the saint. This is Maitreya Buddha. This is exactly what we want to tell you about today.

Our article will tell you who he is, how he is described in Buddhist literature and depicted in different forms of art: painting, sculpture. We will also find out when Maitreya will come, and what awaits humanity with his arrival.

Well, forward - towards new knowledge!

Who is Maitreya

Maitreya's name is translated in different ways:

• invincible;
• giver of love;
• bestower of mercy,
• compassionate lord;
• future Teacher.

However, everyone agrees on one thing - this is the coming Teacher, he will appear in the future in the world of people, achieve Enlightenment and bring salvation to humanity. He will be a bodhisattva - a Buddha who will bring people a new teaching, give it a pure teaching and help everyone get out of the cycle of samsara with its constant rebirths and suffering.

Maitreya is the only Buddha who is recognized by all directions of Buddhist thought, including one in which there is practically no pantheon of Buddhas. He is especially revered by Korean, Chinese, and Burmese Buddhists.

Buddhist monks in Myanmar

In each country and in each direction it may have a special name:

• in Japanese - Miroku;
• in the Pali language - Metea;
• in Chinese - Mile;
• in Tibetan - Maidar;
• in some interpretations - Maidari, Maitri.

But the name familiar to all Buddhists is Maitreya. This Buddha of the Future must come at the end of the current era - kalpa.

It is believed that he is now in Tushita Heaven, waiting for the right time to be saved. This is the place where the deities reside, it is one of the six heavens, the fourth from the bottom. Their name is translated as “gardens of joy” and they are located between the Heavens of Yama and the Heavens of Nirmanarati.

Tushita Heaven is inhabited by those who in a past life observed the main Buddhist precepts, adhered to the Middle Way, engaged in meditative practices and cultivated good thoughts and noble deeds. Here a new incarnation of the bodhisattva is found. Some Mahayana scriptures claim that it was here that he appeared before he incarnated in our world and became a great Teacher.

Mahayans believe that their brand of Buddhist thought originated with the Coming Buddha. According to their beliefs, the founder Arya Asanga got rid of obscurations and more than once visited Tushita Heaven, where Maitreya told him the truth. Based on the teachings told by Maitreya, Asanga wrote down his five main sutras.

MantraMaitreyi sounds like this: “Om Buddha Maitri Mem Soha.”

What does Buddhist literature say about him?

The main sacred text about the Buddha of the Future is considered to be a sutra in Sanskrit called “Maitreyavyakarana”, which means “the prophecy of Maitreya”. According to the scripture, deities, people and everything in the world will follow Maitreya, follow his teachings and thereby get rid of attachments and doubts.

The coming Buddha will prove that nothing - neither property, nor wealth and jewelry, nor homes and even relatives - belongs to people. And this will save living beings from passions, giving them a joyful and happy life.

The Dikha Nikaya, which is included in the Tripitaka collection, calls Maitreya a follower of Shakyamuni. The same is said in the Lalita Vistara, which dates back to the 3rd-4th centuries AD. It says that before his incarnation in the human world, Gautama Buddha, while still in Tushita Heaven, pointed to Maitreya and placed a bodhisattva wreath on him.

The Mahaparinibbana Sutta mentions the Buddha of the Future, calling him Maitreya and Ajita, that is, “invincible.” The works of recent centuries, including those developed in Russia, are also devoted to him, for example, studies by N.K. Roerich, S.F. Oldenburg, E.P. Blavatsky.

When will he appear?

As we already know, the Buddha of the Future resides in Tushita Heaven, waiting for the moment when people are ready for his coming. But there is also an opinion that Maitreya may already appear where he is needed most. Moreover, he can be in several worlds at once.

Predictions about the coming of the Coming Buddha can be found in the first Mahayana sutras, as well as in the Maitreya Vyakaran. The sacred texts of Buddhism describe to what level humanity must reach before the coming of Maitreya:

• Human life expectancy will be about 80 thousand years.
• The world will be taken over by a Buddhist school, which will surpass the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni in the number of successors.
• At the helm of humanity will be a wise Buddhist ruler;
• Deaths from hunger, war, and disease will end.
• Love and patience will reign among people.

In some texts one can find the estimated time of Maitreya's arrival. But these figures turn out to be disappointing - they claim that the Buddha of the Future will come no earlier than in 5 billion years.

Maitreya Buddha statue, Tibet

Just before the coming, the oceans will become smaller in size so that the Coming Buddha can cross them. It will take Maitreya only a week to achieve enlightenment in this world due to past lives lived in truth. Then living beings will be able to comprehend pure dharma, which will create a new beautiful world.

How he is portrayed

In images and thangkas, the Buddha of the Future can be depicted in different poses. Sometimes he sits on some kind of elevation like a chair, sometimes he is depicted riding a white horse. But most often he takes the usual Buddhist pose: padmasana, the lotus pose, or lalitasana - a position in which the deity sits in a half lotus with his leg hanging down.

Maitreya is lavishly decorated with ornaments, including a crown on his head. His skin is radiant with a golden tint, and his clothes are the usual robes of a monk.

There are three-faced and four-armed images of Maitreya. In this case, he squeezes a sprig of saffron in his left hand, and with his right hand expresses the bestowal of good in the form of varada mudra. The other two palms are folded in the Dharmachakra Mudra, which symbolizes the expression of the Law of Dharma.

Maitreya is often depicted in statues, some of which date back to 350 BC. One of the most famous sculptures is located in China, namely in Leshan. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Carved into the rock, the statue is amazing in size:

• total height – 70 meters;
• head – 14 meters;
• shoulders – 29 meters;
• nose – 5 meters;
• finger on hand - 8 meters;
• toe – 1.5 meters.

Our compatriot, artist and researcher Nicholas Roerich made a great contribution to the study of Maitreya. In the 20s of the last century he was on a Central Asian expedition, where he studied cultural heritage Buddhism and embodied them in painting.

Maitreya the Winner. N. Roerich

There is a well-known series of paintings by Roerich, which is called “Maitreya”. The most famous of them is “Maitreya the Victorious”, now it is kept in the Moscow International Roerich Center-Museum. The remaining seven paintings are presented in Art Museum Nizhny Novgorod.

Conclusion

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