The world’s largest marble Buddha, now under construction in Myanmar’s military capital of Naypyidaw, will reportedly be able to withstand 193 kilometer-per-hour winds and earthquakes measuring as high as 8.8 on the Richter scale.
The gargantuan 25-meter Buddha, weighing over 5,000 tons and etched from over 20,000 tons of marble, is nearly complete after three-plus years of building, according to state media reports.
And State Administration Council (SAC) junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is clearly excited judging by reports of his June 29 visit to the construction site.
The project has employed over 150 laborers, including from the Myanmar Engineering Society and Military Engineering Corps, and will be built entirely “without foreign experts,” Min Aung Hlaing proudly proclaimed during his site visit.
The image, carved in the Maravijaya style, is a very common Buddha pose “with 32 great characteristics and 80 small characteristics of the Lord Buddha”, according to state media reports.
In a report covering the first section of the image’s installation in October 2021, just as multiple conflicts were raging in Myanmar following the February coup that year that installed the SAC, the purpose of the statue was touted as peaceful.
“(T)he Buddha image is being built with the aim of showing the flourishing of the Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar to the world, ensuring the peace and tranquility of the country, contributing to development of the region through the visits of local and foreign travelers and improving the State development.”
Min Aung Hlaing had taken a close interest in the gigantic statue’s construction even before his disastrous and bloody coup. He has reportedly visited frequently at important stages of the statue’s assembly.
In May, for instance, he witnessed the “Unnalon Holy Hair installation.” At the auspicious time and date of 2:43 am on February 13, the fourth section of the image was conveyed and installed. The military ruler has seemingly staked his karmic fortunes on the statue’s successful completion.
Source : Asiatimes
