Lingshan: Great Buddha
Copper alloy
Lingshan: Great Buddha
CHINA, Jiangsu, Wuxi
Sakyamuni Buddha stands half way up a slope at the head of a long flight of stairs, the lotus pedestal resting on a three-story base that also acts as a museum. The interior of the building is modeled after the Hall of the Five Hundred Arhats at the Summer Palace in Beijing.
The statue was made from 2,000 sheets of copper alloy and weighs over 725 t. Advanced technology was applied to ensure the sculpture is wind-proof, quake-proof, and corrosion-proof. Incorporated into the figure are the Thirty-Two Marks of Excellence described in Buddhist scriptures and the eyes are reputed to follow the viewer wherever they go. The hands are in the conventional abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (wish-granting) mudras. The monastic robes open to reveal a swastika symbol on the chest.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M, page 604.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M},
pages = 604,
title = {{Lingshan: Great Buddha}},
volume = 11,
year = {2016}}