Milton Keynes Peace Pagoda

UNITED KINGDOM, Milton Keynes

This is the first Peace Pagoda built in the western hemisphere. The work of monks and nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji order, it was opened in 1980 on the edge of Willen Lake. It is a pavilion-style pagoda with an inverted bowl body and an octagonal pyramidal roof. The spire consists of stacked rings, a canopy, and the representation of a water flame. In a niche in the pagoda body there is a Buddha forming the birth mudra with a flaming nimbus. Around the sides there are eight relief panels depicting scenes from the Buddha’s life. The structure rests on a round base surrounded by balustrades. In turn, the base sits on a lower base platform which is enclosed by a ring of balustrades and a stairway. There is a stone lion on each side of the stairway.