This building is completely hand carved wood. The details and craftsmanship is amazing. The idea is that every major religion on Eastern philosophy is represented in this building. There is a section that you can even help do some of the carving. I didn't get a tour so may facts are sparse, for more info go to http://www.sanctuaryoftruth.com/
The second thing we did today was to go see the Buddha Mountain. This is a cliff inlaid with gold leaf in the outline of a sitting Buddha. This is the largest Buddha image in the world. It is 130 meters tall, 70 meters wide, and can be seen from miles away. The image and mountain are alternately referred to as "Buddha Mountain", Khao Chee Chan, or "Phra Phuttha Maha Vachira Utta Mopas Sasada". During the Vietnam Conflict the Thai navy was mining the mountain for stone to be used at an American base. After the war the mountain was illegally mined for stone to be sold to construction companies. When his Majesty put a stop to the mining, he suggested that they create a Buddha image in gold to commemorate the King's Golden Jubilee. American lasers to two days to do the carving itself. But it took months to fill in the carving with gold. The cost of this project was over $3 million. In the park surrounding the cliff there are many areas to meditate and rest. And there are signs there to point you in the most scenic viewpoint. Directly in front of the cliff face are shrines, elaborate gardens, and a number of terraced pools stocked with lotus flowers. Pains have been taken to make Buddha Mountain a quiet, contemplative place.
No comments:
Post a Comment