100 ft-statue of Kuan Yin (Earth, tradition, Buddhism, America, God)

[Bishka]

For Feathers.

Located in Malaysia.

Here's a view from Google Earth:




and then the real deal:




he Kek Lok Si Temple (Penang Hokkien for "Temple of Supreme Bliss"; Simplified Chinese: 极乐寺; Traditional Chinese: 極樂寺) is a Buddhist temple situated in Air Itam in Penang and is one of the best known temples on the island.

The construction of the temple begun in 1893 and was inspired by the chief monk of the Goddess of Mercy Temple at Pitt Street. With the support of the consular representative of China in Penang, the project received the sanction of the Manchu Emperor Guangxu, who bestowed a tablet and gift of 70,000 volumes of the Imperial Edition of the Buddhist Sutras.

In 1930, the seven storey main pagoda of the temple or the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas, was completed. This pagoda combines a Chinese octagonal base with a middle tier of Thai design, and a Burmese crown; reflecting the temple's embrace of both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.

In 2002, a 30.2m bronze statue of the Kuan Yin was completed and opened to public. The statue is located on the hillside above the pagoda.

Taken from the grand ole' wiki

[Engyo]

There is one in Houston that is almost as big; 6 stories which works out to about 70 feet, I think. It is the largest one in North America to date. It is at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple, and they also have a sculpture garden with several different scenes from the Buddha's life.

[Feathers in Hair]

That sounds like a place to make a pilgramage to, Engyo!

Thanks for the article, Becky! I'm not sure if I could go to such a beautiful statue without crying- but it'd be worth it!

[Aupmanyav]

Big statues are passe in India, every city has a few (generally Shiva or the monkey god Hanuman). In history, we had till recently the Bamian Buddha. The current oldest is the Jain monolithic statue of Gomateshwara in Sravanabelagola, Karnataka (56 feet).

[Random]

That's awesome.