Friday, November 5, 2010

Reclining Buddha - which one is the greatest?

I believe many are familiar with Kuan Yin's statue in Kek Lok Si Temple or Reclining Buddha in Wat Chayamangkalaram, Penang. I wonder how many are aware with the existance of 3 types of Buddha statues in Kelantan, the state which are dominated by Malay Muslims. Being a state that ruled by Islamic Parti of Malaysia (PAS), one must thinking there is nothing to see or visit in Kelantan except mosques and other Islamic places. But the truth is hundreds of temples/wats can be found in Kelantan especially in Tumpat, a small district on north west of Kota Bahru.

One of the famous buddhist temple is Wat Phothivihan which situated in Kampung Jambu, Tumpat. It houses a statue of sleeping Buddha/reclining Buddha since 1979, the year which its construction was complete.

There are many versions concerning the ranking of this reclining Buddha. Some said it is the longest in South East Asia, some claimed it's second longest!!...so I don't know which one is true? Since I'm quite curious about it, I gather the information from many sources through internet and I listed it below.
  • Please noted that whatever I record below is not a complete list and the height might not be an accurate measurement. It's all based from the online sources.
  • Do click on the link for the photo as I don't feel right to download photo from people's site and put it here.

List of reclining Buddha                                           Length
Gal Vihara, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka                             - 14 m
Maha Vihara Mojopahit, Indonesia                                - 22 m
Wat Pamok Worawihan, Angthong, Thailand           - 22.58 m
Manuha Temple, Bagan, Myanmar                               - 27 m
Wat Chayamangkalaram, Penang, Malaysia                 - 33 m
Wat Lokayasutharam, Ayutthaya, Thailand                   - 37 m
Buddha Park, Vientiane, Laos                                      - 40 m
Wat Phothivihan, Kelantan, Malaysia                            - 40 m
Nanzoin Temple, Sasaguri, Japan                                - 41 m
Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand                                        - 46 m
Wat Phra Non Chaksi, Singburi, Thailand                     - 46 m
Takou Mountain Nature Reserve, Vietnam                     - 49 m
Wat Khun Inthapramun, Ang Thong, Thailand              - 50 m
Shwethalyaung Buddha, Bago, Myanmar                     - 55 m
Chaukhtatgi Temple, Yangon, Myanmar                        - 70 m
Dawei Reclining Buddha, Myanmar                              - 74 m
Monywa Buddha, Myanmar                                          - 90 m
Mudon Reclining Buddha, Myanmar                           - 180 m

From the list above, now only I realize there are so many great reclining Buddha's statues scattered on the earth. It makes me more curious to find out the other types of Buddha's position. Please refer to the post : Sitting Buddha - which one is the greatest?

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