Leshan Great Buddha.

Leshan Great Buddha (大佛 大佛) is a statue of Maitreya Buddha in a sitting position carved into the slope of Mount Yun (山 山), at the confluence of the three rivers (閩江), Yichang (閩江)江) and Dai-giang (大渡河), of the city of Yueqing, Sichuan. 

This statue of Buddha was started in 713 under Tang Dynasty and completed in 803; So it took 90 years to complete the statue. Throughout the 90 years, thousands of carvers and laborers have worked hard for the cause and left behind an invaluable artwork.

Leshan Great Buddha (大佛 大佛) is a statue of Maitreya Buddha
in a sitting position carved into the slope of the mountain (山 山)

Leshan Great Buddha initiated by the Hai Thong originator. Legend has it that the confluence of these three rivers is where swift flow of water and boats are often overturned when crossing here. Desiring to bring peace to the people, the Venerable thought that the presence of a Buddha statue in this place would make the country peaceful. After 20 years of conditioning, he eventually accumulated some money for the sculpture. 

The legendary story is that, when some local mandarins learned that the Venerable Master had the money, they came to him with the desire to take the money. The Venerable Hai Thong tells them that they can get his eyeballs and can not get the money. Then the Venerable took the money out of his own eyes and this caused the frightened Chinese authorities to flee.

When the statue was half finished, Venerable Hai-hai passed away, and the work had to stop for a long time. Many years later, the disciples of the Most Venerable continued the work with the funding of a local official. Then the work stopped again one more time. 40 years later, work continues and after the efforts of three generations, the last statue was completed in 803. 

After the completion of the great statue, it is amazing that the water in the confluence of these three rivers has become gentler, no longer as swift and aggressive as before. This is thought to be due to the fact that the stones while sculpting the statue fell into the water and made the water change. Today, the water flow at the confluence of these three rivers is still flowing, but there is no danger of crossing here.

Turning to the holy mountain of Emei (峨眉山), with its head at the top of the mountain and its foot near the river, this statue has a height of 71m, in which the statue is 15m high and 10m wide, From foot to knee high 28m. There are 1,051 locks on the head. The entire statue is carved of stone, except that the ears are made of wood then attached and covered with a layer of clay.

Over time, the statue was severely damaged by the abrasion of wind and rain. After 1963, Chinese authorities began restoring and restoring the statue. In 1996, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee recognized the Mount Emei area with the Leshan World Buddhist Site as a World Heritage Site. And now, the preservation of the statue is under the supervision of UNESCO experts.

In addition to the statue, there are smaller statues made around this area. On the cliffs next to the statue, two soldiers wearing armor and weapons in their hands, as if to protect the statue. There are also thousands of other Buddha statues carved in the area, making the mountain a museum of Buddha statues. On the cliff to the right there is a parallel to the statue. From the top to the bottom, this road has nine turns, and so it is called Jiuzhen (栈道 栈道). The widest section of this road is 1.45m and the narrowest section is just 0.6m, and up to 217 steps all. There are also statues and stupas of the Venerable Hai Thong.

Beside the statue, there are other monuments, such as Dong Phuong Buddha Park (佛都 佛都), 凌云寺 ch (凌云寺), O Vưu Pagoda (寺 寺) etc.

The Oriental Buddhist Garden is about one kilometer from the Leshan Great Buddha and was opened to visitors in 1994. The park consists of religious artworks and garden art. The park has over 3,000 Buddha statues made of different materials, such as stone, earth, copper and jade. There is also a statue of Nirvana Buddha which is 170m long.

Lang Van Pagoda is located near the statue of Buddha, and so it is also called the Great Buddhist Temple. Built from the beginning of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), this temple has a history of over 1400 years and was built before the Great Buddha statue was created. However, the present temple is not the original temple that was rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) when the temple was virtually destroyed at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) due to the war.

Today the Leshan Great Buddha is a famous monument in the city of music, attracting many visitors visit. The best time to visit this place is in the spring and summer. In these two seasons, it is not too hot and not too cold (usually 15-20 degrees Celsius) and is therefore suitable for travel. 

On the occasion of Chinese New Year or Chinese holidays like National Day, there are many indigenous visitors to this place, so to avoid the nuisance caused by the crowded tourist situation, we should avoid coming here. this occasion. END=NAM MO SHAKYAMOUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE BY=THICH CHAN TANH.THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT.VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.28/6/2017.