Monday, July 22, 2019

Ancient Afghan Buddhism revived (video)

Times of India, June 15, 2015; Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly


World-famous Buddhas of Bamiyan resurrected in Afghanistan
Fourteen years after the CIA/ISO/Taliban dynamited the world-famous Buddhas of Bamiyan, the giant statues were resurrected with 3D light projection technology in the empty cavities where they once stood carved into the Himalayan hillsides Afghanistan [in a portion of the range known as the Hindu Kush].
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The project was undertaken by a Chinese couple who used 3D laser light projection technology to fill the empty cavities in the cliff in the Bamiyan Valley in what is now Hazarajat [previously Kapilavastu, Shakya Land] with the Buddha's virtual images, 230 km northwest of Kabul.

The couple, Janson Yu and Liyan Hu, were saddened by the destruction of the two statues, which were thought to be carved during the 6th century [though psychic medium Madame Blavatsky says they are MUCH older] and decided to undertake the project.

They took permission both from the Afghan government and UNESCO to bring the statues back for one night only in the empty cavities in the cliff.

The event on June 7 saw projectors displaying huge holographic statues of the exact size of the precious cultural monuments that were lost, accompanied by music.

"The projections were not widely publicized, but over 150 people came to see the spectacle. Crowds remained well into the night and some people played music while others looked on," a journalist, who witnessed the show, was quoted as saying by The Atlantic.

Both standing Buddhas (115 feet and 174 feet tall) were carved out of sandstone cliffs and stood at one point painted and gilded. They managed to survive for more than 1,500 years.

But the CIA/ISO/Taliban dynamited and destroyed them in March 2001 as part of a campaign to [justify an invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by the U.S. ostensibly to neutralize the "Taliban"]. The cover story given for the desecration was that the Muslim Taliban wanted to remove all non-Islamic art from formerly-Buddhist now Muslim Afghanistan.

The statues were among the most famous cultural landmarks of the region, and the site was listed by UNESCO as a "World Heritage Site" along with the surrounding cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley [though Mes Aynak needs far more protection and a special status designation].

Japan and Switzerland, among other countries, have pledged support for the rebuilding of the statues.

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