Buddha Statue in Egypt: Proof of India’s Ancient Global Links | Vantage with Palki Sharma
(Firstpost) April 28, 2023. India has had a global footprint for several millennia. In a latest discovery, a Buddha statue, Sanskrit inscription, and two coins of an Indian kingdom have been found in Egypt. Palki Sharma explains the significance of this discovery.
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The Akshobhya Buddha's head, on the eastern wall of the Four Gates Pagoda's center pillar, was stolen on the night of March 7, 1997.
"It was the most exquisite and beautiful head among the four," says Liu Jiwen, director of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Center of the Four Gates Pagoda.
In 1999, the case was cracked, but the Buddha head was still missing. The head eventually appeared at an overseas auction and was bought by disciples of Taiwan's Buddhist master Sheng Yin (1930-2009).
It was given to the Buddhist NGO Dharma Drum Mountain Foundation, which was founded by the master, and exhibited at the foundation's Museum of Buddhist History and Culture in Taipei.
In July 2002, Liu and archaeologist Liu Fengjun went to Taiwan and identified the origin of the head. On Dec 17, 2002, Master Sheng Yin escorted the head in person to give it back to the Four Gates Pagoda.
"The head is back, but there are still mysteries about these Buddha statues," says Wang Feng, deputy director of the center...."It may damage the statues. Also, the pagoda was intended to keep the Buddhist relics, not the statues," Liu continues.
"But, on the other hand, to move such big stone statues into the pagoda was quite a challenge. We still cannot figure out how it was done." More
Like every great religion, Buddhism has inspired some of the most beautiful and spectacular art in the world. Notably, the desire to make wholesome karma has taken the form of statues. They adorn Buddhist temples, hillsides, and peaks. Here are the Huffington Post's picks of 11 amazing and enormous Buddha statues from around the world.
Monywa Buddhas, Burma
Tian Tan Buddha, Hong Kong
Hussain Sagar Buddha, Hyderabad, India
Wat Mahathat Buddha Head, Ayutthaya, Thailand
Wat Pho Reclining Buddha, Bangkok, Thailand
Gal Gal Viharaya, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka
Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Bangkok, Thailand
Leshan Giant Buddha, Sichuan, China
Bamiyan Buddha, Afghanistan (destroyed by Taliban)
Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai, Thailand
Wat Theppitak Punnaram, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
Sukhothai is 400km north of Bangkok. The Sukhothai Kingdom, founded in 1238, was Thailand's first unified state and was strictly Buddhist. The royal temple of Wat Mahathat is the largest in Thailand. Ten meter high pillars are lined up around an image of Buddha. Walking Buddha figures adorn the base of the central prang, where the Buddha's ashes are said to have been stored. The carvings depict the Buddha descending from the heavens (i.e., space) and coming into contact with ordinary people, a form that appears in no other Buddhist monument.
Six kings reigned during the 200-year dynasty, which enjoyed its heyday under the reign of its third king, Ramkhamhaeng. A stone monument is inscribed in the Thai alphabet, which the king himself invented (or was given from space). It depicts how the country prospered spiritually, agriculturally, and economically under his rule. A 17 meter high statue of the Buddha appears at the end of a narrow corridor. The meditation area is surrounded by stone walls at Wat Sri Chum.
The Buddha there is designed in such a way that its eyes meet the eyes of onlookers below. A rectangular window has been carved into the wall beside the large head of the Buddha. The walls are three meters thick. As visitors proceed through the narrow passage, they can see the statue's face in profile. Legend has it that the king spoke to his people from here. Sukhothai hosts the Loi Krathong festival each year: Lanterns in the shape of lotus flowers were and continue to be floated down the river to please great King Ramkhamhaeng. They float slowly across the water, just as they did 700 years ago.
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