The Great Buddha Hall at the Chuang Yan Monastery is constructed without internal pillars supporting the ceiling. This results in a spacious, unobstructed interior that reflects the spirit of Chuang Yen Monastery.

The building is 84 feet tall, contains 24,000 square feet of space and can accommodate 2,000 people in the main hall.

Seen Inside the Hall is a 37-foot statue of the Buddha Vairocana - the largest Buddha statue in the Western hemisphere.

Encircling the large statue are 10,000 small statues of the Buddha on a lotus terrace.

Surrounding the pedestal of of the Great Buddha Statue are 12 bas-reliefs of Bodhisattvas. A mural 8 feet high and 104 feet long covers the wall of the lotus terrace containing the 10,000 small Buddha statues. It depicts scenes from the "Pure Land" or "Western Paradise" of Amitabha Buddha.

At the back of the terrace is another mural 8 feet high and 144 feet long which contains lively pictures of 500 Ara. They have different facial expressions. These paintings are the masterpieces of Professor C.G. Chen. All paintings will be finished by 1999.

The construction of the Great Buddha and the building took 8 years. The Great Buddha has to be complete before the building. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to bring a huge Buddha into the building. Professor C.G. Chen spent 2 years just to complete the Great Buddha itself. The little Buddhas are also designed and fabricated by Professor C.G. Chen.

source: www.baus.org/baus/about_us/cym_buddha_hall.shtml

This is an amazing sight in a beautiful monastery.......


Thumbnail by Tony Fischer Photography