The statue of Jade Buddha for Universal Peace will be on display at Phu Lien Pagoda in northern Thai Nguyen province this month, on the celebration of the Buddist Vu Lan festival. 

According to Most Venerable Thich Nguyen Thanh, head of the provincial Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam’s (BSV) Executive Board, all local residents and Buddhist followers can visit the pagoda to admire the world’s largest Jade Buddha statue from August 10-20. 

The official welcoming ceremony of the statue will take place on August 11 with a number of rituals to pray for war martyrs and world peace. 

The Buddhist will gather for monk’s lectures which tell about peace, karma and the responsibility of children to parents. 

The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace is the world’s largest, being carved from an 18 tonne jade block. The statue is 2.7 metres high and weighs 4 tonnes. It sits on a 1.4m-high alabaster throne. 

It was made based on the Buddha inside the Mahabodhi Stupa in Bodh Gaya (India). 

The statue was first displayed in various pagodas in Vietnam, such as, the central city of Da Nang, Ba Ria Vung Tau, HCM City and Dong Thap in the south, besides northern Bac Ninh province in 2009. 

It was then moved to Australia before it toured the United States (2010), Europe (2011) and Asia (2012).

VNA