Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple (Yangon)
| Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple | |
|---|---|
  Shown within Myanmar | |
| Basic information | |
| Location | Mingaladon Township, Yangon |
| Geographic coordinates | 16°53′04″N 96°07′24″E / 16.884581°N 96.123207°ECoordinates: 16°53′04″N 96°07′24″E / 16.884581°N 96.123207°E |
| Affiliation | Theravada Buddhism |
| Country | Myanmar |
| Architectural description | |
| Founder | Than Shwe |
| Completed | February 2002 |
Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple (Burmese: ကျောက်တော်ကြီးဘုရား) is a Buddhist temple located on Mindhamma Hill on Mingaladon Township, Yangon, Burma.[1] The temple houses a 25 feet (7.6 m) feet tall Buddha called the Loka Chantha Abhaya Labha Muni (လောကချမ်းသာအဘယလဘ မုနိရုပ်ပွားတော်မြတ်ကြီး), which is carved out of a single piece of white marble quarried in Sagyin Hill, Madaya Township, Mandalay Region.[1] The image weighs approximately 560 tons.[2] The Buddha is carved making the abhayamudra (အဘယမုဒြာ), the gesture of fearlessness.[3]
The marble image was transported using a special railroad carriage, which was then placed on a 200 feet (61 m) long barge donated by the Asia World Company.[3] The barge was pushed down the Irrawaddy River by three steamers, stopping along major towns before reaching Yangon.[3] The barge was accompanied by a fleet of decorated ceremonial boats.[3]
The marble image landed at Gyogon, Insein Township on 5 August 2000 to an audience of 500,000 people, including government officials from the State Peace and Development Council, including Than Shwe, his wife Kyaing Kyaing, and Khin Nyunt.[3] The image was then carried atop Mindhamma Hill using a special railway carriage requiring 4 locomotives, on 10 August.[3] The partially carved image was finished and erected at an auspicious location designated by astrologers (aung myay, lit. "victory grounds"), where it is currently housed.[4] The Buddha image was consecrated in February 2002.[3] This Buddhist project was reportedly a yadaya exercise to avert misfortune.[3] The Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple was built on the site of the former Nine Mile Cemetery.[5]
References
- 1 2 "Kyauktawgyi Pagoda". Myanmar Travel Information. 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ↑ KOH KIM SENG (2009). "MISUNDERSTOOD MYANMAR: AN INTROSPECTIVE STUDY OF THE VICISSITUDES OF A SOUTHEAST ASIAN STATE IN TRANSITION" (PDF). NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE. p. 209. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Seekins, Donald M. State and Society in Modern Rangoon. Routledge. pp. 190–191. ISBN 9781317601548.
- ↑ Matthews, Bruce (2001). Southeast Asian Affairs 2001. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 236. ISBN 9789812301291.
- ↑ Seekins, Donald M. (2014). State and Society in Modern Rangoon. Routledge. p. 168. ISBN 9781317601548.