A 500ft Buddha

500ft Buddha

In the Daily Mail, 6 July 2000, we read the headline in this
British newspaper The £100m shrine to British engineering.

"Designed in Britain, cast in bronze, costing
£100million and towering 500ft into the skies of India, it is already being
described the eighth wonder of the world.

When it is finished in January 2005, the Buddha Maitreya will
be the world's largest statue.

Made up of 6,000 separate bronze panels, it will be almost
three times taller than the Statue of Liberty...

The huge structure must withstand high winds, extreme
temperature changes, seasonal rains, possible earthquakes and floods, and
environmental pollution through at least 1,000 years....

'This is an amazing piece of history in the making,' said
Delcam poject manager Chris Lawrie.

'No one will ever attempt anything as big as this again. It
will be the eighth wonder of the world when it is finished -– a unique coming
together of religion, art and engineering.'

Further information tells us -– height, it is 500 feet,
more than three times as tall as the statue of Liberty, compared figure for
figure.

Location, Bodh Gaya, NE India, where Buddha is said to have
attained enlightenment more than 2,000 years ago.

Construction, assembled from 6,000 two-metre bronze panels.
Built to withstand storms earthquakes and floods for over 1.000 years

Cost, £100m -– mainly from charitable donations.

Head, shrine with viewing platform, for holiest of buddhists.

Heart, shrine with full access to public.

Throne, as high as a 17-storey building, it contains art
museum, prayer halls, theatre, exhibition hall, library and museum. It also has
a roof garden.

Park, surrounded by 40 acres of gardens, meditation
pavillion, pools and trees." End Quote.

This author can never forget how many years ago we heard
Billy Graham say in public meeting, "Buddha died looking for the truth, but
Jesus Christ said 'I am the truth'."