The Biggest Buddha in the World

Incense burning at the temple near Leshan Da Fo.

My host dad lighting incense.

Leshan Da Fo looking down upon his cliff.

My host family and the Buddha in the back.

At eight in the morning, my host family and I headed to Leshan to see the Giant Buddha, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Apparently, this amazingly gigantic Buddha took 90 years to build. The project was established by a monk by the name Hai Tong in order to calm the river water, which was supposedly being influenced by a water spirit. After the project was complete, the waters did calm due to the rocks from the cliff being deposited into the river below. Before heading there, we picked up Chandler and drove for another two hours. We arrived at Leshan around 11:30 am and met up with some other NSLI-Yians for a quick lunch before heading up. With tickets in hand, we headed to the Giant Buddha. Along the way, there were small Buddha statues, Chinese text, and even Buddhist temples. We went to one temple called Ling Wan Monastery. It wasn’t until then that I realized, as far as I can remember, I have never been in any other religious worship spaces besides a church. My host parents told me that they were Buddhist; I told them that I am Lutheran. At the temple, I saw many Buddhist statues and food and gifts near the statues as offering. There were colorful cushions where people could kneel and pray. In the courtyard area, there were many lotus shaped candles and incense burning and smoking. I saw my host dad light some incense and do some sort of simple praying ritual. My host mom said that I could kneel or burn incense, but I decided against it because I am not Buddhist. I just respectfully and curiously watched others. Based on my limited knowledge of Buddhism, Buddhism does not involve praying to a god or God because Buddha is technically not a god. The goal is to reach enlightenment/nirvana so as to escape human suffering and the constant cycle of life and death. I felt that it was not appropriate for me to kneel to a Buddhist statue or burn incense with ignorance about this religion and my own religious beliefs. I believe it is important to understand other religions in order to be understanding and sound in your own personal beliefs. If I ever get the chance, I would love to talk to a monk about Buddhism and religion. I saw some there, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t speak English. After exploring the temple for a while, we headed to see the Giant Buddha. There was a two hour line to walk all the way to the bottom to see the Giant Buddha. From where we were standing, we could see the head of the statue, but that was it. During this two hour line wait, I talked with my host mom more and made line buddies with an older lady. Another older lady pointed at my fingernail and said that I was healthy. Weird things happen when you’re surrounded by mostly strangers for two hours. Finally we got the opportunity to see the big man. From the top, you’d never think that there would be a whole two hundred more feet of this gigantic cliff carving/statue. It was quite spectacular. I got a few pictures with my host family and a few of the Giant Buddha himself. I would say it was worth the two hour wait. Climbing down the steep stairs, I never once considered that we were going to have to get back up again, but luckily there was a nice steep staircase on the other side. Exhausted and satisfied, we rested for a little while before walking out. Another two hour car ride/nap later, my host family and I went to a restaurant, where my host dad met up with some of his buds. My host mom and I chatted a little bit more over some tea, and then we all headed downstairs to a different part of the restaurant. Waiting for us we’re two full tables of dishes with rice porridge, rice flour buns, spicy stir-fried vegetables, egg and tomato, and many other dishes. One table was for the dads and the other was for their children and wives. At multiple times, my host mom and the other women talked about me and what I eat and if I understand Chinese. I could understand a good amount of what they said, which made me pretty happy. Completely and utterly exhausted, we left the restaurant and headed home. It was another day in another country with another unforgettable experience for it to be remembered by.