Jade Buddha visits Penang

GEORGE TOWN: The world’s largest jade Buddha statue, known as the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace, is on display for public viewing for nine days at the Penang Times Square from today.

The statue, carved from an 18-tonne rare boulder of pure translucent jade named “Polar Pride” that was discovered in Canada in 2000, weighs around four tonnes and stands at 2.5m tall.

Jade Buddha for Universal Peace founder Ian Green said the exhibition, organised by the Chokyi Gyaltsen Centre (CGC), is the first of its kind in Penang with the state being the 66th city which the statue “visited”.

“The statue was on display in Kuala Lumpur just a couple of weeks ago. Malaysia is the 15th country we have visited. “Our spiritual master Lama Zopa Rinpoche had a vision and told me to turn the jade boulder into a Jade Buddha as a holy object to be offered to the world,” he said.

Green said the famous Buddha image at the Mohabodhi Stupa in the holy city of Bodh Gaya in India was the model for the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace.

“The stone was shipped to Thai­land where the statue was created. “It was completed in December 2008 and since then, the Jade Buddha has been to 14 other countries, including Singapore, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Australia, Norway and Germany,” he said at a special Jade Buddha completion ceremony at Penang Times Square in Jalan Datuk Keramat yesterday.

The ceremony saw the placement of three elements – ushnisha (the topknot at the top of the Buddha’s head), the jewel (which is placed between the eyebrows of Buddha which symbolises the “treasure hair”) and Buddha’s begging bowl (on the Jade Buddha statue) – by Geshe Tenzin Deyang, CGC’s resident monk from India.

Geshe, who speaks Tibetan, said the placement of the elements was carried out after the preparation of the area symbolising all of Penang for cleansing purposes.

“The ceremony is done in every city before the start of an exhibition to show that Jade Buddha is officially ready to be on show. “The essential purpose of Jade Buddha being invited here is to promote world peace, harmony and a close-loving relationship between people,” he said through Australian translator Tenzin Zangmo.

The ceremony also saw a chanting session by 10 monks from Nepal, led by Geshe, to symbolise the inviting of peace to the world and to ensure the smoothness of the exhibition. “The purpose of chanting, besides cleansing our inner sins, is also to invoke and request Buddha to come to this place and bless us,” said Geshe.

CGC president Dr Daniel Yeoh said some 200,000 visitors were expected to throng the exhibition. “By the time the exhibition in Penang is concluded, we would have well over seven million people who came to see the Jade Buddha,” he said.

He said the exhibition would also feature chanting by monk representatives from different traditions of Buddhism, namely Thera­vada, Sutrayana and Vajrayana. “There will also be relic blessings, a Tibetan sand mandala exhibition and Pindapata alms rounds,” added Dr Yeoh. The nine-day exhibition will be held from 10am to 9pm daily.

-thestar online.