derekgraddy Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Is this huge statute made of real solid gold? Also, what is the reasoning behind some of the statutes using gold vs just ordinary concrete? Also, doesn't that have a materialistic type of connotation by using gold when Buddhism shuns material possessions? I have a link to that particular statue. Thanks for any explanation. http://www.photographythailand.com/Forum/index.php?topic=1461.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brucenkhamen Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 I would have thought that the people who donated the gold now have less material possessions than they did before, so it obviously works. I'm sure there would have been better causes to make those donations to though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camerata Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 This one is way too big to be solid gold. Just gold paint, I think. The largest solid gold Buddha statue in the world is at Wat Traimit. Personally, I like huge Buddha statues, if they have been well designed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekgraddy Posted December 20, 2010 Author Share Posted December 20, 2010 Is there a reason why they use gold or faux gold for the statues...there are obviously some regular concrete ones too. Is the gold like a symbolic gesture or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kropotkin Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Why would buddhist monks be different from their catholic / hindu /,,,,, counterparts? In every institutionalised religion, the leaders LIKE gold / huge buildings / etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camerata Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 I've read that for chedis and temples, Thais simply like gold. It looks impressive. By contrast, you hardly see any gold at all in Japanese temples, and the buildings, pagodas and many images are made of wood. I doubt there are many solid gold statues in Thailand, but I think the popularity of gold plate is partly that gold lasts for a gazillion years. Also, the cost means that a lot of people can make merit by contributing towards the construction. If you build a concrete statue, not many people can contribute. One common practice is for people to stick pieces of gold leaf on statues or luk nimit (large spheres buried around an ordination hall) as an offering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekgraddy Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 I've read that for chedis and temples, Thais simply like gold. It looks impressive. By contrast, you hardly see any gold at all in Japanese temples, and the buildings, pagodas and many images are made of wood. I doubt there are many solid gold statues in Thailand, but I think the popularity of gold plate is partly that gold lasts for a gazillion years. Also, the cost means that a lot of people can make merit by contributing towards the construction. If you build a concrete statue, not many people can contribute. One common practice is for people to stick pieces of gold leaf on statues or luk nimit (large spheres buried around an ordination hall) as an offering. Thanks for the info!! Appreciate that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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