ETERNAL SPLENDOUR IN STONE – THE STORY OF THE LESHAN BUDDHA – by Bernard VanCuylenburg.
PROLOGUE.
This story is about a Monk, a Buddha, and two rivers, which had its genesis over 1500 years ago
in Leshan China, on a cliff face overlooking the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers. Before I get to the crux of this article, some context by reference to the two statues of the Buddha in the Bamiyan valley in Afghanistan is timely. The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in 2001 signalled the loss of a priceless legacy to humanity, and dealt a fatal blow to the cultural sensitivities of the world. One statue stood 180 ft tall, and the other was 124 ft. Both statues over 2000 years old stood in an area which was a holy site for Buddhists, on the ancient trading route between China and Europe known as The Silk Road. Until the time this dastardly deed was perpetrated, the Bamiyan Buddha statues were the tallest in the world. Today, the Leshan Buddha in China holds that honour. In the early 7th century around the year 710 AD, flooding proved to be a serious problem at the confluence of the two rivers in Leshan. This resulted in lethal currents resulting in many boatmen losing their lives. A Buddhist monk named Haitong decided that the construction of a Buddha statue would calm the raging waters and save many lives. In the year 713 AD. he embarked on this project. Pardon me if I digress, but I cannot help but draw a timeline going back to the year 478 AD when a young King in ancient Lanka named Kasyappa seeking a location for his capital, focused his attention on a brooding granite rock named Sigiriya and attacked it with an army of Builders, Architects, Surveyors, Engineers, Artisans, Artists, and a massive labour force which gave the world a lasting legacy – the fairyland wonder that is the Palace/Royal city of Sigiriya which enchants and enthralls visitors from the four corners of the globe to this day. They certainly thought and dreamed big dreams in days of yore. The Buddhist Monk Haitong decided to build his statue not on terra firma or the summit of a hill or rock, but on the cliff face of a mountain !! Work on the Leshan Buddha began in the year 713 AD. but sadly the work was completed ninety years after Haitong’s death. Over the years when construction was in progress, surplus rocks and stone from the statues sculpting filled the hollows and in time the waters were successfully tamed. Locals insisted that it was the calming presence of the Leshan Buddha that calmed the waters. When I first saw the Leshan Buddha, I will not use the hackneyed cliche saying that “I was at a loss for words” – its impact on me was more intense. Suffice to say that my brain could not process – almost refused to process what my eyes saw. That was the limit of my sight. Consider the statistics of the Leshan Buddha. The height of the statue is 72 metres.(236 ft.) Each ear stretches for 7 metres and the shoulders span 28 metres. Each big toe is 7.5m. long. And, the statue is in a sitting posture from the head at the top of the mountain, to the feet at the bottom. I walked away some distance to get a full view of the statute to determine its magnitude. That done, I climbed to the summit to get a close view of its head. There is a steep winding stairway from the head to the feet on either side of the statue. This stairway is constantly full with pilgrims and tourists winding their way up from the feet to the head, and vice versa. Sometimes, “traffic” on the stairway can come to a complete standstill due to the influx of visitors. Patience when using the stairway is a virtue. And another engineering marvel which goes unnoticed speaks volumes for the skill of the engineers of 1500 years ago. There is a water-drainage system built inside the statue to prevent it from the vagaries of the weather, but I was told that soil erosion is a constant problem. At a height of 236 ft, The Leshan Buddha is the tallest Buddha statue in the world. If the statue was constructed in a standing posture, it would have been much taller ! But Haitong decided that the statue would be sedent. The Leshan Buddha is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it merely putting pen to paper because it is like no other Buddha statue in the world.
THE MOGAO CAVES.
History has bequeathed China with some of the best repositories of Buddhist art in the world. I visited a few like the Yungang caves in Datong, and the Caves in the Western province of Xingjiang. But of special interest are the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang. At the height of its fame and glory the site had eighteen monasteries and over 1500 monks and nuns. The first cave was founded in
366 AD and over the centuries countless artists, translators, calligraphers and painters graced the caves with their talents. The rich and the famous by way of courtiers of the Empire and wealthy traders created new caves. With the collapse of the Yuan dynasty, (Early 13th century to 1368) the caves fell into disuse and were lost to the world until they were discovered again in the early 20th century and their glories revealed to all mankind. The Library Cave is worth a visit as it contains rare and ancient fragments of manuscripts in classical Uighur and Chinese. These repositories of Buddhist Art are invaluable treasure troves which leave a lasting impression on the visitor due to their symmetry in stone and the art of perfection achieved. The serene face of the Enlightened One in all the statues are timeless through the ages and timeless beyond time…..they will forever remain
a labour of love resulting in masterpieces of sheer beauty and a joy forever. Staggering achievements in architecture, astronomy, mathematics, engineering, art and sculpture were the hallmarks of ancient Chinese civilization, and the numerous repositories of Buddhist Art in the numerous caves around this vast country, are yet another jewel in the crown of China’s historical grandeur. During four visits to China I was fortunate to have travelled from Shanghai in the East to Xinjiang in the West, and from Datong in the North to Chengdu in the South. There are repositories of Buddhist art spread far and wide across this vast land. When UNESCO placed most of these on the World Heritage List, their criteria stated that these Repositories show a masterpiece of human creative genius and also contain superlative natural phenomena. Indeed few places on Earth incorporate the majesty of nature alongside such impressive examples of the ingenuity and determination of humankind.
LINKS WITH LANKA.
In my Hotel in Xian I picked up a Brochure in my room and was thrilled to read that in a temple not far from the Hotel there is a stone slab drawing reference to China’s relations with ancient Lanka. I hurried to the site and on a large stone slab outside the temple was the following inscription:
” On this spot, the Emperor of China welcomed the famous Buddhist Monk Xuan Yang, on his return from Ceylon with valuable Buddhist manuscripts, after an absence of 18 years. This was in the year 646 AD.” I humbly add that he returned to China when King Kassyapa the 2nd ruled Ceylon. If he spent 18 years in the country, he visited Ceylon when King Jetthatissa the 3rd and after him King Aggabodhi the 4th ruled the island.
THE FORBIDDEN CITY.
The iconic Forbidden City in Beijing, one of the most majestic royal palaces in the world was built during the Ming dynasty. (1368 – 1664). Work on the city commenced in 1406 and was completed in 1420. For a Palace complex which has over 900 rooms, the fact that the work was completed in just 24 years has to be a record. The Forbidden City was the Imperial Palace and the Winter Residence of the Chinese Emperor. When the Palace was declared open, the ancient Chinese annals record that there were many foreign delegations present on invitation to pay hommage to the Emperor.
Among these, the records state refer to a diplomatic mission from Ceylon. They waited in line until it was their turn to enter “The Palace of Holy Purity” the audience hall where they were to present their credentials, followed by an audience with the Emperor. Foreign envoys and Officers of high rank were received in this Hall. The delegation from Ceylon would have been dispatched by King Parakramabahu the V1 who ruled the island from 1410 – 1468. Visiting this Hall was a journey back in time. Nothing much has changed since it was first opened, and of note is the immense throne on a slight elevation, the inference being that the Emperor was almost a celestial being compared to the
mere mortals who came to honour him with their presence. The Forbidden City derived its name because for 500 years it was strictly off limits. One only entered on orders from the Emperor or one of his Officials. This law was obeyed to the letter because the price for uninvited admission was instant execution !
My travels in China were remarkable journeys through the pages of History, and was compounded by another important factor – the Chinese people. Meeting the people was to bask in the glow of their kindness and warmth. Each of the provinces in China have their own unique culture and heritage
which unfolds, if you see aspects of it not with your eyes but with your soul. And the soul of this great country reveals itself not only in the soul, but in the beating heart of this diverse and culturally rich nation. Some journeys never end……….
Bernard VanCuylenburg.
