BUDDHA DORDENMA

Article by Buddha Dordenma Image Foundation (1st June, 2015)

Buddha Dordenma is a gigantic Shakyamuni Buddha statue still under construction in the mountains of Bhutan. When completed, the statue will house over one lakh (one hundred thousand) smaller Buddha, each of which, like the Buddha Dordenma itself, will be made of bronze and gilded in gold. The Buddha Dordenma is located amidst the ruins of Kuensel Phodrang, the palace of Sherab Wangchuck, the thirteenth Desi Druk, over a height of 169 feet (51.5 meters). Scheduled completion is slated end of 2015. 

The statue alone is being built at a cost of US$47million by the Aerosun Corporation of Nanjing, China, while the total cost of the Buddha Dordenma Project is well over US$100 million. The interior will accommodate 100,000 8-inch-tall and 25,000 12-inch-tall gilded Buddha respectively. Names of sponsors will be displayed in the meditation hall which forms the throne of the Buddha Dordenma. 

Apart from commemorating the centennial Bhutanese monarchy, it fulfils two prophecies that a large statue of either Padmasambhava, Buddha or a phurba would be built in the region to bestow blessings, peace and happiness to the whole world. Additionally the statue is mentioned in the ancient terma of Guru Padmasambhava himself, said to date from approximately the eighth century, and only recovered some 800 years ago by terton Pema Lingpa. 

The eyes of the Buddha statue overlooks the Kuensel Phodrang Nature Park which was formally opened as a recreational park in 2011. The park conserves 943.3 acres of forest area that surrounds the Buddha Dordenma statue. 

Made of bronze and gilded in gold, it symbolizes indestructibility. Buddha Dordenma is being built in its home in Thimphu to become a "major pilgrimage centre and focal point for Buddhists all over the world to converge, practice, meditate and retreat.”