A great project is in the works in one of the poorest parts of India. The Maitreya Project is a tribute to Buddhism for and from the land of the Buddha. At 500ft / 152m, the World's Largest Statue -- a statue three times the size of the Statue of Liberty -- built to last over a thousand years.The Maitreya Project aims to construct a huge temple dedicated to the Buddha in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. The project will also build free hospitals, schools servicing tens of thousands of poor, and also be a huge catalyst for infrastructure and tourism development efforts in one of the most economically backwards parts of India.
The project is a joint religious collaboration by organizations representing the various sects and faiths that revere the Buddha: from Mahayana to Vajrayana to Hinayana to Hindu to Jaina.
The Project was funded by Buddhists and Hindus in India, Tibet, Japan, Korea and the West. The conceptualizer of the Maitreya Project is an Nepalese-Tibetan spiritual leader, Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Through this project, India once again shows that the ancient arts of massive devotional architecture continues to thrive.
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"Maitreya Project is based on the belief that inner peace and outer peace share a cause and effect relationship and that loving-kindness leads to peace at every level of society — peace for individuals, families, communities and the world.
The Maitreya Buddha statue is being designed to last for at least 1,000 years. Through this entire new millennium and into the next, it will effect positive change within the hearts and minds of people all over the world and benefit the people of India through its social and economic activities.
Maitreya Project’s vision includes schools that focus on ethical and spiritual development as well as academic achievement, and a healthcare network based around a teaching hospital of international standard to provide healthcare services, particularly for the poor and underprivileged.
Maitreya Project is working with local, regional and state governments in Uttar Pradesh, India, where the Kushinagar Special Development Area Authority will support the planned development of the area surrounding the Project.
The Maitreya Buddha statue is being built to bring as much benefit as possible, for as long as possible, so that loving-kindness will eventually arise in the hearts of all beings. "
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