The Reclining Buddha of Polonnawura
Listed under Tombs & Memorials in Southern Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka.
Countless monuments have been raised, over tens of centuries, in memory of the great scenes of Buddha’s life; but this one at Polonnawura in Sri Lanka was created in the 12th century on the king’s instruction, to honour his dying moments, when he achieved perfect peace: Nirvana.
Despite its prone position, the statue carries an air of enormous dignity and satisfaction, and appears to have emerged naturally from the streaked, grey, granite cliff behind it as though it were part of the environment. 46 feet in length, it lies across the front of a rock-cut temple, and shows the Buddha lying on his side, one hand raised to his pillow, with a placid smile on his lips.
Written by 
larapiegeler.
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