The Largest Golden Buddha Statue in the World

The holy place of the golden Buddha statue is located in Bangkok. The holy place is known as Wat Traimit Witthayaram. When the capital of Thailand was moved from Sukothai to Bangkok, many Buddha statues were moved to Bangkok. Many of these representations were taken from several areas in Thailand. Many of the representations taken were from northern Thailand and central Thailand. The northern part of Thailand has seen many invasions and battles with the Burmese for centuries. Riches, especially gold, were stolen and melted down during aggressions from the Burmese as quarries during battle. This looting and plunders included Buddha sculptures. Many times these sculptures were covered in Clay and mud to cover up them from their actual gold makeup.

One representation in Bangkok that was disguised in clay was being moved to a several location. During this movement, the statue was accidently dropped, and when this happened, it was revealed that the sculpture was actually made of gold bullion than the clay. The amount of gold bullion that was in this sculpture is a total of 5 ton, and is considered the biggest gold Buddha representation in the world. The total height is 10 feet tall and head is in the shape of an egg, proving once again that its origins are from the Sukkothai period. Depending on the area of the representation, the representation varies in the degree of gold. The sculpture is 40 % gold from the body of the sculpture to the neck, 80 % from the neck to the forehead, and 99 % gold bullion on the top of the representation.

The sculpture is determined to be worth $250,000,000 in value, but the value of the statue is likely to go up because of the growth in the price of gold bullion that's taking place in world markets. The preservation of this sculpture and the holy place that accompanies it is important for the culture of Thailand and has a unique saga. A number of underlining stories can actually be learned from this saga. His sculpture stands for a period in Thai culture that required many valuables and treasures to be hidden because of constant conflict. Another part of the statue is the fact that it exemplifies the change of the capital of Thailand from Sukkothai to Bangkok. And I think another philosophical point to layout is the fact that people should never evaluate a book by its protect, and assume that what's on the outside is not what's on the inside. The temple that the Buddha statue was originally located in Thailand was dilapidated and falling apart, so the statue was to be transferred to another holy place. If the first holy place would of initially known that the Buddha was gold bullion, then the likely hood of the statue staying in the original spot would of increased. One could only think of the amazement of the individuals who were moving this clay sculpture, and once the representation revealed that it was gold bullion, the trauma on their face.