The Great Buddha of LeShan

It was speedy traveling with Stanley. He knew precisely when and where to catch a variety of busses, the exact ticket price for our destination and would negotiate a ride on a rickshaw with barely a nod… So before I could say abracadabra, we arrived in LeShan.

Because my initial plan only involved Allen, the Sichuan University and the Bookworm I was not prepared for the sightseeing I had embarked upon. Yet, had I been more informed, the magnificent Buddha carved into the red sandstone face of a cliff, would not have been a less astonishing sight.

A Great Buddha sitting for centuries guarding the confluence of two rivers below was the staggering concept of Haitong, a monk who lived during early 8 century AD.
The Buddha is 71-m. high, each ear drops 7-m. Nose measures 5.6-m. Shoulders span 28-m. He is restored every 10 years to prevent damage from plant invasion and pollution.
To get a close view of his 8-m. feet and famous toes we descended a twisting, steep and narrow staircase, anticipating the descent would prove much easier that the inevitable ascent to the exit…

During construction the sculptor-monk lived in a cave behind the Buddha’s head. Funds for the work were raised trough public donations and regional government contributions, generated by salt mining revenues.
Haitong gouged out his own eyes when a local official threatened to blind him if prevented from taking a cut of the funds. The Great Buddha was completed in 1803, some time after Haitong’s death