Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Great Global Pagoda: India

Great Global Pagoda

globalpagoda.org/Karuna Films

This short film offers a stunning look at the Global Pagoda being built on the outskirts of Bombay, India's most populous city. It is a modern wonder of engineering. Architecturally, this building will be by far the largest single-span stone dome in the world, twice as big as the Vatican's Basilica of St. Peter. Computer-guided stone saws are at work beside craftsmen using timeless chisel and hammer techniques.

Global Pagoda pays tribute to Burma for safeguarding the Dharma by reflecting the outer form of its famous Shwedagon Pagoda. However, this pagoda is being built as a hollow structure that will seat 9,000 for meditation. It featurese a gallery with educational panels and displays to inform visitors about the matchless contribution of the Buddha to human history. Thus it is intended to serve as a beacon of practice and education for multitudes, for centuries to come.

The placement of the keystone closing the dome (where the Buddha's relics will be kept) is scheduled for October 29, 2006.

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