[Buddha-l] Re: Maitreya statue discussion

[Piya Tan]

Around 2001 I was offered the job of fund coordinator for the project in
Singapore,
which I promptly turned down. The reason is simple: why build such a big
statue
of the future Buddha when we are still in the time of the current Buddha
Gotama.
The present Buddha is good enough for me, so to speak.

Piya Tan


On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 9:51 AM, Sally McAra <sallymcara at fastmail.fm> wrote:

> eric wrote....
> >>>
> There is something else involved as well: the question of the relation
> between intensity and meaning. Is the meaning of a big statue different
> form a small one? Does the big statue give a more lasting karmic
> imprint? Is retoric connected with meaning? Or perhaps does a big statue
> express a different meaning: like megalomania? Are the proponents of the
> project aware of the difference between form and meaning and the problem
> of perspectivity? I can understand why people do mantras or make
> manistones, but is that the same as the wish to construct a huge statue?
> (I remember the loudspeaker war that goes on between the big mosque and
> the main monastry in Leh.)
>
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>
> Sally writes in reply.
> Yes, I agree that this massive statue expresses a whole lot of things
> besides those that the designers (and builders, if it ever goes ahead)
> intend... Of course, symbols and objects can be read in many ways. Also,
> some people on this list wprobably work with translation theory and have
> thought about how their attempts to render something from one language
> to another is fraught with difficulties because one cannot ever get the
> "original" intention of the writer, only an approximation, and this is
> very subject to interpretation. And then there is the matter of what the
> readers do with it...!
> Same with objects, I think, but with added dimensions of the material
> qualities of the object, the resources and capital (social, cultural,
> economic etc) involved, etc.
>
> The FPMT argue that the bigger the statue, the greater the merit (more
> atoms dedicated to the cause, more money donated, so more donors making
> money, more fame means more people see it and so they get karmic
> imprints etc etc). And then there's the people who associate it with
> megalomania, idolatry, yet another imposition on the land, etc... . So
> it all depends on one's perspective. Perhaps Jessica Falcone will be
> exploring the variety of perspectives in her phd. I've done a similar
> exploration of the stupa project in Australia (and am currently waiting
> to hear back from my supervisors on what I *hope* is my penultimate
> draft).
> Cheers
> Sally
> --
>  Sally McAra
>  sallymcara at fastmail.fm
>
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