Rising from the flat marshes south of Phnom Penh, the giant Buddha sits facing east, its shadow spreading over rice paddies and wood homes as a setting sun casts the last light of day.
Motor taxi drivers trundle past on a dusty road, practically under the Buddha’s massive bulk, delivering late-day passengers to their destinations while monks in groups of two and three stroll on the shaded grounds of Wat Norot Raingsie.
Here, amid this serene backdrop is the largest sitting Buddha in the nation and, according to its builder, the fifth largest such Buddha in the world.
At 29 meters high and 14 meters wide, the statue blocks the sky for anyone who wanders near. A bamboo latticework of scaffolding surrounds the stupa, still under construction and absent a face and hands.
The project, already noteworthy for its scale, took on added significance this month when the Taliban, the ultra-conservative ruling party of Afghanistan, carried out a pledge to destroy two ancient Buddhist sculptures in that nation, which they labeled an affront to their Islamic religion.
The Buddhas, at 52 meters and 30 meters high, were considered the tallest standing Buddhas in the world and designated as World Heritage Sites by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The loss of the giant Buddhas, which were hewn from sandstone cliffs by believers between the third and fifth centuries, brought swift condemnations from nations around the world.
The destruction of the Buddhas also has monks here concerned for Buddhists in that part of the world, said Seng Somony, the vice rector of the Buddhist Faculty in Phnom Penh. The loss underscored the fragile nature of religion and religious people in the face of extremist governments, he said. Here in Cambodia, he hopes Buddhism will survive.
“I expect the government, the people and the monks will protect Buddhism forever,” he said.
Builders hope to finish construction of Phnom Penh’s giant Buddha next year. If they do, it will bring to a close the dream of monk Rean Rithy, 53, who was trained at this pagoda but has spent most of his adult life in Paris after fleeing Cambodia in 1973.
He returned to Cambodia in 1993 after touring Europe and Asia, and decided to fund the construction of a giant Buddha, both to add to the nation’s cultural heritage and for the Buddhist people of Cambodia.
He also thought the Buddha would help bring peace, said Seng Somony, who has followed the project closely.
“Buddha has always been advising people to do good things for their lives and to be peaceful inside their minds,” he said.
“This construction is meaningful to Rean Rithy because it will stand as a good achievement for the Cambodian people, people who respect Buddha. He will be happy if it’s finished before he passes away.”
Construction began in 1993. Ream Rithy hoped to finish by 1997, but the nation’s political turmoil interfered with his plans. At about the same time, the project’s contractor took the construction money and disappeared.
Left without funds or a construction crew, work stopped on the project for several years, resuming in February of 2000.
Unforeseen problems—like the contractor’s disappearance—have pushed the cost of the project far above the initial estimate of $30,000. Rean Rithy now expects to spend close to 10 times that amount by the time the project is finished, according to Seng Somony. All of the funds for the project have come from private donations, mostly gathered in France.
For its high cost, the project has brought equally high expectations for those who hope to capitalize on the tourism trade.
A man who lives across the street with his family is making plans to open a small shop to sell incense to tourists, who he envisions thronging to the Buddha someday. Already he has seen a tourist bus pull up to the site and unload camera-wielding sightseers.
“I am proud to see a big Buddha like this one,“ said Sok Chheoun, 30, who works as a motor taxi driver to support his wife and two children. “People stop here because they want to see the Buddha, how big it is. They just want to see how beautiful it is.”
His neighbor, Suy Hong, 40, has visions of dropping his small engine repair business to cater to tourists.
“I want to see it happen soon,” he said.
The Buddha’s construction has not been without controversy, however. It is very near the road, and some fear that the Buddha could crumble onto passing motorists some day if it is not properly maintained.
It is also taller than the temple at the pagoda, a fact that some see as a slight. But monks who live at the temple say they like the Buddha because it will draw tourists and become a celebration of Buddhism.
“Some people say it is good that it is so tall, because people can see it from all around and it will attract people from all over,” said Srey Thin, 68, a monk at the pagoda.
The project’s boosters claim it will be the fifth largest sitting Buddha in the world, though they could not say which Buddhas were taller.
Tamara Teneishvili, a cultural program specialist at UNESCO, said the largest Buddha in the world is in Lechan, China, where a sitting Buddha presides over the merger of three rivers. Carved out of a hillside in the 8th century, the Buddha is 71 meters tall.
The Cambodian sitting Buddha is about half that high. If it is ever finished, it will add to the nation’s legacy of such giant Buddhas as the reclining stupas at Phnom Kulen and Baphuon Temple near Siem Reap.
For people like Keo San, 66, a monk at the Wat Norot Raingsie, size means everything.
“By building a big one, they guarantee it will be here for a long time,” he said.
To get to the Buddha, travel south on Norodom Boulevard to the Monivong Bridge. Turn left and cross the river, heading east for two km. The Buddha is on the right.
