In Kalmykia consecrated the highest statue of Buddha Maitreya in Europe after reconstruction

In the city of Lagan, a solemn ritual of ablution and consecration of the statue of Buddha Maitreya took place. This sculpture, the tallest in Europe, was installed in 2019 and has recently undergone a major renovation.

During the work, the master dismantled the old coating, replacing it with a new one. If earlier the statue had a yellow tint, now it shines with a noble golden color.

The ceremony was attended by Shajin Lama of Kalmykia Geshe Tenzin Choidak, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic Erdni Tserenov, as well as monks of the central Khurul “Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni” and believers.

Addressing the audience before the beginning of the ritual, Tenzin Choidak stressed that for the Kalmyk people, the restoration of this shrine is not just a repair of an architectural object, but an event of a republican scale. First Deputy Prime Minister Erdni Tserenov welcomed the participants on behalf of the regional government. The statue of Buddha Maitreya has long been one of the main recognizable symbols of Kalmykia. According to him, it was created thanks to the faith, labor and donations of people, and therefore from the very beginning was perceived not as an ordinary monument, but as a place of spiritual attraction and pilgrimage.

“The work of the masters on the restoration of the statue is a kind of offering, because real creation always begins with the attitude of a person to what he does,” said Tserenov.