Tough at |the top

Plans for a roof to shelter the world’s largest A Lo-Taw-style Buddha image are underway in Meiktila, Mandalay, according to the abbot of the monastery |named for the style.
“This is the largest and tallest A Lo-taw Pyae Buddha image in existence. There aren’t any big Alo-taw Pyae Buddha images in Thailand, India, China, Sri Lanka or Europe, which is why we say this one is the largest in the world,” says chief abbot Pyinnyathara.
“We expect the construction of the roof to cost around 30 million kyat [Bt987,500]. We will hire a Mandalay construction firm to do the work.”
Known as an ancient hub of Buddhist learning, Meiktila is also a centre for wood and bamboo products as well as textile manufacturing. According to local lore, the ancient Meiktila Lake was built by Lord Buddha’s grandfather.
Construction of the three-storey-high (11 metres) Buddha image, located near the old Yangon-Mandalay highway, began in July 2008 and was completed in 90 days at a cost of more than 20 million kyat. The image was designed and built by a group of artisans led by the celebrated Bagan architect Thiha.
Buddhist-majority Myanmar boasts more than 100 giant Buddha images, which draw hundreds of thousands of local and foreign devotees each year. Most are carved in the sitting, standing and reclining postures.
Largest among Myanmar’s reclining images is the Win Sein Taw Ya Buddha in Mudon, Mon state. Stretching 180 metres across the hillside and soaring 30 metres into the sky, it has yet to be completed after construction work began more than a decade ago. Win Sein Taw Ya dwarfs its nearest rival, Shwethalyaung Buddha, which lounges over 55 metres of Bagan’s temple-filled plain.
Equally imposing is the Laykyun Sekkya standing Buddha in Saigang, central Myanmar. Built by the venerable Bodhi Tahtaung, the 116-metre-high Laykyun Sekkya is purportedly the second tallest statue in the world. Its 12-year construction was completed in 2008 and features a stairwell inside by which visitors can climb to the top.
Elsewhere, the Maha Kyein Thitsar Shin Pagoda on the outskirts of Yangon houses a giant sitting Buddha image that took several years to build and was completed in 2009. The 39-metre-tall image was cast in the Rakhine style with royal regalia and is seated on a two-storey altar. Its upper storey is filled with smaller Buddha images, while the ground floor offers a sacred space for visitors and pilgrims.