The city of Tanjungpinang now has the tallest pagoda in Indonesia
Tanjungpinang City, Riau Islands Province (Kepri), now has the tallest pagoda in Indonesia, namely the Sata-Sahasra Buddha Pagoda which is planned to be inaugurated by the Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas on.
The Sata-Sahasra Buddha Pagoda is in the Vihara complex Avalokitesvara on Jalan WR. Supratman, KM 14, Tanjungpinang City, managed by the Maitri Paramitha Foundation.
“The Minister of Religion is scheduled to inaugurate it directly and in line with the 2023 national meeting of the Indonesian Buddhist Association (Permabudhi) at the Sata-Sahasra Buddha Pagoda building,” said the owner of the Maitri Paramitha Foundation, Hengky Suryawan in Tanjungpinang, Wednesday.
He said the process of building the Sata-Sahasra Buddha Pagoda took around seven years, starting in June 2016 and completing in June 2023 with a budget of around IDR 100 billion.
The pagoda consists of nine floors with a length of 52.00 meters, a width of 32.00 meters and a height of 46.80 meters. The walls of the building use 20,708 ceramic Buddha statue motifs that were specially ordered and printed from a factory in China.
“We have proposed a MURI record for the highest pagoda in Indonesia, namely 46.80 meters, and the pagoda with the most Buddhist motif ceramic installations, namely 20,708 pieces,” he said.
The chairman of Permabudi Kepri added that the Sata-Sahasra Buddha Pagoda can accommodate around 2,000 Buddhists for prayer activities. Apart from that, it can be used as a tourist attraction for domestic and foreign tourists. Moreover, so far the Avalokitesvara Vihara complex has become one of the tourist destinations for local residents on Bintan Island.
There were at least eight buses per day transporting foreign tourists from China to visit the largest monastery in Southeast Asia.
“Inside the Avalokitesvara Vihara there is a statue of Goddess Kwan Im as high as 22.8 meters and has received the highest title in Southeast Asia,” he said.
In general, the image of the Sata-Sahasra Buddhist Pagoda resembles a multi-story tower with a tapered roof at each level/floor. On the first floor of the pagoda there are three main statues made of jade which were also imported directly from China, namely the statues of Amitabha Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha and Bhaisjyaguru Buddha.
“These three Buddha statues are mandatory in all monasteries,” he said.
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