Notes on Loss (Decay)   

 

     Carved out of a rock cliff in the Sichuan province, the Leshan Giant Buddha is the largest pre-modern (Tang Dynasty) Buddha in the world (233 feet high).

 

     It is in a state of massive decay from weathering, pollution, and swarms of tourists. 

 

   

     For me, the significance of its ‘ruin’ is more important than the spiritual ideas it is supposed to reflect, such as the ‘kharma’ and ‘rebirth’. 

 

        Buddhism has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, and medicine.  Communist ideology replaced Buddhist thought during Mao.  Today, it appears that only money shapes Chinese culture.