Chinanews, Ningbo, Dec. 30 – With an investment of 200 million yuan, a 38-meter giant Maitreya (smiling Buddha) statue started to be built on Thursday in Xuedou Temple in Fenghua County of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. Construction of the giant Buddha statue will make Xuedou Mountain, in which the ancient temple resides, become the fifth largest Buddhist mountain in China.
After Buddhism was introduced into China from India, Chinese people have localized the religion by adding a lot of native elements. One of the typical examples is the changing image of Mautreya. Maitreya is a very popular Buddha among Chinese people. After it was brought to China, Chinese people changed it into the image of a local monk called Cloth Bag monk (Bu Dai monk). Looking at the Buddha, one will see his broad smile, his big belly and his genuineness -- all typical features favored by Chinese people.
The Cloth Bag monk lived between 907 and 923 A.D. His religious name was Qici. Since he was born in Changting Village in Fenghua, he styled himself as Chang Ting Zi, or the man in Changting Village. After he became a monk, he wandered from temple to temple in Fenghua. From time to time, he would visit Xuedou Temple and became attached to it.