qamba (future) buddha, tashilhunpo monastery, shigatse

"Tibet's Tashilunpo Monastery has the world's biggest gilt Buddha statue and cassock, according to www.tibet.cn"

"Built in 1447 by disciples of Tsongkhapa, founder of the Yellow Sect (Gelug Sect), the monastery is the permanent residence for generations of the Panchen Lama. Considered sacred for Buddhist followers, pilgrims and tourists during the past 500 years, it has greeted more than 400,000 visitors since 1984.

"Situated west of the monastery is the 30-m-high Palace of Qamba Buddha with an area of 862 sq m. There, sitting on a lotus pedestal of 3.8 m tall is a gilt statue of the Buddha with the height of 26.2 m, the shoulder breadth of 11.5 m and the ear length of 2.2 m."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/25/content_12702267.htm

tinkertown museum @ sandia park, nm

One of the top ten small museums in America in 2010, Tinkertown showcases 40+ years of artist Ross Ward's model carvings, collections, and constructions. A lot of them, including this one, move about on the push of a button.

close-up on rodin's "gates of hell" @ stanford

a rodin @ stanford university's cantor arts center

mandala @ sera monastery (སེ་ར་), lhasa, tibet

(this is traditional tibetan buddhist sandpainting. all the colored sand is laid down painstakingly with tiny applicators)