Brief / profile

Also called the Great Bodhisattva, the Nietang Buddha is the largest stone statue engraved on a cliff in Tibet. Moreover, it’s also the first sightseeing spot to greet tourists to Lhasa.

Location

It stands at the north foot of Nietang Mountain, 20 km southwest of Lhasa.

Why got its this name
Since there’s Nietang Mountain located 40 kilometers southwest of the city, thus the Buddha earns this name.

Architecture / Structure / Each scenery.
This Buddha statue is Sakyamuni sitting under a bodhi tree taming those evils. It’s 8 meters wide and 9.8 meters high. Tourists can easily find it in distance thanks to its conspicuous color. When approaching the Buddha, you may have the feeling that you have entered a mysterious Buddha world.
The Buddha has a perfect combination of the fine engraving skill and delicate stone. Since it came into being, the Nietang Buddha has had a great influence on monks as well as Buddhists.
Having surviving so many years, it still retains its original luster and charm, attracting numerous Buddhists and tourists every year.

Legend and Story

Furthermore, there’s a legend about this Buddha. It goes like this: during the Yuan Dynasty, when Phakpa the prime minister of Kublai Khan with his army went back to Sakya Monastery from Beijing, he passed the Nietang Buddha. To their surprise was that a statue of Skyamuni he brought spoke out: “I won’t go any further since this is my place.” Therefore, Pagpa decided to build a temple here. From then on, this huge Nietang Buddha came into existence.