Wat Nong Yai began pouring gold to plate a 15-meter-tall Buddha statue it plans to cast at the Pattaya temple.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome and former Culture Minister Sonthaya Kunplome joined city council members, Chaimongkol Temple Abbot Punya Rattanaporn and Nong Yai Temple Abbot Yongyuth Khaemtharo at the Dec. 6 ceremony.
Cast in honor of HM the King’s 87th birthday, the cement sitting Buddha plated in gold will stand 15 meters tall and have a lap 10.5 meters wide.
Nong Yai Temple invited Buddhists to make merit by donating gold to be melted down for the statue. The first pouring ceremony was for the gold to plate the Buddha’s head, which will be two meters long.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome and former Culture Minister Sonthaya Kunplome joined city council members, Chaimongkol Temple Abbot Punya Rattanaporn and Nong Yai Temple Abbot Yongyuth Khaemtharo at a Dec. 6 ceremony to begin pouring gold to plate a 15-meter-tall Buddha statue at Wat Nong Yai.
The cement will take about six months to harden properly. At that time, gold-leafing and decoration will take place. Total budget for the project is 6 million baht, all of which is coming from donations by private citizens and city hall.
Temple warden Narong Thawatsak said believers already had donated 144 baht-weight (77 oz.) in gold. The temple expected to have collected 160 baht-weight (86 oz.) by the time the pouring ceremony ended on Dec. 14.
International spot-gold prices closed Dec. 12 at $1,195 an ounce.
