In search of grandeur, we often stumble upon illusion. The Buddhist meditation center, Lieu Quan, offers a way to honor the beloved Buddha through larger than life representations.
Travel to Temecula, head in a southeast direction, and drive 30 miles until you reach Warner Springs. Scan the horizon and soon some of the largest Buddha statues in America will come into view.
The statues represent the four stages of Buddha’s life from birth to enlightenment. The Reclining Buddha (Nirvana) Statue is one of the largest such statues in the United States. It stretches a magnificent 46 feet long, reaching up to 10 feet high. The Enlightenment Buddha Statue towers up to 20 feet high and is 10 feet wide; the Wheel of Dharma Buddha Statue is 25 feet high, 12 feet wide and weighs in at 245,000 pounds; and the Maitreya Bodhisattva is 14 feet high and 10 feet wide.
The Buddha statues are a result of the dedicated efforts of Lieu Quan’s founder, the Most Venerable Thich Nguyen Dat. For the past 26 years, Master Dat manifested his dream of promoting peace by creating a Buddhist Culture Center. The center encourages meditation, the key to cleansing and opening the mind. With ultimate honor in mind, Dat imported green granite stones from a famous mountain in Ba Ria Province, Vietnam, and hired Ly Dung, the head architect from Vietnam’s Go Vap district, who carved the statues by hand.
The center receives numerous visitors who are searching for peace outside of the city, including groups of L.A.-based Buddhists during the holidays. Dat has grand schemes of turning the center into one of California’s largest live-in Buddhist monasteries to include a library, dormitory and meditation hall. The center receives numerous donations from members of Dat’s congregation and visitors are always welcome.
Lieu Quan Meditation Center, 31130 Chihuahua Valley Road, Warner Springs, CA. 92086.
(909) 767 - 7332, (310) 516 - 1522.
Towering Buddha Statues