A giant statue of the Buddha—believed to be the largest in the Western world—is scheduled to be inaugurated in Brazil later this month with a formal Buddhist ceremony at Morro da Vargem Zen Monastery in Ibiraçu Municipality Standing 38 meters tall—the same height as the iconic image of Christ the Redeemer which overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro—the statue of the seated Buddha took more than a year to complete It was originally scheduled to be unveiled in September 2020 but this was postponed due to technical delays and because of the COVID-19 pandemic to January this year Mosteiro Zen Morro da Vargem was the first Zen Buddhist monastery to be established in South America trains monks according to traditional Soto Zen and environmental education It sits on a site spread over 150 hectares including 140 hectares that has been set aside for forest conservation and reforestation The formal Eye-Opening ritual was performed in the presence of senior Zen priest Minamizawa Zenji in December last year the ceremony was not open to the public but was live-streamed now it’s a statue with a soul,” explained the monastery’s abbot an official inauguration ceremony is scheduled to take place at 10am local time on 28 August The ceremony will be open to the public and will be attended by state governor Renato Casagrande is expected to become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Brazil the monastery receives around 1,000 visitors each weekend.  The monastery complex also includes the largest Zen garden in the West and the largest torii —a traditional Japanese gate—in the Americas Fifteen smaller white Buddha statues sit in meditation nearby representing the serenity we should seek to maintain during difficult times and the need to be persistent and to not give up in the face of life’s obstacles Christianity is the most widespread religion in Brazil and is observed by about 88.8 per cent of the population of more than 210 million people Brazil is also home to the third-largest Buddhist population in the Americas with nearly 150 temples spread across the country Buddhism was first introduced to Brazil in the early 20th century by Japanese immigrants and is believed to be the largest of all the minority religions in the country which includes Brazil’s sizable Japanese Brazilian community The most popular Buddhist traditions are Japanese schools of Buddhism although all four major schools of Vajrayana Buddhism—Nyingma including Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche’s Khadro Ling center in Três Coroas In recent years Chinese Mahayana and Southeast Asian Theravada traditions have also gained in popularity Related news reports from Buddhistdoor Global Buddhistdoor en Español All Authors >> var _ctct_m = "e13686134fe4ed809d4f346e45779db5"; Your GPS did not respond. Be sure you have your GPS enabled and try again. Page unavailable.This page either does not exist or is currently unavailable From here you can either hit the "back" button on your browser to return to the previous page, or visit the ABCNews.com Home Page You can also search for something on our site below When she learned that the 100-year-old twins were celebrating their birthday together she wanted to do something special for them to commentate their day perfectly The shoot came complete with makeup and styling Camila put matching pink and blue dresses on the sisters who had a ball getting their photos taken in true style "They did everything I asked and did not complain about tiredness," Camila said. She also said that they were "very happy and satisfied" with the final product, reported Today According to Brazil's Gazeta News and 23 great-grandchildren between the two of them And to see these 100-year-old women having the time of their lives in such a simple collection of photos makes it easy to get all warm and gushy about our existences You can check out more of Camila's work here. (h/t today) 35 Passive Aggressive Neighbor Notes So Funny You Can’t Even Be Mad  This Man Expertly Trolls the DMV Every Time He Has to Update His License  61 Hilarious Times People Got Caught Lying on the Internet  Link to XLink to InstagramContact us by EmailOpt-out of personalized ads People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website Offers may be subject to change without notice.