Long-term supporters Gia Hiew and Tam Ngan organised a visit from 150 members from our Vietnamese community at the end of March to see the development of the Buddha Rupa in the big cave. It was a beautiful day, with rice-Pindapata on the lawn, chanting in the big cave and a tour of the monastery.

Ayya Patacara has been working on the Buddha Rupa for about five months. She was inspired by the Ghandaran-style Buddhas. These were among the earliest depictions of the Buddha, developed after the 4th Century when the Greeks brought the arts of stone-masonry to India. They are mainly found in Afghanistan and Iraq and were strongly influenced by Hellenistic art.

Ayya Patacara: “I’m using traditional as well as modern tools to carve it. Many people asked in the past to donate statues of the Buddha in brass and marble for the big cave, but we decided to carve it from the natural sandstone in the cave. Even though it’s not finished, it’s nice that people come to look and feel uplifted by the presence of the Buddha. The project is possible through people’s generous donations.”