3D Printing Buddha Statues
Author : Peter Vredeveld
The Statue of Qianshou Guanyin was restored at eighteen hundred years old using 3D Printing technology.
3D printing is a modern and emerging technology known for making three-dimensional objects. This 3D technology can be used to make objects of any shape or model that exists in geometry. According to the source, a 3D printer can be categorized in the same way as industrial robots. It is a process where three-dimensional objects are created from the digital files of particular objects.
There are many purposes of 3D printing, such as making a replica of ancient sculpture or reducing the lead time and cost of developing new parts for devices and automobiles. But recently, 3D Printing technology has been used extensively in Japan to reduce the theft of ancient Buddhist statues and sculptures.
In recent news from China, an 800-year-old Buddhist statue was restored with the help of 3D printing technology. The statue of Qianshou Guanyin, or Thousand Hands Goddess, is around 800 years old and dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). According to Chinese news, this 800-year-old goddess statue was undergoing major construction, and it would take a large amount of financial support to reconstruct such large-scale statues using the traditional method.
"3D Printing Buddha Statues in Japan"
According to Japan's crime statistics, there were 105 reported thefts of Buddha statues between 2007 and 2009. Buddhism is considered one of the major religions of Japan, and most of the religious Buddhist groups worship Buddha statues that are found in most of the Buddhist temples of Japan. These old and valuable Buddha statues are worth lots of money; thus, the theft of Buddha statues is very high.
Many Buddhist groups from different temples and places have started agreeing to use 3D printing technology to create a replica of the original Buddhist sculptures and Buddha statues.
"There is no other way to guard the Buddha Statue permanently. With this 3D printed replica, people will feel at ease as long as 3D printed statue is enshrined in the temple…" – said the Buddhist temple's Abbot.
Recently, in Japan, a group of Prefectural Wakayama Technical High School students have made a replica of the Aizen Myoo Statue using 3D scanners and printers. According to the students, it took them around six months to complete the model. The original owner of the Aizen Myoo Statue moved the statue to a secure location and used the 3D copy to be kept in the temple.
A recent Japanese news source added a 3D-printed Buddha sculpture to the Seitaiji Temple. The Abbot of Seitaiji Temple moved the original Buddha sculpture to the Shimane Museum to secure this old and ancient Buddha statue. The Abbot was quite amazed and agreed to use a 3D-printed Buddha statue since it can be made cheaply and is a highly accurate replica.
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