Hyper-realistic venerable monk statue at Hanoi pagoda

The statue of Venerable Thich Thanh Tu at Hanoi’s Quan Su Pagoda is astonishing as it looks like a real person.

Quan Su Pagoda is home to a statue of Venerable Thich Thanh Tu, former Vice Chairman of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and an abbot at the pagoda. The statue is a full-scale model of the monk with realistically shaped skin, hair, tendons, eyebrows and facial expression.

According to Venerable Thich Thanh Tuan, who went to Thailand eight times to participate in the process of making the statue, it was sculpted in a 1:1 ratio, following the prototype of Venerable Thich Thanh Tu when he was about to pass away. The artisans had to go through many steps: filling the ground, covering with glossy composite resin, covering with chemical wax and removing the soil core.

The statue-makers enlarged Venerable Thich Thanh Tu's photo to observe every detail. A unique feature of this statue is that the real hair of the Venerable was attached to the wax figure.

"When Venerable Thich Thanh Tu was alive, I personally cut his hair to keep as a souvenir. During the making of the statue, artisans in Thailand had to use needles to plug each hair on the statue," Venerable Thich Thanh Tuan said.

The monk's left hand reciting the rosary is depicted with lifelike blue veins. Realistic wrinkles are shown on of the toes and fingers.

Most Venerable Thich Thanh Tu, whose real name is Tran Van Long, was born in 1927 in Kim Dong district, Hung Yen province, and had been a monk since the age of 12.

Following the thinking that "Buddhist Dharma is inseparable from the world", with the patriotic tradition of "protecting the nation and the people" of Vietnamese Buddhism, Venerable Thich Thanh Tu was enlightened and participated in revolutionary activities.

Venerable Thich Thanh Tu made many contributions in unifying the sects, coming to unify Buddhist organizations in the country on November 7, 1981. He held many important positions in the Vietnam Buddhist Shangha and was a delegate to the 11th and 12th National Assembly with many noble titles awarded, including the Ho Chi Minh Order.

Located at No. 73 Quan Su street, Hoan Kiem district, Quan Su Pagoda is a precious treasure of Hanoi and has been the Headquarter of the Vietnam Buddhism Association since 1858.