Shwethalyaung Buddha

The Shwethalyaung Buddha outside of Bago, Myanmar is over 55 m long and 16 m tall; it is the second largest reclining Buddha statue in the world. Great story here. The statue was apparently built in 994 during the reign of the Mon king, Migadepa.  It was lost, however, in 1757 when the city (called Pegu, at the time) was pillaged by the Burmese king Alaungpaya. The statue, buried under a thick growth of tropical vegetation, was uncovered - and subsequently restored - by the British in 1881.

The Buddha's mosaic pillows (shown below) were added in 1930. [NOTE: The largest reclining Buddha statue, at 74 m, is at Dawei, Myanmar in the Tanintharyi Region (see Reclining Buddha and Reclining Buddha II for other examples of this beautiful form of Buddhist iconography)].