To complete the statue, Shakya worked continuously for almost three years with a team of 19 Nepalese, 30 Bengali and eight Bhutanese workers. The statue, which measures 155 ft, is currently on display in Lhuntche Dzong, Bhutan.

The talk programme, which was attended by various national and international artists, had as its chief guest the Indian ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae.

Speaking at the programme, Shakya said,” The statue of Guru Padmasambhava was used by employing a unique combination of modern technology and traditional work—that is, repoussé art methods. The statue of Liberty in New York and the statue of Guru Padmasambhava have been designed and crafted by using the same repoussé metal-working technique.”

In repoussé, an ancient metal-crafting method, artists create decorative patterns on the outer metal surfaces of an artefact by pounding it with a mallet from within. For Shakya’s project, a total of 57 people worked with 70,000 kg of copper sheets to build the 255 ton statue.

Revered by many Tibetans as the ‘Second Buddha’ and widely known as ‘Guru Rinpoche’, Padmasambhava is a key character in Tibetan-Buddhist and Bon teachings.