An immense Buddha statue made from exquisite jade can be seen in Garland through this weekend as it makes its way around the world. TheJade Buddha for Universal Peace sits 8 feet tall and weighs 4-and-a-half tons. The group behind the tour claims it has been valued at $5 million.
Jennifer Nguyen, the chair of Garland's Multicultural Commission, helped bring the Buddha to Texas.
"Even though I’m not a Buddhist, to me, the Jade Buddha is a symbol for peace,” Nguyen said. "As long as you have faith and you believe in something, so you can have something to look up to.”
The jade Buddha's temporary home for the past week has been the Vietnamese temple in Garland, located at 210 Katy Street. It can be viewed there through Sunday, before moving on to Louisiana and eventually to Australia by the end of the year.
Jennifer Nguyen says everyone is welcome to view the jade Buddha.
“Everything is free, you don’t need to pay anything. You come in, you visit, you did your little prayer. Or just visit the temple and meet people," Nguyen said. "This is beautiful thing.”
