It is estimated that 93% of the people in Thailand and Cambodia are practicing Buddhists. They are also numerous in Burma, Bhutan, Laos, and Sri Lanka. By comparison, Buddhists make up only 36% of Japan's population, 9% of Nepal's, and only 0.8% of India's population. ¹⁾

According to Buddhist tradition, the young Gautama was born into a royal family and, according to a prophecy, was to become either a great king or a great prophet. Since his father preferred the former eventuality for his son, he forbade mentioning any religion or human suffering to him. It was only at the age of 29, after leaving home, that Gautama learned of the existence of religion. ²⁾

The largest golden Buddha statue in the world is 9.8 ft high, weighs over 5 tons, and has a gold content of 40%-99% depending on the location. It was made around the 14th century. During the Burmese invasion in the 18th century, to protect it from looting, it was covered with a layer of plaster and transported to Bangkok. It remained in oblivion for 200 years, the golden statue was accidentally discovered in the 20th century during restoration works. Today's market value of the used metal is about 250 million dollars. ³⁾

Kalmykia is an autonomous republic in the Russian Federation, located on the northwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. The traditional religion of the Kalmyks is, quite unexpectedly, Tibetan Buddhism. This region in Russia is the only place in Europe where Buddhists make up the majority of the population. ⁴⁾

The Longmen Grottoes, also Dragon Gate Stone Caves, is one of the temples carved into the limestone rocks stretching along the Yi He River in eastern China. In 1915-1916, the city government estimated that the caves contained 97306 Buddha figures. However, a recent count showed that there are 142289 statues. ⁵⁾