英语听力：自然百科 世上最大的宝塔拱顶（在线收听）

 An architectural marvel, the center of the Golden Global Pagoda in Bijapur India contains the world’s largest stone dome, built without any supporting pillars. The planned height of the structure is more than 315 feet. And with an inner diameter of nearly 280 feet, it is nearly twice the size of the previously largest hollow stone monument in the world. Near completion, it is being built with the combination of ancient Indian and modern technologies to enable it to last for thousands of years.

It would have taken three ages, three generations to build this structure, which the computer technology, which has made each stone design like this, which can be fabricated at Bhilwada and Rajasthan site.

With an octagonal base, the pagoda externally rises and tapers at the top through a circular bell shape.

It was an architectural challenge for anyone, in the sense that 300 feet of octagonal side isconverging into a one-foot diameter needle on the top.

The inside of the pagoda is hollow and serves as a large meditation hall, reportedly big enough to accommodate 8000 people.

This is exact replica of Swedagon pagoda of Rangoon, Burma. But Swedagon pagoda is not hollow inside. It is solid. Here we have made it hollow so that people can sit and meditate there.

The pillarless dome is made of thousands of Jodhpur stones, each weighing about 1300 to 1500 pounds, suspended without any external support. The construction engineers have used an interlocking principle of one stone griping and holding another to lock the massive stones into place. Stones have grooves cut both horizontally and vertically, designed to interlock in both directions. It’s a gesture of thanks to monks in Myanmar, who have preserved the Vipassana form of mediation through the ages.

Vipassana joins people, people from every community, people from every religion, from every tradition. They come, meditate. They don’t feel that they are being converted intoBuddhism. So we make it very clear that we are not here to convert. We convert you frommisery to happiness.

Pagodas were originally erected as memorials to Buddha. In thediscourse recording the last days of the Buddha, it is mentioned that ten pagodas were constructed to house his remains.