Halls inside Tian Tan Big Buddha The area of the pedestal of the Big Buddha amounts to 2239 sq. metres. It is three-storey high, housing the Merit Hall, Dharmadhatu Hall and Memorial Hall.   Merit Hall A statue of Ksitigarbha (The Earth-Store Bodhisattva), carved out of Phoebe nanmu wood aged more than 500 years, is housed in the Merit Hall. Holding a tin sceptre in his hand, the Ksitigarbha stands on a lotus supported by a red granite stand. The whole statue stands on a thousand-petal gold lotus crafted by micro-radiation etching. The facial features are stately and vivid. This storey displays four paintings by Ven. M. wipulasara Thero, Driector and Chief Highpriest of Parama Dhamma Chetiya Pirivena of Sri Lanka depicting the life of Buddha, including his birth, enlightenment and initial turning of the Dharma cakra and his entering into Nirvana. Dharmadhatu Hall In the Dharmadhatu Hall on the second level there is a painting named as ¡§ Hua Yan Dharma Preaching¡¨. It was printed with the most primitive materials in the world, namely, gold, wood, water, fire and earth. The lines were engraved on wood by ironing and then dyed with mineral pigments. It depicted an assembly of Bodhisattvas listening to the preaching. There were altogether 160 Bodhisattvas showing different expressions in this painting, which had taken the artist seven years of arduous work. Memorial hall The third storey is a memorial hall in which the relic of Buddha¡¦s body was enshrined for public worship. The relic was brought to Hong Kong from Sri Lanka in October 1992 by the ¡§Invitation of Buddha¡¦s Relics Group¡¨ which comprised the Abbot of the Monastery and the Board of Directors. The size of the relic, believed to be left by Sakymuni after he entered into nirvana 2500 years ago, is tantamount to that of a grain of rice. At present, China and Sri Lanka are the only countries where the relics of the Buddha are kept. The three-storey pedestal is made accessible through a flight of staircase in which a ¡§Bell for the Flaming Mouth¡¨ is hung. With a diameter of two metres, it weighs six tons. Images of the Buddha, mudras and scriptures were engraved on the outer wall of the bell. Defaulted by a computer, the bell chimes 108 times a day, symbolizing the eradication of 108 vexations.