The reclining Buddha is one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It is 41 meters long, 11 meters high, and weighs about 300 tons.

For many years, Nanzoin Temple has been sending medical supplies and stationery to children in Myanmar and Nepal. In appreciation, the Buddhist Congress of Myanmar gifted Nanzoin with three sacred ashes of Gautama Buddha, Ananda, and Maudgalyayana in 1988. The reclining Buddha statue was built to worship these sacred ashes and was completed in May 1995.