Myanmar--Seeing the Sights

Don’t know about you folks, but we feel like scaffold magnets. It seems like every castle, every cathedral, every building of interest we see is covered in scaffolding. The Shwedagon Pagoda was no exception—it was covered in scaffolding.

The Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred Buddhist site in Myanmar. Sometime around 600 BC, Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment and traveled in 7 directions. Two local merchants met him and offered him food. In thanks he gave them 8 strands of his hair. Returning to Yangon, the king determined that the hairs should be enshrined with the relics of 3 Buddhas who attained enlightenment before this Buddha: the staff of Kakusanda Buddha, the water filter of Kawnagaman Buddha and a robe from Kassapa Buddha. The shrine was named Shwedagon, which means The Reliquary of Four.  It has been rebuilt multiple times and now reaches a few inches short of 100 meters. As picture 1 shows, it is a large pagoda, surrounded by many smaller stuppas and temples containing Buddha images. Our guide told us no additional structures can be added because the hill can no longer support the additional weight.

Picture 2 shows a closer view of the scaffolding. Working from top to bottom they are re-plating the pagoda with 24-carat gold plates, weighing a total of 60 tons. On the top, the new plates are pretty much in place and the scaffolding is starting to come down. On the bottom, cloth covers the scaffolding. The plates are first affixed with glue and then screwed in place. Direct sunlight negatively affects the glue, thus the covering. Individuals donate the gold plates, they are loaded into the cart shown in Picture 3 and lifted up to the pagoda via pulley system.

Picture 4 shows workers on scaffolding finishing the top and Picture 5 shows workers bringing down the bamboo poles as the scaffolding is dismantled. The scaffolding is entirely made up of pieces of bamboo tied together with rope.

We’ve always viewed Buddhist as peaceful people, who give up their worldly goods to help others. It’s not quite as altruistic as we thought. Picture 6 shows the umbrella and vane at the top of the pagoda. In 1999, people brought their jewelry to donate to the temple. It was sent to the top in carts. The vane is encrusted with precious gems and the remaining jewelry (83,850 items, including a 76-carat diamond) is stored under the umbrella. When questioned about why they just store the jewelry instead of using it to help the poor, our guide replied that people donate the jewelry to the pagoda in hopes it will give them a better life when they are re-incarnated. Her reply implied that it’s important to give to the poor, but more important to give to the pagoda. Hmmm….

The buildings surrounding the Pagoda are beautiful in their own right. Picture 7 shows some gorgeous woodcarving. The darker wood is teak, while the gold carving is made from other woods and covered in gold leaf. Picture 8 shows their jade Buddha. In Thailand, their jade Buddha is really jasper—this one is carved from a single piece of jade. And if they don’t have the real thing, as Picture 9 shows, they create replicas and put them in their own temple.

At sundown candles are lit surrounding the Pagoda. Picture 10 shows Rick lighting one candle of the hundreds there. You’ll notice that the Buddha image in the background is surrounded by bright blinking lights. The Chinese sold Myanmar cheap laser lights and they’re now everywhere.

The Shwedagon Pagoda is breathtakingly beautiful, but certainly raises the question: can the money be better spent?

The next day we headed to Bago, northeast of Yangon. On our way we stopped at the Taukkyan War Memorial and cemetery with 27,000 graves of British Commonwealth soldiers, who served in Myanmar (Burma at that time), defeating the Japanese in WWII. Picture 11 shows the view from the entrance.

Our next stop was Kyakhatwaing Monastery, which houses up to 500 Buddhist monks. Each day at approximately 11:00, the monks (300ish on the day we were there) form a procession, each carrying their vessel for collecting money and food donations. Picture 12 shows a small section of the procession. Picture 13 shows a man donating a cooked ear of corn to one monk. After processing through the faithful (and tourists), they collect their bowl of rice from the huge pot shown in Picture 14. They then proceed to the dining room (Picture 15) and, seated on the floor around low tables, they begin chanting in preparation for the meal. It was  quite a sight.

Does Picture 16 look familiar? The Shwemawdaw Pagoda is actually taller than the Shwedagon at 114 meters, but is covered only in gold leaf and paint, rather than gold plates. There are also fewer and less elaborate stupas and temples around the base.

Finally, our last stop was at the Shwethalyaung Reclining Buddha. It is 180 feet long and 55 feet high. Hidden in the jungles for hundreds of years (it was built in the 10^th century), it was discovered, reclaimed and housed in a new building. To get some idea of the size, Rick is standing in front of it in Picture17. To further emphasize its size, Picture 18, frames it with the ornate staircase railing.

Myanmar was a treat. We’d like to come back and go to the northern regions to see Mandalay and Bagan.