Lookout
Point
Burma Revisited - T. J. Mudge
For the student of Oriental
religions, or more specifically Theravada Buddhism, a trip
to Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a must. The power and pervasiveness
of this religion becomes apparent even from the plane as you circle
the capital city prior to landing. Yangon (formerly Rangoon) is dominated
by a hilltop complex of multiple Buddhist shrines, stupas and statuaries,
the size and magnificence of which is exceeded nowhere in the Buddhist
world today. The centerpiece, the Shwedagon Pagoda, a huge shimmering
gold cone thrusts itself heavenward from a hill dominating the city.
Surrounding it are countless other pagodas and shrines with hundreds
of figures of Buddha, some gold, some white, some of marble, alabaster,
bronze, dark wood or metal. At the base are eight planetary posts
with their weekday counterparts (Wednesday is a split). Worshipers
light candles and make offerings at the post that corresponds with
their birthday.
Unfortunately, as impressive as all of this is, because
of its height (about 300 feet) the fabulous detail at the top is difficult
to see. Thousands of plates of gold (not gold leaf) cover the banana
bud, a seven-tiered umbrella or "hti" plated with gold and
hung with gold and silver bells; a vane with the flag of gold and
silver is studded with over 1,0000 diamonds and 1,300 other gems;
on top of that the diamond orb, a hollow gold sphere, is studded with
4,351 diamonds weighing 1,800 carats in all; and at the very top rests
a single 76-carat diamond. It's a little frustrating. It's like trying
to view the crown jewels in the Tower of London from outside the gate.
But then, what's perfect?
The Shwedagon, certainly the most impressive pagoda in
Yangon or all of Burma, is far from being alone in that city. Of particular
interest because of its unusual history is the Botataung Pagoda. A
pagoda is not a temple but a reliquary housing some sacred relic of
Buddha.
Under the usual circumstances, the relic is placed in
a jeweled or golden box, a mound of earth is placed over it, and above
that a brick or stuccoed structure erected and then a more finished
or ornate structure built over that. After years pass, there are those
doubting Thomases that might wonder, "Is there really a sacred
relic under there or not?" Well, in 1943, the original Botataung
was destroyed by a direct hit from an Allied bomb. In the clean-up,
a golden casket was found and in it a hair and two bone fragments.
Today in the rebuilt Botataung the previous style of the original
structure was copied with an important difference. The new Botataung
is not solid. You can enter and walk around inside. And, lo and behold,
the hair is visible! Well, kind of visible. It is inside a glass vial
inside another glass container and the light is not the greatest.
There is dust, and you're twelve feet away, but with 20/20 vision
and any sense of imagination, you can say you have seen the only displayed
hair of Gautama Buddha on earth.
After overnighting in Yangon, we headed to the town of
Kyaikto. At first, it was miles of rice country, but gradually we
began to climb the hills where rubber and cashew nut plantations were
common. The goal was the fabled "Golden Rock." In the past,
pilgrims gained great merit by walking nine miles to base camp and
then a final exhausting hour or more of climbing to the top at six
thousand feet. Today, they do make allowances for underachievers.
I was able to ride to base camp in a flat-bed truck and from there,
deciding to assist the local economy, made the final climb in a palaquin
hoisted by four sturdy boys for a sum total of eight dollars. Another
young man carried my luggage in his pack basket for sixty-two cents.
A dollar goes a long way in this country.
The Rock is a huge boulder covered with gold leaf perched
precariously on the edge of a cliff. One guidebook I read said two
small boys could make it wobble. It is said that what keeps it from
tumbling is a small pagoda on top and within it a single hair from
the Buddha's head placed at the precise balance point.
On our return, we visited the Shwethalyaung Buddha. This
180-foot long reclining Buddha is revered throughout the country as
being if not the largest reclining Buddha, the most lovely. Its beatific
smile is said to depict Gautama on the eve of his entering nirvana.
It was built in 994, but in the centuries that followed, Bago was
twice destroyed by warring invaders and then with neglect, decay and
tropical vegetation, the figure disappeared, only to be discovered
by a British engineer in 1881 seeking fill for a railroad.
Outside of Bago on the way back to Yangon is the Kyaik
Pun, a foursome of ninety-foot Buddhas sitting back-to-back around
a square pillar. These represent the four Buddhas who have visited
the earth at roughly 2500-year intervals. The fourth, and last (Gautama
Buddha), came between 500 and 600 years before Christ, and with the
year 2000 here, Buddha number five should be coming soon.
Our next stop was Bagan, the ancient capital of Burma.
It is the site of variously estimated 5,000 to 13,000 temples, pagodas,
shrines and other religious structures built mainly between 1057 and
1287 A.D. The terminal date marked the invasion and conquest by the
Mongols under Kublai Khan. Despite the destruction then and the wages
of time, it still ranks with Ankor Wat in Cambodia and Borobudur in
Java as one of the three greatest archeological centers in Southeast
Asia.
It is difficult not to be overwhelmed by the sheer number
and variety of pagodas stretching from horizon to horizon. Most are
of red brick and in disrepair, but a surprising number have been restored,
faced with smooth stone or stucco, and painted white or surfaced with
gold leaf.
The next day we drove to Mt. Popa. No matter how religious
old or new Burma was or is, it has not dropped the old Animist beliefs
which preceded Buddhist Theravada conversion, and Mt. Popa is one
of the most important Nat, or spirit, shrines in the country. In Burma,
Nats are everywhere, and although not an object of prayer, these demons
must be propitiated or mischief will result. As a consequence, multitudes
of small shrines dot the country where flowers, money and fruit may
be left to keep these spirits appeased.
From Bagan, we flew to Mandalay, the former capital of
Burma.. The center of the city is the site of the old imperial palace.
This magnificent structure was used by the Japanese occupation forces
as their military headquarters in 1942, which resulted in its destruction
by Allied bombs. Only the moat and palace walls with their Chinese
pagoda-like watchtowers remain of the original structure. The palace
and some of the buildings have been rebuilt, but when teak is replaced
with corrugated tin something is lost in translation.
Nonetheless, it is an interesting city with a very active
market. Because of its location on the Irrawaddy River, it is an important
inland port, especially for rice, teak, bamboo and other woods. Teak
trees are cut in the north and rafted to the muddy banks at Mandalay
where water buffalo (sometimes four to a single log) struggle through
the slippery clay dragging the logs to higher ground where they can
be trucked to a sawmill.
We had an opportunity to see the fabrication of gold leaf,
so important to Buddhists. Three men with sledgehammers pounded the
gold, layered between leaves of bamboo parchment, in a rhythm guided
by the most primitive of water clocks, a dipper with a perforation
in its bowl dripping the time. In the next room, women assembled the
layers of bamboo parchment and gold, then wrapped the completed "book"
in goat skin for hammering.
A must stop in Mandalay is the Maha Muni Pagoda, housing
the fabled Maha Muni Buddha image, one of five made of Gautama Buddha
during his lifetime. Though not a large figure (about 12-1/2 feet
high), the trunk, arms, and legs are continuously coated with so much
gold leaf that their definition is becoming lost.
Also in the Maha Muni Pagoda courtyard are six Khmer bronzes.
These are the sole surviving statues of thirty that were looted from
Anchor Wat in a Thai raid in 1431. Their blackened patina shines like
gold where Burmese rub the anatomical part that corresponds to the
area of their body afflicted by a troublesome ailment.
A boat trip to Mindun revealed the site of the most ambitious
pagoda project ever attempted. King Bodawpaya "recruited"
thousands of laborers to work on the structure, which unfortunately
for him and his belief in his destiny as a future Buddha, was never
completed. Still, the base of the ruins, towering to over 160 feet
and split by earthquakes, is quite impressive. Nearby stands another
of the King's projects, the Mingun Bell, the second largest in the
world (only the one in the Kremlin is larger, though cracked).
Farther downstream are the beautiful hills of Sagaing.
Densely wooded with a profusion of tropical plants and trees, the
hills are studded with hundreds of temples, stupas and pagodas. The
presence of 600 monasteries and 5,000 monks makes many feel it to
be the living center of the Buddhist faith in Burma today.
The number, size and lavishness of religious edifices
in Burma is impressive. These costly structures are maintained by
. Buddhists' belief in reincarnation. The circumstances of one's next
existence depend on actions in this one. If a successful individual
gives a large sum for the erection of a magnificent stupa honoring
Buddha it is hoped that in return he will be born into the comfort
of a wealthy family. The Buddhist belief of doing good deeds in this
life, like feeding the mouths of the poor, applying gold leaf to existing
religious structures or constructing an even larger new one, is like
an insurance policy for your next life.
—T.J. Mudge
