Bagan, Burma

The temple of Dhammayangyi, Bagan, Burma
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There are two preeminent ancient religious cities in Southeast Asia: Bagan in Burma and Angkor in Cambodia. Both sites are notable for their expanse of sacred geography and the number and size of their individual temples. For many visitors Bagan is the more extraordinary of the two cities and this because of the view. The ruins of the more than one hundred Angkor temples stand alone and isolated in thick jungles, and only from the top of the tallest temples it is not possible to see others in the distance. Sprawling across a vast dusty plain, the ruins of Bagan are unhidden. There being no trees to obstruct the view, one may gaze over forty square miles of countryside, upon literally thousands of temples. In the early morning, from Sulamani Temple, or in the late afternoon, from Gawdawpalin Temple, the view is among the very finest the world has to offer.

Shwezigon Temple, Bagan, Burma
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While the kingdoms of Bagan date back to the early 2nd century A.D., Bagan only entered its golden age with the conquest of Thaton by King Anawrahta in 1057 A.D. From this time, until Bagan was overrun by Kublai Khan's forces in 1287 A.D., more than 13,000 temples, pagodas and other religious structures were built. Today, seven centuries later, approximately 2,200 temples remain standing. The river Irrawaddy has washed away nearly one-third of the original city area, thieves have torn apart many temples in search of treasures, while earthquakes and the ravages of time have reduced hundreds of others to great piles of crumbled stones. The photographs illustrate the following temples:

• Ananda Temple. This temple was completed in 1091 A.D. by King Kyanzittha. It is modeled after the legendary Nandamula cave in the Himalaya mountains. Soaring to 51 meters, it received its golden gilding in 1990 in commemeration of the 900th anniversary of its construction. Contained within the temple are four great statues of the Buddhas of the four ages. Kakusandha faces north, Konagamana faces east, Kassapa faces south, and Guatama, the most recent Buddha, faces west.

• Gawdawpalin, built in the 12th century by King Narapatisithu, the 60 meter temple was badly damaged in a 1975 earthquake but has been completely reconstructed.

• Dhammayangyi, the largest temple in Bagan, it was built by King Narathu who reigned from 1167 to 1170.

• Shwesandaw, built in 1057 by King Anawahta, the stupa enshrines hairs of the Buddha. It is sometimes called the Ganesh Temple after the elephant headed Hindu god whose images once stood at corners of each of the five terraces.

• Mahabodhi, this temple is an exact, though smaller, replica of the famous Bodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, India (where the Buddha attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree). It was built during the reign of King Nantaungmya (1210-1234) and is completely covered with niches containing seated Buddha figures.

• Shwezigon, this pagoda was built as the most important reliquary shrine in Bagan. Begun by King Anawrahta and completed by King Kyanzittha in 1089, it contains several bones and hairs of the Buddha. Pilgrims from throughout Burma journey to Shwezigon each year for a great festival during the Burmese month of Nadaw, which falls in the November-December period. This festival is hugely popular because elements of pre-Buddhist Nat worship (Nats are pagan anamistic spirits) were combined with Buddhist themes in the pagoda’s construction. Shwezigon is thus a center of pilgrimage for both the archaic shamanic culture of Burma and the newer religion of Buddhism.

Ananda Temple, Bagan
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Sunrise over the temples of Bagan, Burma
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Gawdapalin Temple, Bagan, Burma
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Mahabodhi Temple with golden Shwezigon in the distance
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Detail of Shwezigon temple, Bagan
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Setting sun behind a distant temple, Bagan
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Mandalay, Burma

Pilgrims applying gold leaf to the Maha Muni Buddha Mandalay, Burma
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Legends tell that Guatama Buddha once went to teach among the people of Dhannavati (now the northern Rakhine region of Burma/Myanmar). The king, Candra-suriya, requested that Guatama leave an image of himself for the benefit of the people. Buddha sat for a week of meditation under a Bodhi tree while Sakka, a king of the gods, created a life-like image of great beauty. Buddha was pleased with the image and decided to imbue it with his spiritual essence for a period of five thousand years.

According to ancient tradition, only five likenesses of the Buddha were said to have been made during his lifetime: Two were in India, two in paradise, and the fifth is the Maha Muni or "Great Sage". Archaeologists believe the image was probably cast during the reign of King Chandra Surya, who ascended the throne in AD 146, some 600 years after the Buddha actually passed away. Little is known of the Maha Muni's travels over the next fifteen hundred years. It was stolen and moved around by various kings. At other times it was buried beneath a crumbling temple in a forgotten jungle. The image was brought to Mandalay in 1784 by King Bodawpaya and placed within the specially built Payagi Pagoda. Since that time it has been the most venerated Buddha image in all of Burma.

The statue is 3.8 meters tall. Originally cast of metal, it is now entirely coated with a two-inch thick layer of gold leaf. So much gold leaf has been applied by so many different hands that the figure has developed an irregular outline. Many thousands of pilgrims visit the shrine each day and a great festival in early February draws hundreds of thousands.

In a courtyard of the Payagi Pagoda, near the Maha Muni, are six Khmer bronze statues - three lions, a three-headed elephant and two warriors - that originally stood as guardians of Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple. The statues of the warriors are reputed to have miraculous healing qualities. Legends tell that rubbing a body part of either of the statues will cure an affliction in the corresponding part of your own body. When these statues were originally brought to the Maha Muni temple following a long and circuitous journey around southeast Asia, there were no healing legends associated with them. After centuries at the temple the statues came to be regarded as having healing powers, but nothing is known of when or how this legend began. It is fascinating to reflect that the healing powers of the statues seem to have been generated over time by the intention and beliefs of the countless thousands of visiting pilgrims. For some long-forgotten reason, sick persons once began rubbing the statues while making prayers for healing. These prayers have somehow charged or energized the statues with a power that is now held accountable for many thousands of incidents of miraculous healing. While most contemporary scientists will scoff at such an idea, the fact of the matter is that otherwise unexplainable healings have indeed occurred. We can offer no other explanation for this miraculous phenomenon, but remember that merely because conventional science cannot currently explain something does not mean it is impossible.

Miraculous healing statues, Maha Muni Shrine, Mandalay, Burma
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Portal to sacred hill of Mandalay, Burma
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Rangoon, Burma

Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon, Burma
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In 1586, an English man, Ralph Fitch, visited the great pagoda and had the following to report:

....it is called Dogonne, and it is of a wonderful bignesse, and all gilded from the foot to the toppe...it is the fairest place, as I suppose, that is in all the world; it standeth very high, and there are foure ways to it, which all along are set with trees of fruits, such wise that a man may goe in the shade above two miles in length....

The origins of Shwedagon are lost in antiquity, its age unknown. Long before the pagoda was built, its location on Singuttara hill was already an ancient sacred site because of the buried relics of the three previous Buddhas. According to one legend, nearly 5000 years had passed since the last Buddha walked the Earth, and Singuttara hill would soon lose its blessedness unless it was reconsecrated with relics of a new Buddha. In order that such new relics might be obtained, King Okkalapa of Suvannabhumi spent much time atop the hill, meditating and praying. A series of miracles ensued and eight hairs of the historical Buddha were, somewhat magically, brought to the hill. To enshrine the relics, multiple pagodas of silver, tin, copper, lead, marble, iron and gold where built one on top of the other to a height of twenty meters. During the following centuries, passing from myth to historical fact, the pagoda grew to its present height of ninety-eight meters. Much of the continued construction of Shwedagon was actually reconstruction following disastrous earthquakes. During the 17th century the pagoda suffered earthquake damage on at least eight occasions. A particularly bad quake in 1786 brought the entire top half of the pagoda to the ground and its current shape and height date from the reconstruction of that time.

While much of the pagoda's beauty derives from the complex geometry of its shape and surrounding structures, equally mesmerizing is its golden glow. The lower stupa is plated with 8,688 solid gold bars, an upper part with another 13,153. The tip of the stupa, far too high for the human eye to discern in any detail, is set with 5448 diamonds, 2317 rubies, sapphires, and other gems, 1065 golden bells and, at the very top, a single 76-carat diamond. Surrounding the pagoda are a plentitude of smaller shrines housing pre-Buddhist spirits called Nats, miracle working images, and even a wish granting stone. The entire temple complex radiates a palpable sense of beauty and serenity.

Burma trial reaches final stages

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The trial of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is reaching its final stage with the court hearing closing statements from lawyers.

Ms Suu Kyi is being tried on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest in May, after a US man evaded guards and swam to her lakeside home. If convicted she faces up to five years in jail.
The trial has been widely condemned as a ploy to keep the Nobel Peace laureate in custody until after elections.
A general election is planned by the military government for some time next year.
This trial, which had been expected to wrap up in days when it started, has now dragged on for more than two months. Bizarre
Unlike other political trials in Burma, the defence lawyers have had limited opportunities to make their case, and independent observers have been given occasional access to the proceedings. (See more in: www.leadinghistory.blogspot.com)