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For some viewers posts of Myanmar will seem familiar. They are a second publishing of material but updated and now available in the larger image format this website offers.
Introduction
"On February 1, 2021—the day that parliament was scheduled to meet for the first time since the election—the military seized power. Pres. Win Myint, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other NLD [National League for Democracy] members were detained, and Myint Swe, a former military officer who was the military-appointed vice president, became acting president. He immediately invoked articles 417 and 418 of the constitution, declaring a one-year state of emergency and handing control of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government to the commander in chief of the armed forces: Senior General Min, who claimed that the military takeover was necessary because of the alleged unresolved electoral irregularities and because the request to postpone the opening of parliament had not been heeded. He promised to hold new elections at the end of the state of emergency and to hand power over to the winner. The next day, the State Administration Council was formed, with Senior General Min as chairman, to handle government functions during the state of emergency. On August 1 the State Administration Council was replaced by a military-led caretaker government with Senior General Min named as prime minister, and the state of emergency was extended until August 2023.
"The coup was widely condemned on the international stage, and there was opposition to the military coup within Myanmar as citizens held large protests and engaged in acts of civil disobedience. A shadow government—the National Unity Government—was formed in April in opposition to the military’s administration, and a loosely organized armed resistance emerged in the following months. The junta responded harshly to both peaceful protests and armed resistance. A little more than a year after the coup, the political upheaval and ongoing fighting had left the country in a humanitarian crisis and the economy in dire straits." --Britannica
Three years before the coup, in January 2018, was a peaceful time in Myanmar. "Myanmar's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached approximately $67.86 billion, experiencing a solid annual economic growth rate of 6.3%." --Macrotrends The tourism industry in Myanmar was booming. New hotels and resorts had been built throughout the country and relaxed restrictions on tourism fueled the budding industry. It was then that my wife and I and two of our friends visited the country.
The name of the country was changed from the Union of Burma to the Union of Myanmar in 1989 in recognition that there are many cultural and ethnic groups in the country, Burmese being one. (The name was subsequently changed to the Republic of Myanmar.) The name Myanmar means a union of people.
Being in Myanmar in 2018 was tapping into "devotion on steroids." There are thousands of ancient sites created as an expression of faith.
Shwedagon Zedi Daw
Shwedagon Zedi Daw is the most important Buddhist pilgrimage in Myanmar. Also known as the Shwedagon Pagoda, this place of great spiritual significance is in Yangon, Myanmar. It is ancient, beautiful, mystical and a touch overwhelming. I loved it, for all of that, and to be with the multitude of other people that were there to express feelings and wishes and gain strength.
I lived in Seattle and I occasionally made day and overnight trips to Mount Rainier, which is about 50 air-miles from Seattle. Seattle is at sea-level; the peak of Rainier is at 14,410 feet (4,392 meters). Rainier is a massive volcano visible from a long distance. Strangely, as one gets closer to the mountain it stops getting bigger and begins to appear smaller. As more of the mountain drops out of one’s line-of-sight there is less of it. Visiting the Shwedagon is a little like that.
Shwe means “gold” in Burmese, and Dagon means “three hills,” the ancient name of Yangon City where this stupa is located. According to legend, Shwedagon Zedi Daw is at least 2,600 years old. Official documents attesting to the pagoda’s age are lacking. Hmannan Yazawin of the Royal Historical Commission of Burma (1832) wrote: "Shwedagon Pagoda was constructed more than 2,500 years ago — while the Buddha was still alive — which would make it the oldest Buddhist stupa in the world." In the early years the pagoda was a humble stupa eight meters high. Today, after several significant incarnations, the Shwedagon stands almost 110 meters tall. To offer perspective, its height is almost 20 yards higher than the length of an American football field stood on end. To say that the Shwedagon dominates the Yangon skyline is the definition of understatement. I took these two photographs through a glass wall of a restaurant on the top floor of our hotel.
Legend has it that merchant brothers, Tapussa and Bhallika, the first two disciples of the Gautama Buddha, received strands of hair from the Buddha and gave them to King Okkala who enshrined them at the Shwedagon along with relics from three previous Buddhas. --Temples.org (Before my visit to Myanmar I did not know some cultures believe there was more than one Buddha.)
The first mention of the pagoda in the royal chronicles dates only as far back as 1362 CE when King Binnya U raised the pagoda to 18 meters after it had suffered years of neglect and disrepair. From 1454 until 1471 Queen Shin Sawbu raised the pagoda to a height of 40 meters and gilded the structure. She donated the equivalent of her weight in gold and her son-in-law donated gold in the amount of four times his weight for that purpose. --unesco
Inscriptions document a list of repairs by King Dhammazedi from 1471 until 1492, the year of his death.
The pagoda suffered damage from a series of earthquakes, the greatest damage from a quake in 1768 that brought down the top of the stupa. In 1775 King Hsinbyushin raised the pagoda to a height of 99 meters. In 1871 King Mindon Min added a new hti (umbrella), bringing the height of the pagoda to almost 110 meters. The perimeter of the base is 1,420 feet (almost 433 meters).
The Shwedagon Pagoda that stands today is gilded with 8,688 gold bars around the lower part of the stupa and another 13,153 gold bars around the upper stupa, supposedly roughly equal to 60 metric tons of gold. The hti (umbrella) of the stupa is encrusted with 4,531 diamonds, the largest of which is 72 carats. Above the hti are another 5,448 diamonds, 2,317 rubies, sapphires and other gems. At the very highest point is a single 76 carat (15 gram) diamond.
Here is a photo-of-a-photo of the top, above the hti of the pagoda.
View of the Great Dagon Pagoda in 1825, from a print after Lieutenant Joseph Moore of Her Majesty's 89th Regiment, published in a portfolio of 18 views in 1825–1826
At the entrance to the temple we paid a small visitor fee and removed both shoes and socks. The practice of removing shoes at holy sites is common throughout Asia. In Myanmar even socks are considered disrespectful at holy sites. Our guide had packages of damp wipes for us to clean our feet upon exiting. I highly recommend that!
As we got closer to the pagoda we mingled with the multitude of others making their way along the wide pathway. It was a quiet walk. Talk within groups was subdued. After a few minutes the surrounding foliage and structures gave way to a huge plaza where people were enjoying their experience of being at Myanmar’s most holy Buddhist temple. From the plaza, we could see the pagoda.
Surrounding the Schwedagon Pagoda are 64 additional pagodas on the 114 acre site.
It didn’t matter that I was not raised in the Buddhist tradition. I easily slipped into a contemplative mood and consuming wonder that I sensed was in everyone else.
Every day, a large group of volunteers of mostly women gather to sweep the floors at the temple. They are “making merit,” a fundamental concept of the Buddhist tradition that good works pay-forward for good luck for those making merit and people they care about. Younger volunteers scrubbed clean the plaza floor.
Surrounding the pagoda are stations where one may ask for blessings.
Some stations are designated by day of the week. Most Burmese people are Theravada Buddhists and many also follow practices from Hindu astrology, which recognizes the planets of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Burmese astrology also recognizes planets named Rahu and Ketu. It is important for local people to know on which day of the week they were born so that they know their planetary post. At Shwedagon there are eight day-stations/posts, each named for a planet and identified with an animal that represents that day. Wednesday is divided by AM and PM to accommodate two planets. The animals are: Sunday - a garuda, which is a bird-like creature; Monday - tiger; Tuesday - lion; Wednesday AM - tusked elephant, associated with the planet Rahul and the time of the Budda’s birth; Wednesday PM - tuskless elephant; Thursday - mouse; Friday - guinea pig; and Saturday - nāga, a serpent-like creature that is commonly represented in temples including in Thailand.
In a clockwise direction the faithful walk around the stupa looking for their station. At each station there is a large bowl of water and a cup. Pouring a cup of water over a Buddha image at the station is a physical motion that asks for blessings and good fortune. My wife is Thai and a Theravada Buddhist. Born on a Wednesday morning she poured water at the tusked elephant station asking for a blessing of success for a back surgery scheduled in Bangkok in the near future.
It is traditional in Thai culture, and I expect in Burmese culture as well, to make a promise when asking for blessings at a temple to be carried out if the blessing is received. Typical promises are to return to the temple to give thanks and/or to make a donation to the temple or other charitable cause. My wife's surgery was successful. As promised, she returned to the Shwedagon in Yangon to give thanks. In this photo a woman is asking for a blessing at a fertility station.
As the sun goes down the Shwedagon transforms in color and mood. Soon, there were many more people. The calmness of the Shwedagon increased as the sun disappeared and colored lights accented the gleaming beauty of this place. Green and blue lights illuminated Buddha images.
Next up, Kyaiktiyo Pagoda & Golden Rock
