Gym's Ramblings: Myanmar Pagodas

The greatest attractions in Myanmar are the numerous Pagoda complexes. There are several nice ones in Yangon, including the Shwedagon Pagoda and Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda. And then in the city of Bago, which is about 1.5 hours away, there is also the Shwemawdaw Pagoda and the Shwethalyuang Reclining Buddha exhibit. We spent time at all four of these complexes.

In previous blogs I have already given you a sense of how important Buddhism is to the people of this country but it is really driven home when you visit a place like the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. This was the grandest pagoda and the largest complex of shrines that we visited. It was also the most well kept of all the sites we saw.

These Pagoda sites are massive edifices that are covered in gold and the crown of these structures is normally laced with precious gems. The Shwedagon Pagoda boasts a 76-karat diamond in its crown, which is set in a sea of 2317 rubies, and 5448 other diamonds. All this gold and precious stone has been donated to the pagoda over the ages by the faithful pilgrims, rich and poor alike. Offerings help one to gain enlightenment.

As with a visit to any pagoda you are required to take off your shoes and socks before entering. It is best to wear flip-flops but I wore running shoes because my pedicure was scheduled for the day after we sailed from Yangon and my toenails were horrendous. It was a little tedious washing my feet and putting socks and shoes back on before removing them again, at the next attraction but it was worth it.

We learned plenty about the Buddhist faith from our guide Than (pronounced ‘tan’). One of the most reassuring facts is that a fifth Buddha is expected in about 2500 years. This means that for those of you that are worried about the Mayan calendar ending in 2012, you need only to look to Buddhism and take comfort that the world has at least another 2500 years to keep on ticking.

Another interesting fact is that all Buddhists know on what day they were born. I don’t mean their birthday but the actual day of the week. That is because at these big pagoda complexes there are shrines for each day of the week that are arranged around the complex in a very particular order and if an individual was born on Monday, he will often go to the shrine for Monday to say prayers. I was born on a Saturday, as were my two children, so I stopped at the Saturday Shrine in two Pagodas and had a word with the Dragon statue that guards our shrine. I also made a little offering at one shrine and now I am covered from that angle.

Finally, I might just say that these Pagoda complexes are very sacred places. Throughout our visit to Myanmar, we were confronted by street urchins, everywhere we went. In some cases they were selling nick-nacks or postcards and in other cases they were just begging. But when you took off your shoes and entered a Pagoda, you were left alone.