It was still dark when the clang of monastery bells joined the
chorus of roosters crowing in the new day. I slipped out of bed, made a cup of the
hotel’s ersatz coffee and took it out to our second floor balcony. Shops on the
street below were just opening and a few people, seated on tiny stools outside
the local noodle shop, were enjoying their morning tea and soup. A lone monk,
his bright saffron robes reflecting the early morning light, appeared at the
end of the street and walked slowly in my direction. He stopped outside one of
the shops, held out his alms bowl and received a donation of food. Having made
his offering the shopkeeper, hands together in prayer and head bowed, stood in
front of the monk to receive his kutho (merit).
The ritual is part of everyday life in Myanmar where almost 90
per cent of the population is Buddhist. Each day an estimated 500,000 Burmese
monks make their daily alms routes — receive a donation of food or money
and convey merit upon the donor. And for every monk in the country there must
be a thousand effigies of “The Buddha”. From the tops of the highest mountains
to the depths of the deepest caves the benign, gold-plated countenance of “The
Enlightened One” inspires the faithful to strive for the inner peace of
nirvana. Buddhas large and small, huge and tiny preside over the most holy
sites in the country — grand temples, modest stupas, and just spots that
have been consecrated as holy ground. These are the places where Myanmar’s
Buddhist pilgrims come to place their incense sticks on the alters and pray,
and where thousands of tourists come to marvel at the gold-plated monuments
that the faith has inspired.
The Buddhist faith, one of the most tolerant of all religions,
is based on the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who was born in 563 BC
and dedicated his life to seeking, and finding, personal enlightenment. In its
purest form Buddhism is not based on the worship of a god or gods but rather on
the philosophy of karma that is highly pragmatic and personal. The thousands of
Buddha images that adorn the places of worship are not portraits of an
individual or god but idealized symbols of a spiritual concept. In Myanmar,
Buddhism, which was brought from India in the third century BC, is still
intertwined with Hindu and animist elements. Many of the holiest sites, because
of some unique natural feature, were revered long before The Buddha arrived in
Myanmar, and the worship of pre-Buddha spirits (nat) is still woven into the
lives of the people and the architecture of the temples.
Temple crawling is a big part of the Burma experience and,
despite visiting at least one a day during our two weeks in the country, every
one was different and memorable. The Golden Rock, a huge boulder delicately
balanced on the edge of a cliff atop Mount Kyaikto, is a favorite destination
for both Burmese pilgrims and tourists. According to legend King Tissa, who
possessed supernatural powers, delivered the rock to its precarious perch back
in the 11
th
century. Its gravity-defying balance is attributed to
the precise placement of a single Buddha’s hair in a small stupa on its top.
Its entire surface has since been gilded and worshippers continue to add gold
leaf to its already glittering surface.
Getting to the Golden Rock is an experience in itself. We left
Yangon right after breakfast and our bus didn’t arrive at the base of Mount
Kyaikto until late afternoon. At Pinpun base camp we piled into the back of a
4-wheel drive dump truck and ground up a series of incredibly steep switchbacks
to the end of the road. From there it’s either walk or be carried ignominiously
on one of the sedan chairs. I welcomed the chance to walk but four guys with a
sedan chair obviously had me targeted. “Grandpa you are very tired. Grandpa
it’s very far. Only five dollars.” They followed me for almost an hour until
their price dropped to 50 cents and they finally gave up.
We booked into the Mountain Top Inn, only a short hike from
where the golden rock shares the summit with a conglomeration of temples,
stupas, souvenir kiosks, and of course gold plated Buddhas where pilgrims kneel
in prayer. This is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in all of Myanmar.
For those of us who are accustomed to wearing shoes adhering to
The Buddha’s dress code can be painful. Walking the sacred ground is allowed
only in bare feet and in many places the mandatory shoe repository is a long
way from the destination temple. After a day in the sun the polished marble
walkways and stairs leading up to the Golden Rock were hot enough to toast a
chapatti. At other sites gravel walkways were enough to bring tears to the eyes
of a tender-footed Canadian, and in the dim recesses of holy caves the slippery
combination of bare feet and algae-covered stone stairs is deadly. But of all
my barefoot experiences in Myanmar, climbing to the top of Mount Popa required
the greatest physical and mental discipline.
Located in the Bagan area south of Mandalay, Mount Popa is an
ancient volcanic neck that rises 737 metres from the surrounding plain. It has
been a holy site since pre-Buddhist time when animism and spirit (nat) worship
were the dominant faiths. From the gilded tigers and elephants at its base to
the menagerie of intricately carved real and imaginary beasts that adorn the
temples and stupas on its summit, Mount Popa celebrates its animist roots along
with hundreds of very real monkeys. Taking full advantage of Buddhist respect
for all living things, the monkeys roam freely and leave their droppings
wherever the urge strikes. And because the whole mountain is sacred visitors
must shed their shoes at the bottom. Anyone the least squeamish about stepping
in monkey poop in bare feet should not climb to the top.
For sheer numbers it would be hard to find a bigger crowd of
Buddhas than those assembled in the Pindaya Caves about 200 km east of Mount
Popa. The serene gilded faces of more than 8,000 Buddhist statues stare out of
every nook and cranny in the cave’s labyrinth of galleries and tunnels.
Originally used as a hiding place for valuables, the cave is now among the most
sacred sites in the country.
In Myanmar the gold plated temples and effigies are only the
visible trappings of a deeply rooted Buddhist faith.
Ironically, the number of young Burmese men who choose to be
monks is about the same as the number who choose the military. Yet both the
monks, who led the recent pro-democracy demonstration, and the soldiers who
crushed it, profess to be Buddhists. I expect that poverty has a lot to do with
the choices young Burmese men make and, given an option, things could be
different. In one of the monasteries we visited the monks lined up for their
morning meal while heavily armed soldiers were stationed outside to prevent
further demonstrations. But, as we passed a nearby teahouse I got a glimpse of
hope. Seated at the same table, their alms bowls and AK47s set aside, a group
of monks and soldiers were talking to each other. At least it’s a start.