Glimmering Bagan pagodas shine through for Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar (JP): Burma, as it is still called by the majority of its population, has also been dubbed the "Land of the Pagodas". Pagodas are indeed the first structures seen upon setting foot in the country.

In Yangon, the golden tops sprout up from amidst the buildings. They become flickering towers at noon, the fierce rays of the sun making the golden yellow roofs blinding. At dusk, the golden tops stand out like alien torches in a surrealistic landscape. In the countryside, smaller temples in yellow and white dot the fields like rare flowers.

Ingrained in the culture, Buddhism is closely interwoven into the lives of the Burmese. The Buddhist understanding of the universe is totally different from materialistic and scientific concepts. Buddhism divides the world in three spheres: the Arupa Loka, the upper realm of formlessness; the Rupa Loak, the middle realm of form and material being; and the Kama Loka, the lower sphere of sensual pleasure and desire. Simplified, Buddhism teaches that everyone can attain Buddhahood or the upper realm of formlessness, depending on their good deeds during their lives through perpetual reincarnation. Building a temple, stupa or zedis is among the highest merits a Buddhist can earn, which may explain the great number of pagodas spread all over Myanmar. An astounding number of different architectural styles and Buddha statues types points to outside influences from India, Khmer and Thailand.

Of the pagodas I visited in Yangon and beyond, I found the most impressive atmosphere in the Yanmar Shwedagon pagoda. Towering over the city of Yangon, the Shwedagon pagoda attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims every year. As dusk falls, and the last rays of the setting sun cast a rosy glow over the 98-metre- high golden dome, the people in pious contemplation and devout prayer complement the flowers brought in worship, generating the temple's magic.

The golden stupa is an impressive monument dating back 2,500 years. It houses eight sacred hairs of the Buddha. Legend has it that the hairs were given by the Buddha to Burmese merchants to thank them for cakes and honey they offered him when they met under the sacred bo tree in India. Covered in about 60 tons of gold leaf, the structure also has a special place where jewelry donated by wealthy believers is kept.

The remarkable shrines around the pagoda denote the eight days of the week, with Wednesday being divided into Wednesday morning and Wednesday afternoon. Pilgrims pay homage to the shrine of the day they were born, ensuring that each shrine is cared for and beautified with flowers. The few hours spent at the Shwedagon were only enough to feel the atmosphere at dusk, but spending more time allows for a study of the architectural specialties, as well ass time to revel among the many statues. The may all like the Buddha to a layperson, but they also represent honored Buddhists who may not have yet reached Buddhahood but are somehow close to that realm.

The nats, the spirits of an animistic belief that has been incorporated in Myanmar's Buddhism, are also interesting.

For me, Bagan, formerly called Pagan, in Central Myanmar, remains the experience that illustrates the juxtaposition of antiquity and eternity. It was worth the grueling 12-hour drive from Yagon to Puy in a battered, hot van. I spent the night in a small and simple guesthouse in Puy, before hitting the road for another.... hours to Bagan.

It was the dry season, and temperatures went up to almost 40 degrees Celsius. Now and then we would stop to take a picture, visit a monastery, or just walk around to stretch our legs and chat with traditional snack vendors. Here in the countryside, I saw more children than in the whole of Yangon. Sometimes the van passed by soldiers, some as young as 15 years old.

Bagan, the first center of Buddhist learning in Myanmar, is located in the heart of the dry zone, with one of the lowest annual rainfalls in Myanmar. Acacia trees break the barren landscape, and, according to an forestry ministry official, more of this species will be planted in June when the rains are expected to water the dry soil. The roots of the acacia tree are known to enrich the soil.

Heat

The heat makes a hat or a parasol indispensable. Situated across the arid flood plain of the Irrawaddy river, Bagan was the capital of Myanmar for 230 years, between the 11th and the 13th centuries. In the history of Myanmar, Bagan is mentioned as the cradle of religious reformation.

Anawratha, the first king who seized the throne in 1044 to rule 19 villages on the Bagan plain, converted to Theravada Buddhism twelve years later. Under his reign the construction of pagodas became part of a grandiose scheme which continued under the reign of his successors. With 2,217 pagodas still standing, and another 2,000 ruins strewn over the plain, Bagan is considered one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. Experts put it on par with Cambodia's Angkor Wat and Central Java's Borobudur temple.

Most of the wooden houses and palaces have rotted, but the temples and pagodas, as well as the numerous brick ruins, remain as evidence of Myanmar's golden age in architecture.

I got a licensed one for 1,000 kyats a day, the equivalent of about Rp 200,000 (US$85). My friend, a photographer, the guide and I squeezed into a horse cart, and started off down a dusty track into this historical environment exclusively created for archeologists and tourists.

Place

A small settlement inside the old city walls, was forcibly resettled in 1990 when UNESCO suggested the royal palace be excavated. The Myanmar government gave the 7,000 villagers one week to relocate to New Pagan, some 5 kilometers south of Bagan.

The guide took us to the Shwezigon Pagoda, the Kyansittha Cave monastery, the Gubyaukkyi Temple and the glorious Ananda Temple. I was impressed by the variety of architectural styles, the golden stupas glittering in the setting sun, the dim, cool caves where monks retreated from the heat to meditate, the diverse Indian and Chinese influenced Buddhas, and the syncretism that allowed animistic beliefs to be incorporated in Buddhist teachings.

Although the Mon-style Shwezigon Pagoda is usually mentioned as the biggest and most important temple, being the main objective of many Burmese pilgrims, I was more attracted to the Ananda Temple. Gleaming white, it rises from the red brick remains, its golden upper span faintly reminiscent of a modern rocket. Ananda's dim mystical interior places the temple in the early period. Completed in 1090, the temple's plan form the Greek cross.

Derived from the "Infinite Wisdom" of Buddha, anandapyinna in Burmese, the Ananda temple's most striking feature is a colossal bronze Buddha Gotama. Contrasted with Mon-style figures, this Buddha has sharp features and might be from the tantra. If studied from closely, the Buddha's features and lips are almost cruel. According to our guide, such stern expression was meant for the royalty who would sit in the first rows. Viewed a little further back, behind the nobility, the Buddhas expression becomes milder. The expression becomes totally benevolent when seen from a distance, the place of the common people.

The real Bagan is found just outside the tourist area. Two- wheeled ox carts carrying water from the river to the village is a normal morning sight. Villagers depend on the river for cooking, drinking water and washing. Bathing and other pressing needs are also conveniently done in the river. About half-an-hour by motorboat across the Ayarawaddy River is a brick-making area, where men hack clay from a nearby spot. Women then mold it by hand and then place the heavy bricks to bake in the sun. A hard life, in the eyes of a tourist.

On the island of Sele, a tiny green strip against the barren hills, eggplant, lentils and other crops are grown to provide an income for the people across the river. Groups of 10 men labor under the sun with simple sticks to beat the beans loose from their stalks, while the women clean the produce. One farmer said that a group can produce five baskets, about 80 kg, a day. The villagers also get their cattle fodder from the island, using the same boat we used to get the load to the riverbank.

Hard as life may appear to a tourist, the villagers do not seem to care. Life seems to continue in a rhythm they have set for themselves. At midday, everybody goes home, and only return if needed in the late afternoon.

People like our cart driver, who is acquainted with modern life through the tourists he drives, are motivated to pursue a better quality of life.

"I intend to be the best guide in this area," he said.

Unable to pay for a licensed guide course, he reads and studies English by himself. His intelligence and talent will get him there, but it will take him much longer than those who can afford the tour guide course.

-- Cebe Tadjoedin