Bagan Journal 2, January 2014

Shwezigon Pagoda

What's the difference between a temple and a pagoda? You can enter a temple, but you can't go inside a pagoda. A pagoda is made of solid brick or rock. It's a massive reliquary. Yangon's Shwedagon is said to contain four strands of the Buddha's hair. Bagan's Shwezigon claims to have a tooth from Buddha.

Shwezigon, built in the 11th century, is a cylindrical structure resting on three terraces. Around the terraces are enamelled plaques depicting the previous lives of the Buddha Shwezigon has a bell-shaped dome from which concentric mouldings rise and terminate in a tall spire.

On the four sides of the temple grounds are small pavilions with images of standing Buddhas. Each Buddha is about 13 ft high. In the pavilion closest to the entrance gate, apart from the Buddha, you would also see the painted figures of the aged, the sick, the dead and the monk. These were the characters that Gautama Buddha encountered when he ventured outside his palace. They caused him to reflect on his life as a prince, abandon his lifestyle, and seek enlightenment.

Seeing so much gold again (we were in Yangon in July last year) reminded me of William Stafford’s poem, “Deciding” …

One mine the Indians worked had


gold as good they left it there


for God to keep.

At night sometimes you think

your way that far, that deep,

or almost.

You hold all things or not, depending

not on greed but whether they suit what

life begins to mean.

Like those workers you study what moves,

what stays. You bow, and then, like them,

you know –

What's God, what's world, what's gold.

Read about our first adventure of 2015 on my Bagan Journal 3 -- riding a balloon to catch the sunrise!