Like the lotus bud petals below, the banana bud is actually covered with no fewer than 13,153 plates of gold, measuring 1 sq ft each--unlike the lower elements, which are merely covered with gold leaf. The seven-tiered hti is made of iron and again plated with gold. Even without the various hanging bells it weighs well over a ton.
The hti tiers get smaller from the bottom to top, and from the uppermost tier projects the shaft, which is hung with gold bells, silver bells and various items of jewellery. The topmost vane, with its flag, turns with the wind. It is gold- and silver-plated and studded with 1100 diamonds totaling 278 carats--not to mention 1383 other stones. Finally, at the very top of the van rests the diamond orb--a hollow golden sphere studded with 4351 diamonds, weighing 1800 carats in total. The very top of the orb is tipped with a single 76-carat diamond. -- Lonely Planet, Myanmar
That is a description of just the very top of the Hershey's kiss-shaped stupa at the center of the Shwedagon Paya (Pagoda) in Yangon. Though you can barely see it without binoculars, it is a jaw-dropping display of wealth, especially in one of the poorest countries on Earth.
Jaw-dropping is a pretty good description of the Paya in general. At the time I said it was the most incredible man-made thing I had ever seen. That kind of thing is hard to gauge, but it was certainly the thing that I was least prepared to see. I felt the same as when I first walked through the high Sierra, completely overwhelmed. It is enormous and sprawling. It shines and glitters. There is gold and paint and wild looking statues. There are Buddhas everywhere. There is a room full of Buddhas that seems like a house of mirrors. Some of the Buddhas are enormous. The
chinthes, the mythical beasts that guard the entrances, were absurdly massive. There are huge bells and gongs and banyan trees. And of course, there is the giant gilt stupa crowed with jewels.
There are little details also. There are psychedelic neon lights like halos around some of the Buddhas. There are little nooks and alcoves filled with shrines, each different. There is one series of paintings, comic book style, telling the life of the Buddha and translated into some mystifying form of English. The colors are vivid and multitudinous, bordering on garish. I imagine that the ancient cities of the Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs looked like this in their prime.
Photographs don't do the paya justice because its power lies in the constant interplay between the grand whole and the unique individual parts, as one wanders within it and the clouds dance behind it in the sky and the blaring brightness of the day turns to a soft glow at night.
Physically the paya is astounding, but what makes it magical is the people. Unlike so many European religious buildings, the Shwedagon Paya is a living, breathing place. It is no museum. It is the center of the life of the city and the most important place in the country, a place every Burmese person aspires to see before they die. There are people all around, especially late in the day after work, praying, chanting, washing the Buddhas, or just hanging out with friends. For all the fierce creatures, it is a pretty laid back place. There don't seem to be many rules other than modest clothes and bare feet. No one bats an eye when a heathen like me grabs a mallet and gives one of the huge bells three bongs.
We loved it so much we went twice, once on our own and once with Mike Grafton. The first time we stayed for four or five hours. As we were resting in the late afternoon we met Varasami, our monk friend. We sat and talked with him for an hour or so and then walked with him as the evening came on.
Varasami told us many things about the paya. It is more than 2000 years old though it has been rebuilt, added to, and changed much over the years. The legend is that two merchants were given eight strands of Buddha's hair by the Buddha himself (see photos of the marble recreation below). They presented these precious hairs to a king who enshrined them in gold.
The four entrances face the cardinal directions. Around the central stupa there are eight shrines that correspond to the eight days in the traditional Buddhist week (they have two 12-hour Wednesdays). In Myanmar, the day of the week on which you are born is very meaningful. Burmese names usually indicate their day and locals always pray at their day's shrine when they visit the paya. Aung San Suu Kyi was born on Tuesday. According to Lonely Planet, the government installed a closed-circuit television camera in front of the Tuesday shrine to intimidate her. I imagine it is gone by now.
Varasami explained to us many of the symbols and rituals of the place, patiently answered our questions, and lightly corrected our misconceptions. He pointed out the novice monks climbing on the central stupa to collect the gold leaf that had fallen. As evening turned to night and the lights came on he showed us how the diamonds on top glowed in different colors depending on where you stood to look at them.
Evening and night are the most stunning times at the paya. Each minute as the sun is setting brings a new color and a new light to the stupas, towers, and shrines. The gilt of the central stupa changes from brilliant and glinting to a soft warm glow. When the lights come up and the people are walking all about you with their families and friends, smiling and talking, it is like walking through a magic festival. One of the calmest festivals in the world. Every few moments I would find my jaw dropping all over again.
