Stupa - Traveling Thru History

She Myet Hna

Erin — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 20:43:46 +0000

She Myet Hna is one of the 2,200 Buddhist temples, stupas, payas and pagodas that still remain of the 10,000+ that were built in Bagan, Myanmar. While most have are in ruins or disrepair, this one has been preserved and restored. We actually found this temple by accident. One of the modes of transportation in Bagan is the bicycle. We rented our bikes from our hotel, Thante Nyaung U, and rode off in search of some of the temples. As you can see, our hotel wasn’t too far from Old Bagan. Old Bagan is the section inside the blue lines on the left side of the picture. It took us maybe 20-30 minutes to bike back to the hotel once we were done for the day. When we took off from the hotel we were actually looking for Shwezigone Temple, but we took a wrong turn somewhere and when we rounded the corner we found this one. There are a lot of streets not marked on maps and we got lost several times. It wasn’t too bad, though, because getting lost in Bagan just means you find more temples you weren’t expecting. Being that She Myet Hna was the first temple we saw I figured that it should have the honor of being the first Bagan temple I wrote about. Not much is known about She Myet Hna. The locals say it has been there as long as they can remember, but nobody knows how old it is, what prompted it to be built or if She Myet Hna is its original name. The history of it isn’t important to them, they just know it was built as a place of worship and reflection. To them, it’s just another one of the religious sites that cover the land. Another face in a crowded room that showed up one day and nobody knows why. Maybe someday someone will unearth a hidden text that names all the temples and explains what their purpose was. Maybe one day we will know why so many religious structures were built in the same area. Maybe one day we will truly understand what Bagan really means. We did find a placard with writing on it, but haven’t been able to find someone who can translate it. Does this tell the history of this temple? Does this explain more about Bagan? Perhaps it does. It’s actually driving me a little crazy to not know what this says. Perhaps it just explains a bit about Buddhism or maybe it just talks about the restoration of the temple. I really wish someone could tell me. This is a dvarapala. They are guardians set to protect the holy place inside the temple. Since She Myet Hna is small and has no real interior, prayers are done from the individual doorways and this dvarapala protects from outside the temple. One of the nice things about Bagan is that there are many places to get water. These are communal drinking basins. You just take the plate off the top, get yourself a cup of water and then place the cup upside down on the plate over the top of the ceramic basin. While it’s nice for locals, I wouldn’t recommend drinking the water from places like this. This water is usually from nearby lakes or streams and isn’t filtered or treated. Modern day Buddhist graffiti. It’s sad that someone would deface the temple, but I do have to admit it’s a pretty good drawing. These figure are known as deva statues. When King Anawratha was crowned in 1044 AD he began unifying the kingdom of Burma and instituted Theravada Buddhism as the national religion. In order to appease local cults and ensure peace, King Anawrath adopted nats and devas into the Buddhist culture. Buddhism revolves around the concept of reincarnation, but offshoot branches believe that violent deaths prevent a person from being reincarnated, thus their spirit roams and becomes dangerous to the living. Burmese Buddhism believes that these statues are a place where those spirits can dwell and be somewhat at peace. These guys are known as leogryphs or chinthe. Chinthe are almost always depicted in pairs and serve to protect the pagoda. They typically appear as animals, but are sometimes found with human faces. Why do chinthe guard temples and pagodas? Well, according to legend, a princess and a lion fell in love and were married. They had a son, but the princess eventually abandoned the lion who became enraged and began terrorizing the lands. When the princess’s son grew up, he sought out and killed the lion in an effort to protect the people. It was only after the prince returned and told his mother what he’d done that he found out he had killed his own father. To atone for his sin, the prince constructed a statue of a lion to stand as guardian of the local temple and thus the tradition began. The chinthe is revered and loved by the Burmese people and is used symbolically on the royal thrones of Burma. Predating the use of coins for money, brass weights cast in the shape of mythical beasts like the chinthe were commonly used to measure standard quantities of staple items. And ever since the creation of modern currency in Myanmar there have been chinthe on the bills and the coins.

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Wat Wora Chet Tha Ram

Erin — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 23:00:04 +0000

Wat Wora Chet Tha Ram is one of the many temple ruins that dot Ayutthaya, the ancient seat of power in Thailand. This region was once a thriving metropolis at the heart of the Thai civilization, boasting over 1 million inhabitants in 1700. Traders and merchants from all over Asia, the Middle East and parts of Europe came here to peddle their wares and broker trade agreements. But all of that came to an end in 1767. In 1767,King Tong-U of Burma invaded Ayutthaya and decimated the kingdom. Very few buildings were spared as they razed the capital. After the invasion Ayutthaya was all but abandoned and the few remaining structures crumbled with disrepair. Today Ayutthaya is a combination of UNESCO World Heritage Site and functional city. The ancient city of Ayutthaya was never rebuilt, but several years after the short-lived Burmese occupation a small village popped up near the site of the old capital. That village took on the name of Ayutthaya and is now a thriving city that preserves and maintains the ruins that are nearby. One of the structures that survived complete destruction is Wat Wora Chet Tha Ram. The sign outside the temple reads: This Temple is behind the royal palace inside the city wall to the west. According to Ayutthaya annals, the temple was built by King Eakathosarot circa AD 1593 the year King Naresuan the Great died while leading an army to attack King Tong-U in Burma. In honor of his elder brother, King Eakathosarot built a mighty crematorium here and some 10,000 monks were invited to the royal cremation. The main ancient shrine of the temple is a large brick and mortar Sukhothai-style bell shaped stupa. Inside the temple walls there are many buildings used for religious ceremony making, such as Vihara buildings, Ubosot Building and two small redented stupas on the same base. As you can see, the large stupa is still intact along with two massive Buddha statues. It is believed that this is where King Naresuan the Great was cremated. The only remaining building on the temple grounds. This is the interior of the temple. Not much remains except a well-preserved Buddha and the base of two small stupas. Even though the site is in ruins, it’s still clear to see how much importance this site holds to the Thai people. There are numerous restoration projects going on in the area and I really hope that Wat Wora Chet Tha Ram will be one of the sites restored to former glory.

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Photo Essay: Sunset From A Forgotten Monastery

Erin — Fri, 29 May 2015 20:41:58 +0000

On our first day in Bagan, Myanmar, we spent a lot of time riding our bikes from temple to temple. We thought it was the best experience ever and didn’t think there was anything that could surpass it. But then we were talking to a shop keeper at one of the tourist stalls in front of Ananda Temple and he said that we should come back there at sunset. Well, why?, we asked. We’d already seen the temple in the daylight. Why would we want to come see it in the dark? That’s when he told us that we could get a wonderful view of the sunset from the top of the monastery just beyond the temple. and that it’s a popular tourist activity. We were floored. We had never even considered watching a sunset from one of the temples. But now, now we were determined that nothing was going to stop us from doing so. Being able to watch a sunset from the top the ruins of an ancient monastery is an experience like none other. I’m kinda sad that nobody knows the name of the monastery (and that for some inexplicable reason I have no photos of it), but that didn’t detract from the experience at all. Kind of makes it seem a little mysterious. We got to the temple earlier than the vendor recommended, which ended up being a good thing. There weren’t a ton of people there, but soon after we got there a few buses showed up. While we were waiting for the magic to start, we began talking with the people around us and listening to their stories. It was fun being able to joke with other travelers and hear about their interesting experiences. I really loved how happy and excited everyone was to be there. While we waiting for the sun to go down, we were also taking pictures of the landscape. All those temples and everything around the monastery was just breathtaking. Once the sun started going down, everyone glued themselves to their cameras. Those of you who know me know that I try to get photos of myself and Troy at each of the places we visit. One of our new friends noticed we were setting up to take a selfie and kindly offered to take a photo of us. I think it turned out quite nicely. Once the sunset was over and we made our way back to our bikes, we rode past a grouping of stupas. With the light fading behind them, it appears as though they are guardians of the land and protectors of the Bagan culture. Stay strong, mighty warriors. There’s still a long fight ahead.

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