Sule Pagoda

Sule Pagoda is the most recognisable and stunning landmark in downtown Yangon. It has been on this site for over 2000 years. It is now the heart of downtown Yangon. Downtown Yangon's streets

were designed on a grid pattern by the Brits when they were in charge. Sule Pagoda was the centrepiece of the layout. The road that heads directly north of Sule Pagoda, Sule Pagoda Rd. divides
downtown Yangon into east and west. West of Sule Pagoda lays the areas of Chinatown and Little India. East lays the government offices law courts and a developing business centre. Sule Pagoda is on a roundabout which preserves its circular base.The site is also important for being the home of a nat. A nat is a spirit which provides a form of  protection for an area. It is not uncommon for nats to be present in a Buddhist place of worship as usually the places found to make a temple is often seen as being important. Nat worship in fact predates Buddhism in Myanmar. Various types of spirituality are widely practised in Myanmar and they go hand in hand with Buddhism. As I mentioned Sule Pagoda is located on a roundabout. At the base there is a diverse array of businesses selling items from SIM cards to cameras. There's even a camera museum!


hand in hand
 

Along side these are a number of  palmists. This is a very common sight in Myanmar especially around pagodas. All of these forms of spirituality are seen as being complimentary to each other and certainly not exclusive of each other. Belief in Buddhism encourages a reasonably grim view of life,in that we are born into suffering and we will continue to until we reach a state of enlightenment. (I'm not a theologian so I'm not going to go too far into this) but it makes sense that palmists and astrologers would be popular (in as far as a palmist or astrologer would"make sense"). People would want to avoid as much suffering as they can...so it would be a good idea to know for example when is the best time to get married...have children...make a business deal etc. Doing good deeds is another type of insurance policy against bad karma. This is evident in Sule Pagoda in the form of a karaweik. Sadly at the moment I can't get access to the photos so I will have to insert them later. This is a contraption in the shape of a mythical bird on a line attached to a winch where you can for $US1 or 1000 kyats buy some gold leaf. The gold leaf is placed in the bird and winched up to a smaller temple like structure. I assume someone will get it out and apply it to the zedi. Buying gold leaf is another common practice in Buddhist temples. Adding a bit of gold to a temple is another way of attracting good karma. Like many important pagodas in Myanmar Sule attracts its own little community and economic activity. Apart from gold leaf you can also buy offerings for the various statues found throughout the pagoda. In this case large green bananas and coconuts. In Sule there an entire warehouse which stores the offerings. Once again another way to increase one's store of good karma.

Temples are not just places for quiet contemplation but also a place which generates its own little economy. Although there are certain rules to conform to ,especially dress, the atmosphere is generally quite relaxed even informal. People will be praying,  lighting incense, reading ,snoozing , eating, talking on their phones and of course tourists will be snapping photos. There are usually people selling religious items or tourist stuff and in Myanmar you will usually have people trying to sell postcards. Quite probably there will be a few cats lazing around or even a lot of cats lazing around. Most important pagodas will have a monastery or school attached. Sule is interesting in this respect because directly beside it almost joined by a foot bridge is a Bengali Sunni Mosque. This photo was taken from the foot bridge which leads to an entrance of Sule above SP road. The mosque is on the left. I'm not sure how long this mosque has been here but I assume it dates from the colonial era.

Because Sule Pagoda is on an island really it can't spread out as much as other pagodas and claim all the area around it. It has to live peacefully with the mosque right on its doorstep. Well I suppose it doesn't have but I would think they have tolerated each other's presence for a while I imagine why there would be no reason to continue to do so

worship

Religion. One of the most important aspects of Myanmar life. There is no way of avoiding the religious experience here. Buddhism of course is the major religion and is visible in many guises from the incredible number of pagodas to the incredible number of Buddhist monks and nuns. As I mentioned in an earlier blog there is a type of "lent" going on at the moment so the amount monks and nuns has been reduced as they spend more time monasteries and  convents. It is however a time when many young Buddhists take fulfil their duties and complete a novitiate. This is a rite of passage to ensure that all Buddhists have a taste of monastic life. Donning the robes and shaving their heads are the first steps to losing individuality and any other youthful vanities. Young nuns seem to be more visible at this stage than young monks. Nuns are often heard chanting as they wend their way through the crowds and shops hoping to collect some alms from shop keepers and customers. and some of these novices are quite young. A long line of pink clad little girls singing is a common sight here. And this is a ritual that takes place all over Myanmar. However Buddhism does not have a monopoly on the religious experience. I know there a some Buddhist extremists who would like this to be the case but there are other religions entrenched in Myanmar life just as firmly as Buddhism. The Ma Ba Tha (The Committee for the Protection of Race and Religion) is the major group promoting Buddhist extremism. This is a radical group of monks,some with close ties to the government who are trying to entrench the position of Buddhism as not only the major religion but also the leading adjudicator in the area of morals and ethics.  Due to its position at the crossroads of empires , so to speak , Myanmar has become home to many if not all of the major religions. But Buddhist extremists are working hard to make sure Buddhism retains its position of primacy in Myanmar. The fact remains ,however, that Myanmar , in terms of religion is a broad church ,so to speak. And nowhere is this more pronounced than in downtown Yangon. Here we can find ancient pagaodas cheek by jowl with Sunni mosques ,Sunni mosques next door to a synagogue, Hindu temples opposite mosques or pagodas and my favourite a Salvation Army hall next door to a Sikh temple. And that's not to mention the Catholic and Anglican cathedrals, Armenian and Baptist churches. And just for good measure there is a YMCA. My street is bookended by a Chinese Buddhist temple at one end and a Chinese Methodist church at the other. I can't think of another place where so many different places of worship exist in such a small area. I forgot the temple devoted to Ganesh! Not to mention the Seventh day Adventists! I know in large western cities which have a multicultural population there would be a wide variety of religions. But downtown Yangon is a small area and yet it covers the range of faiths. Walking around downtown Yangon makes one realise that religious tolerance is possible despite this being only a dream in some parts of the world. Well not even a dream but not even desirable. Hopefully the Ma Ba Tha's chauvinism won't  encourage more prejudice against religious practice and economics. This has been the case in parts of Myanmar where Buddhists have sort to buy out Muslim abattoirs in order to stop the slaughter of cows. This has had an impact on local eating habits and economy.The good news is that recently previously banned Muslim candidates will be able to stand in the forthcoming elections.  Pressure from the Ma Ba Tha has meant ,however , that there will be no Muslim candidate for either of the two largest parties the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) or the National League for Democracy (NLD). The has also been large scale disenfranchisement of mostly ethnic Muslim Rohingyas  in Rakhine State. Critics would argue that this is another way to try and lessen the Muslim representation in government. The Ma Ba Tha has also recently been on a country wide celebration of the recently enacted Race and Religion protection laws. Many believe these laws are designed purely to discriminate against minorities. The "monogamy" law will criminalise extra marital affairs as well as polygamy. The Buddhist Women's Special Marriage Law will make it harder for interfaith marriages. Couples will have to seek permission from local authorities in order to get married. In other word a Buddhist woman will have to seek permission from the government to marry a non Buddhist. Obviously this is a law which many see as being discriminatory against the rights of women. A similar law will make it harder for people to convert. Once again a law which is designed to entrench the primacy of Buddhism. The final law is to enforce a 36 month period between babies. On the surface this would be seen as a reasonable law. 36 months is also the WHO's recommended time between babies. Some see it as being a way to restrict births in minorities and thereby reduce their population. All of these issues have caused a good deal of tension between the Ma Ba Tha and the NLD.  Enough of the politics lets get back to religion! Finding a place to worship is never hard to here. In fact there are obviously many places of significance many linked to trees. The Buddha found enlightenment under a bodhi tree so tree

s are a particular significance for Buddhist. This little temple is on Maha Bandoola Rd. in downtown Yangon. I'm not sure of the significance of this spot, maybe it is a bodhi tree. It's certainly a popular spot for a quick reverential bow or two. If you look closer you will see a large number of banknotes in the glass container. Offerings made by the faithful to lessen their earthly suffering. This tree is situated right outside a bank so it makes sense.....make a withdrawal and drop a few note in the tank.
Another feature of this little temple ,which might indicate its importance, is the presence of a bird seller...or rather a good karma seller. Sadly this is an all too common sight on the streets of  Yangon.

She's not happy to be photographed!

This is a cage full of small birds usually finches or sparrows or even occasionally doves. Why?

Well dig this hep cats it's karma. Pay and release one of our feathered friends and voila...instant karma. It is a good deed to release one of these poor creatures which already weakened by heat, thirst and hunger will probably die fairly quickly. I have seen a number of these sellers around and not even in front of temples but also tourist spots such as the Bogyoke Aung San Market. If you think that releasing one of these creatures will ease your soul then by all means....but if you would prefer not to see cages stuffed full of dying birds then it's probably best not to encourage this practice. This is just part of the story of religion in Myanmar. I will look into some other aspects more deeply.