Dharma Records

A record of Ānandajoti’s publication work.

Menu
  • Notices
  • Talks
  • Texts
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Photos
  • Ecology
  • Culture
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon – 1

Posted on January 1, 2011February 20, 2012 by Ānandajoti

Night View of the Pagoda

Today I start posting photographs from my recent trip to Myanmar. All the albums are now online and can be accessed from the Myanmar page of my Photo Dharma website, but on the blog I will also offer some more personal recollections than is possible there.


It was already dark when we landed at Yangon airport and it had been naturally enough a long, long day. We got a taxi to a monastery in Yankin Township, one of the suburbs of the city, but we already knew that our friend and host Sayadaw U Sumana was not there.

Ashin Indavamsa at Kuthodaw Pagoda

Another friend was though: Ashin Indavamsa, it was he who had pointed out the new low-cost AirAsia flights to us and he had also offered to help us get around Myanmar.

After unloading our stuff and cleaning up a bit Ashin declared: Now we must go to Shwedagon. We had not planned on that at all, and we were really just intending to stay overnight and get the next morning’s flight to Mandalay, but it was my 57th birthday and it seemed like a good way to celebrate so we agreed.

Shwedagon was only about 20 minutes away by taxi and fortunately there is a lift, because I don’t think I could have walked up the stairs, which are quite extensive. We therefore very quickly found ourselves on the main platform of the pagoda.

When you go there the first time – and don’t quite know what to expect – it is something of a revelation to emerge from behind the buildings that surround the pagoda, and find oneself suddenly face-to-face with what is almost a heavenly scene: not only the huge golden pagoda itself but also the atmosphere of devotion that pervades the place.

It was really magical – and the best birthday treat I have ever had.

The size of the pagoda and the way it dominates the space around it hardly comes across in the photographs, where it sometimes even looks quite small – this is one of those places where you really have to go to appreciate it.

The pagoda is open 24 hours a day and there were plenty of people there in the early evening, although the night before, which was Full Moon night there would have been many thousands, and it would have been quite packed.

We only spent an hour and a half there as time was short and we were indeed tired, but it was a wonderful welcome to the country and presaged well for the upcoming trip.

Approachway at Night

Approachway at Night

The Pagoda Shines Forth

The Pagoda Shines Forth

Shrines and Pagoda

Shrines and Pagoda

Maha Bodhi Replica

Maha Bodhi Replica with Full Moon

Devotees at Night

Devotees at Night

Solitary Meditation

Solitary Meditation


Tomorrow I will post more photographs from a daytime visit we made when we got back to Yangon, along with material giving something of a history of the pagoda.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

QR code

SHORTLINK

RSS Feeds

  • All Posts
  • Texts
  • Photos

Donations

there are many expenses involved in the making of this website. Even a small donation really helps to maintain and expand the site.

choose amount:


Donations can also be sent in Litecoin to the following address: LQZ9fVHF3wL6ihwEUcRFiCpcD7f2dfd3Kp

Recent Posts

  • Two Innovative Temples in Petchabun
  • Two Photo Albums from Phimai Published
  • Photographs from Prasat Phanom Rung
  • Publication of the Introduction to the Jataka Stories
  • A Revised Presentation of the Jātaka Commentary
  • Comparative Dhammapada Table
  • Suttapitaka Index, with links to Pali Text and Translations
  • Karmavibhanga Stories Published in Hard Copy
  • Publication of The Theravāda Lineage (Nikāya Sangrahaya)
  • Paintings from the Thousand Buddhas Caves Published

Top 10 Tags

  • Books
  • Buddha
  • Dhamma
  • Ethics
  • India
  • Monks
  • Poetry
  • Sri Lanka
  • Temples
  • Wisdom

Recent Posts

  • Two Innovative Temples in Petchabun
  • Two Photo Albums from Phimai Published
  • Photographs from Prasat Phanom Rung
  • Publication of the Introduction to the Jataka Stories
  • A Revised Presentation of the Jātaka Commentary
  • Comparative Dhammapada Table
  • Suttapitaka Index, with links to Pali Text and Translations
  • Karmavibhanga Stories Published in Hard Copy
  • Publication of The Theravāda Lineage (Nikāya Sangrahaya)
  • Paintings from the Thousand Buddhas Caves Published

Other Posts

  • The Buddha Sangha’s Constitution
  • Remembering Ven. Sumedha
  • Publication of a Reading of the Exalted Utterances on CD
  • Writing Filenames into mp3 Tags with a Batch File
  • Photographs of the Muara Jambi site in Sumatra
  • German Translation of Pure Inspiration Published
  • The Buddha goes to War
  • Dhammapada Posters on Photo Dharma III
  • The Life of the Buddha at Borobudur on Photo Dharma
  • Ven. Nyanavimala’s Advice

Related Posts

  • Photos and Descriptions of 80 Stone Sculptures from Pagan Published
  • Publication of Ven. Rerukane Candavimala's Autobiography
  • Ruined Temples in Ayutthaya
  • Buddhas and Murals at the Po Win Caves – 2
  • Buddhas and Murals at the Po Win Caves – 1
  • Idyllic Taungthaman Lake
  • Mural Paintings at Kyauktawgyi Pagoda
  • Decorative Mosaics in the Temples and Pagodas in Myanmar
  • Sutaungpyai Pagoda, Mandalay
  • Sandamuni Pagoda, Mandalay
© 2021 Dharma Records | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme