Myanmar 72 Yangon Sule Pagoda

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Myanmar
Yangon
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Sule Pagoda
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The Sule Pagoda is a Burmese stupa located in the
heart of downtown Yangon, occupying the centre of
the city and an important space in contemporary
Burmese politics, ideology and geography.
According to legend, it was built before the
Shwedagon Pagoda during the time of the Buddha,
making it more than 2,500 years old. Burmese
legend states that the site for the Shwedagon
Pagoda was asked to be revealed from an old nat
who resided at the place where the Sule Pagoda
now stands.
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The Sule Pagoda has been the focal point of both
Yangon and Burmese politics. It has served as a
rallying point in both the 1988 uprisings and
2007 Saffron Revolution.
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The pagoda is listed on the Yangon City Heritage
List
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The Sule Pagoda incorporated the original Indian
structure of the stupa, which initially was used
to replicate the form and function of a relic
mound. However, as Burmese culture became more
independent of its South Indian influences, local
architectural forms began to change the shape of
the pagoda. It is believed to enshrine a strand
of hair of the Buddha that the Buddha himself is
said to have given to the two Burmese merchant
brothers, Tapissa and Balika. The dome structure,
topped with a golden spire, extends into the
skyline, marking the cityscape
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According to Burmese legend the site where the
Sule pagoda now stands was once the home of a
powerful nat (spirit) named Sularata (the Sule
Nat). The king of the Nats, Sakka, wished to help
the legendary king Okkalap build a shrine for the
Buddha's sacred hair-relic on the same site where
three previous Buddhas had buried sacred relics
in past ages. Unfortunately, these events had
happened so long ago that not even Sakra knew
exactly where the relics were buried.
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The Sule nat, however, who was so old that his
eyelids had to be propped up with trees in order
for him to stay awake, had witnessed the great
event. The gods, Nats and humans of the court of
Okkalapa therefore gathered around the Sule Ogre
and asked him the location, which he eventually
remembered.
Sularata Nat (Sule Nat)
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The Sule Pagoda was made the center of Yangon by
Lt. Alexander Fraser of the Bengal Engineers, who
created the present street layout of Yangon soon
after the British occupation in the middle of the
19th century. The Sule Pagoda is located in the
center of downtown Yangon and is part of the
citys economic and public life. During the 1988
and 2007 protests, the Sule Pagoda was a
functional meeting point for anti-government and
pro-democracy protesters.
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roundels encircling a peacock and a rabbit,
indicating the sun and the moon
The peacock has an important role in Burmese
culture. It was the emblem of the Kon-baung
Dynasty (1845-1941) the last of the Burmese
dynasties and it symbolized the belief that the
monarchy descended from the sun. The Burmese
Peacock Dance relates to droughts caused by the
sun, and sacrificing a peacock is a gesture to
bring forth rain and the heavenly gift of
fertility.
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The peacock also has considerable significance in
the Buddhist religion, especially Theravada
Buddhism which is practiced in Burma. In the
Buddhist Jataka, the peacock is the shape under
which the Bodhisattva teaches renunciation of
worldly attachments.
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There are eight Day shrines, one for each day of
the week (in the Burmese calendar, Wednesday is
divided into two parts), dotted around the eight
corners of the stupa (the stupa is octagonal),
and most Burmese pray at their day shrine when
visiting a pagoda. If you can figure out the day
of the week when you were born, light a candle,
place some flowers, or pour water over the shrine
corresponding to that day.
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Each shrine also has a planet and a beast
associated with it, the most interesting one
being the Gahlon, a mythical half-bird half-beast
said to guard Mount Meru (the shrine for Sunday)
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Worshippers make offerings to planetary posts
according to the day of the week they were born
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The day that one has born is the most important
in daily life in Myanmar. Myanmar strongly
believe in astrology and the day you born is
playing a major factor to tell your fate, match
making, business dealing, house whole building,
in worse case to buy a car or to apply a job,
Myanmar do consult with astrologer or Buddhist
Monks who then refer to your birth day to tell
you the do's and don'ts.
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In esoteric Buddhism the peacock is a symbol of
wholeness, since it combines all colors when it
spreads out its tail in a fan. It exhibits
intrinsic identify and the short-lived nature of
all things, since its forms appear and vanish as
swiftly as the peacock displays and furls its
tail. Peacocks and rabbits represented the sun
and the moon respectively. peacock / rabbit are
the symbols for the moon and the sun and signify
eternal brilliance.
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One famous pavilion on the compound of Sule
Pagoda is the Pavilion of the Sule Bo Bo Gyi
(Grandfather Nat of Sule). According to legends
this nat is said to be so old that he had been
able to pay homage to all four Buddhas that had
appeared in this world. It was said in the
Shwedagon Pagoda chronicles that he was the one
who directed the Sacred Hairs of Lord Buddha to
be buried at Sanguttira Hill where the world
famous Shwedagon Pagoda now stands.
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Many Myanmar people believe that he has powers to
help them in their actions and commercial
enterprises and his pavilion is always crowded.
Others says that he is one of the guardians of
Buddhism and is entitled to receive homage from
the devotees.
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Large temple bells are donated to the temple by
lay people and are highly regarded they are
struck three times at the end of personal
spiritual practice as an invitation for all to
share in the good fortune accumulated and others
show their approval by declaring thadu, thadu,
thadu, which means well done, well done, well
done.
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A tiger statue that is associated with the moon
and Monday. Worshippers make offerings to
planetary posts according to the day of the week
they were born.
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There are also many astrologers on the northern
stairways for those interested to foresee their
future  
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Long planetary post
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The Chinthe is a leogryph (lion-like creature)
that is often seen at the entrances of pagodas
and temples in Burma and other Southeast Asian
countries
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Text Internet Pictures Sanda Foisoreanu
Internet All  copyrights  belong to their
 respective owners Presentation Sanda
Foisoreanu
2013
Sound Hlaing Win Maung - Pleasing
melody (xylophone)