Travel tales: Maha Muni : Return to Serenity

We return to Maha Muni on a quiet day without a festival so we can admire the Great Image. The original 12-foot tall bronze statue was cast 2500 years ago in what was then Dinnyawadi and is now Rakhine State. In the 18^th century it was dragged on sleighs by thousands of men over the Rakhine Yoma Range and then floated on barges to King Bodawpaya’s palace in Amurapura. Since that time, the gold covering the gilded Image has increased massively and is estimated to weigh more than 12 tonnes. The size of the Mahamuni’s chest, arms and legs are probably ten times the size of the image when it was cast. Yet inexplicably, the face doesn’t seem out of proportion. Across the massive chest, master goldsmiths have worked intricate crossed straps with medallions from neck to waist. A dozen or two pilgrims kneel quietly praying and making offerings of flowers and fruit.

Around the periphery of the paya there are many places for quiet prayer and contemplation, as well as huge bells you can ring to spread the spirit of Buddhism around. It is usual for the population to attend the paya not only on public festivals, but also on personal festivals such as birthdays. In a quiet corner, the Buddha sits placidly beneath his bawdi tree. Below and on two sides of him are ranged little Buddha images beneath signs showing the eight days of the Buddhist week. Wednesdays here are not one day but two – the second being called Yar Hu. On your birthday, for however many years you have reached, you pour a cup of water over the small Buddha’s head. (I’d have had to stay there all night).

Win Kyaing takes many photos that were impossible during the festival.

The most exciting involve elephants and high stepping horses leading the Buddha to King Sanda Thuriya’s palace and men straining on ropes moving the massive Image over mountainous terrain. The final picture is of King Bodawpaya at last welcoming the Buddha to his land.