Day 4 - 30 November 2004
Left Meikhtila and arrived in
Myingyan for lunch dana. Visited the Myingyan
Relics Cave. After lunch, we were taken to a
meditation centre to see the body of of Sunlun
Sayadaw, an arahant who died 3 years ago. His
body was still intact and we offered robe to
him.
We drove on to visit Mount
Popa - 4981 ft high (Popa meant "Flower" in
sanskrit). It was a nature reserve area.
We climbed 777 steps up the
hill and watched the sun set. Hordes of monkeys
were everywhere along the steps and there were
lots of souvenir stalls. There was a monastery
at the foot of the hill and a shrine to the nats
(guardian spirits) midway up.
Checked into the beautiful
Thazin Garden Hotel which had a stupa in the
garden. We had a moonlit dinner in the garden
which was decorated with welcoming messages made
with flowers.
Day 5 - 1 December 2004
Set out early at 7.00pm for
the sprawling expanse of Bagan with its more
than 2,000 temples, pagodas and stupas. Spent
the whole day there visiting selected sites.
Shwezigon Pagoda
Completed in 1089, it was
believed to contain the frontal bone and a tooth
of the Buddha. Around the terraces were
enamelled plaques illustrating scenes of the
previous lifes of the Buddha.
Ananda Temple
Completed in 1091, the white
washed structure was considered to be a
surviving masterpiece of Mon architecture. Four
teak standing Buddha statues, each 9.5 metres
tall in deep and high niches faced the four
cardinal points. Two were originals (facing
north and south) and two were copies (facing
east and west). They represented the four
Buddhas who had attained nirvana. The central
corridor had 80 reliefs depicting the life of
the Buddha from birth to enlightenment. There
were also 2 footprints of the Buddha, each
divided into 108 parts.
Thatbyinnyu Temple
Known as the temple of
Omniscience, it was the tallest building in
Bagan at 61 metres (201 ft). It was built in
the Bamar architectural style, modelled after
north Indian temples in 1144. There were 5
storeys, first 2 used to be monks' residence,
3rd housed images and 4th the Library, 5th,
pagoda containing relics. It's history was
recorded on its walls.
Shwegugyi Temple
The oldest of Bamar style
architecture with large windows and doors built
in in 7 months in 1131 by King Alaungsithu. He
was brought to the temple by his second son,
Narathu and smothered to death there. He was
81. Eldest son Minshinsaw was away at the time.
Narathu became King.
Dhammayangyi Temple
Built by Narathu to atone for
the murder of his father, it was the largest
most well preserved temple. It was not
completed as Narathu was assassinated by
Indians. Only outer corridors were accessible,
all other entrances were for some unknown
reasons blocked.
Shwesandaw Pagoda
It was erected in 1057. Its
stupa enshrined some hairs of the Buddha. It was
sometimes called the Ganesh Temple after the
elephant headed Hindu god. Within the walls was
the Shinbinthalyaung Reclining Buddha, over 60
ft (18 metres) in length. This 11th century
Buddha laid with its head facing south,
therefore depicting a sleeping Buddha. The walls
were erected very close to the statue, it was
impossible to take photograph of the whole
statue. As we walked towards the head Buddha
seemed to smile at us.
We climbed up to the upper
terraces to wait for the sun to set. We had a
panoramic view of the surroundings. It was hot
but the sight of the red sun setting in the
distant hills, giving a golden glow to the many
temple spires was well worth the wait.
We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant and were
entertained to a puppet show. We returned to our
rooms and were thrilled to see our beds
painstaking decorated with flower petals. After
a shower, we adjourned to Yee Kong's room to
have a sharing session. Everyone shared their
experiences, thoughts and feelings frankly and
enthusiastically. All also got to know each
other better.
Day 6 - 2 December 2004
Took the 9.00am flight back
to Yangon arriving one hour later.
Met up with Group B for the
presentation of scholarship ceremony at the
Nationalities Youth Resource Degree Development
College. After lunch, Singapore's Ambassador to
Myanmar, Mr. T. Jasudasen presented the cash
donation of 1,000,000 kyats. This was followed
by a tour of the college.
We visited the Vitakar
Nursery Teaching Women School. We presented
robes, requisites, medicine and stationery. The
children were given balloons, sweets and
biscuits and members took time to hug and play
with the more than 200 children there.
Next we visited the Hninzigone Home for the Aged
which had about 250 residents aged 70 and
above. The oldest is 104 years old. Cash and
medical supplies donations were made. It was
amazing to see the old folks, very calm and
serene and able to sit up and meditate. We also
toured the hospital area and talked to some of
the doctors, nurses and patients.
We visited the Monastery care
primary school, distributing stationery, sweets
and balloons to about 180 students there. The
special gifts for the teachers brought much joy
to them.
Day 7 - 3 December 2004
We left at 7.00am for
Zamburatana. We were warmly welcomed with
tinsle garlands and specially printed T-shirts
by the students and teachers of the Zamburatana
Buddhist Culture Couse Institute. Firefly
members who had come on earlier missions were
very glad to see an additional floor being added
to the building and the contributions they have
made to the educational advancement of the
children there. The students entertained us
with a dance performance and excellent speech of
thanks. Members also interacted with students
there and all were presented with artworks done
by the students. Presentation of a scanner,
stationery and cash donations of 300,000 kyats
were made.
A short drive away was the
Naga Cave Pagoda where we gave lunch dana to
1,000 Venerable Monks and Nuns. Robes,
requisites and cash donations of 1,000,000 kyats
were also presented. We also toured the temple
to view Buddha statues, each with different hand
gestures.
Nearby was a temple built in
1999 containing a replica of a tooth relic of
Buddha. The original was loaned from China for 6
months for the replica to be made.
We also visited the Korean Relic Centre where
the Venerable gave all members sacred relics of
Arahant Bakula, said to have healing powers.
We drove the next four hours
to reach Kyatiyo, arriving at the Mountain View
Hotel at 6.30pm.
Day 8 - 4 December 2004
Our first visit was to the
Bilin Hospital. We toured the premises and were
shown the new wing and the equipment and beds
sent earlier from Singapore. Medical supplies
and cash donations were made.
An hour's away was the Thaton Monastery where we
offered dana, robes, requisites and cash
donations.
We also visited the nearby
Shwesaya Monastery behind which on a hilltop was
a pagoda which enshrined the emerald alms bowl
of Buddha.
Next, we visited a primary
school with about 200 students, distributing
stationery, sweets and balloons. Cash donations
were also given. This was followed by a visit to
a middle (secondary) school. The students put
up a very lively dance item to entertain us.
The day ended with a visit to
the computer centre. Members were impressed and
very glad that the refurbished computers sent
from Singapore were put to very good use
training the youths in the area to be IT
literate.
After dinner, there was
another very good sharing session at the
Meditation Hall of the Mountain View Meditation
Centre with contributions from the younger
members from Group B.
Day 9 - 5 December 2004
Left at 7.30am for the Golden
Rock (Kyaik-tiyo Pagoda). At the foot of the
hill, we transferred to a truck. About 30 of us
packed into it like sardines and we zigzagged
uphill taking hairpin turns at high speed. It
was an exhilarating roller-coaster ride with
wind and dust blowing right into our faces. We
all held on for dear life. After 45 minutes we
arrived halfway up the hill. Some decided to
pay for sedan services to take them to the top.
The rest bought walking sticks and slowly plod
our way up some steep slopes to reach the top
about an hour later.
The Golden Rock was a
geological wonder, perched precariously; it
looked like it would topple over anytime. The
tiny shrine at its very top was said to contain
a hair relic of Buddha which ensured that the
rock was kept balanced. It was a Sunday when we
visited and local devotees in their colourful
costumes thronged the pagoda to pay homage with
the men going to the rock to paste gold leaves.
We offered water and incense and prayed.
Day 10 - 6 December 2004
Checked out at 8.00am and
made an impromptu visit to a nearby orphanage
cum school at the Shifu Hill Monastery. There
were 700 children about 200 of whom were
orphans. We met some Singaporeans who were also
providing help there.
We continued our journey to
Schwegyin arriving at the Schwegyin Monastery at
5.30pm. We were touched by the trouble taken to
provide blankets, mosquito nets and mats for
each of us and also the newly constructed
bathing cubicles. At 6.30pm, there was a
presentation of donations and other items
followed by dinner. We were treated to very
special food of the region - fish wrapped in
noni leaves and other delicacies. After dinner,
Dr Wong gave a dharma talk, conducted a Metta
meditation session, followed by a question and
answer session.
Day 11 - 7 December
2004
At 5.45am, we all went
outside the Monastery to give alms to the monks.
After offering breakfast dana and katina
offering of robes to the monks we had breakfast
of bread, fried rice and special black glutinous
rice with ground sesame.
We then proceeded to lay the foundation stone
for a school with the chief monk leading the way
at a plot not very far away. Everyone took part
in the ceremony, with gentle hammering and
sprinkling of corn at the site.
We visited the Schwegyin
Pagoda where 500 statues of monks dot the
hillsides and in a special room opposite the
Pagoda, we saw the mirror reflection of the
whole Pagoda and the Buddha statue from a small
hole in the wall.
We returned to the Monastery
to offer lunch dana and have lunch. After lunch
we walked to a nearby primary school to
distribute stationery, sweets and balloons to
the 275 students there. There were 8 volunteer
teachers and we gave them some gifts and cash
donations. They were very touched and
grateful. Some parents and neighbouring
villagers also joined in the merry making. We
left the happy crowd at 1.00pm to drive back to
Yangon.
We had buffet dinner with
performance at the beautiful golden barge
restaurant (Karaweik).
Day 12 - 8 December 2004
Arrive safely
home to good old Singapore!
