Location:   Laos ~ Burma ~ Thailand

Myawaddy

The Road ~ Around Town ~ The Market ~ The Temple

A bit of a contrast, perhaps.  This gold Jedi is the main temple building. 

Near the bridge there is a large structure, our (forced) tour guide said to us "this is going to be our new mall, when it's done it will be the center of commerce, and it will bring business from all around Myanmar and from Thailand across the bridge."  Unfortunately, all the concrete was aged and cracked, all of the steel bent and rusted, and the few pieces of concrete flooring that had been completed had become sagged and filled with water and some plant life. 

That mall and this temple might have been signs of the direction this little town was headed before the military seized the nation in 1988.  Now, they seem to be outward signs of how aged that hope has become.

Our (forced) tour guide said that this was a "Chinese angel", which I thought was an interesting way of putting it (because of the roots of the Chinese story of Guan Yin).  This is actually Avalokitesvara; the Bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas and hears the prayers of all sentient beings who are suffering.  Perhaps Avolokitesvara should be freed from this cage?

The Buddha image here most likely once sat in a pond of Koi fish.

The main Buddha image / alter inside the Jedi.

"Therefore, Sariputra, it is because of his non-attainment that a Bodhisattva, through having relied on the perfection of wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings. In the absence of thought-coverings he has not been made to tremble, he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana." ~ Avalokitesvara, from The Heart Sutra

Thank you for joining me on this trip through Myawaddy!

Myawaddy: The Road ~ Around Town ~ The Market ~ The Temple

Location:   Laos ~ Burma ~ Thailand

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All Content Copyright Shaun C. Mackey