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Published: November 28th 2013
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda or the Golden Rock Pagoda, in Mon state has intrigued me for a long time. No matter which way I view this pagoda it appears to defy gravity. When pilgrims rub gold leaf onto the golden rock you can see it swaying slightly. The story behind the pagoda is that a hermit built it to house a hair of the Buddha. Legend has it that you can pass a string under the golden rock where it teeters on the rock ledge.
When Mal, Min San and I rubbed gold leaf on the rock I had the distinct feeling it was swaying. You can definitely look on the rocks underside and see it swaying ever so slightly. Only men are allowed out onto the rock platform to apply gold leaf, so we did the honours for Lorenza, Mum, Ohnmar and Yong and offered some prayers on their behalf.
Ohnmar told us about her last visit to the Golden Rock, about 30 years ago. Back then you had to walk from the town below for some hours to reach the summit. Ohnmar’s Dad and Mum carried their youngest daughter in a sling, made from a hessian sack, hung from
a bamboo pole, but she would not stay still. Once at the top, there were no shops, guesthouses and only very basic amenities. Ohnmar and her family had to rough it and sleep on the ground overnight. They then paid homage at the pagoda, did their morning meditation and made their way back down the mountain on foot.
$2.50 including life insurance We had the luxury of travelling up the mountain in what was described as “a cosy local truck”, the fare being 2,500 kyats for a “back seat”, the fare was advertised as “including life insurance” all for the equivalent of about $2.50 for a “back seat” or $3.00 for a “front seat”. The truck ride climbs up a well maintained, but narrow road and affords some great views of the surrounding hillsides and jungle. Many pilgrims still walk the route and cool off under some of the waterfalls along the way. Our truck had to stop and wait for traffic to come down the hill a few times in some designated waiting areas. This also gave the locals a chance to offer us fruit or cold water for sale.
The passengers on all the trucks
Father & Son
A bonding moment - I hope the safety was onhad an air of happiness about them as they were jiggled and jostled around the hairpin bends.
When we reached the truck drop off point, not far from the pagoda area it was interesting to see all the porters offering to carry people on chairs suspended between bamboo poles, or to chart your luggage up the hill in bamboo baskets they carried suspended from their foreheads and carried on their backs. The porters were all wiry framed bodies, but looked like they had legs of steel.
A spiritual boost We dropped our daypacks at our guesthouse and then continued up to the actual pagoda area. It has been a number of years since I have wanted to visit Burma and this place in particular, so to finally be there, with so many other like-minded souls really was a spiritual boost for me. I could also tell my companions could not help but feel the same.
I don’t need proof of any sort that an actual hair of the Buddha is enshrined within the pagoda. I don’t need Myth Busters to show me that a piece of string can or cannot pass between the golden rock and
Mum & Rob
Up Front $3.50 the rock shelf it teeters on. For me, I was just happy a hermit went to all the trouble of creating this amazing place.
1940 something telescopes Over looking the Golden Rock, there is a friendly old gentleman, who for a few kyat lets you gaze out on the surrounding views through some old brass telescopes. They were made back in 1940 something, and he obviously loves his little collection because he told me he has been offering pilgrims the view through his scopes non-stop for the past 47 years.
He happily pointed out to me the inscription on each telescope that told you the date they were made. He didn’t have many teeth and had a wonderful, friendly smile that made you walk away feeling happy about the world.
Wishing stones Amongst my photos you may notice one of three gold painted stones at a small shrine. The story with these is that you clear your mind of all unrelated thoughts and then focus as mindfully as you can on a wish. You pick, it can be whatever you want, a new set of false teeth, a Maserati, or a longyi with no holes
in it. Focus on your wish, then decide for your self “when I go to lift that stone it is going to light or heavy” you pick. If you say it will be light and you lift it with ease, wish granted. But, if you say light and it is heavy tough luck no wish granted this time around.
I have tried it a number of times with mixed results, hence the reason I have not retired in the Bahamas with my billion dollars just yet.
You want pork with your bug sir? I had an interesting dining experience on the way back down to our guesthouse. We grabbed a bight to eat at a place that looked a bit dodgy, but clean enough. I started spooning down the pork curry I ordered and then noticed a bonus bug had been added to the mix. When I pointed out the bug to the cook, I could have sworn he said something like “oh, sorry sir we did not mean to put pork in your bug curry, let me remove it for you”.
Wash it down with a coffee One thing Mal and I noticed was
that there was no chance of getting a cold beer anywhere around. Fruit juice no problem, tea was easy to find, but unfortunately that 5
th precept meant not a beer to be seen. Coffee was no problem; you could select any instant coffee satchel of your liking. The Sunday brand seemed popular, so we gave this a try and it was not bad for an instant satchel. At least it got the taste of the bug curry out of my mouth.
Sleeping on the tiles I realised we were lucky to be able to afford a guesthouse; there were many pilgrims who slept out on the tiled area of the pagoda. For me the temperature was so comfortable and I was thankful there was no humidity, but for the Burmese pilgrims it was cold, you could tell by how many were buying scarves and woolly socks at the vendors stalls. So, a night out in the open would have felt freezing for them. We did not hear any of the children complaining and the whole crowd was so well humoured.
Get used to no shoes We took a walk down the many stairs leading away from
the main side of the pagoda area to look at another rock formation that, from memory, was supposed to resemble an eagles open beak. I must admit it was tough going climbing down all those rough stairs with no shoes on. We had left our shows in some locker son the other side of the pagoda area.
You get very used to walking barefoot when in Myanmar; all of the Buddhist holy sites and pagodas require you to remove your shoes. There are a few uncomfortable consequences to this … many of the outdoor areas of the pagodas are tiled and black tiles sure are hot to walk on when it is 36 degrees and the sun us beating down. Another problem is that many of the tiled areas can be incredibly slippery in wet weather so you have to tread very carefully, we witnessed a few local people have some big slips, landing very heavily on their butt’s. This could be very dangerous for senior folks with brittle bones.
No hassle stallholders We noticed at many places we visited on our trip and this was one of them, that the stallholders are nowhere near as pushy
as say those in Vietnam. Most were very friendly and just happy to say “Mingalaba”. None tried the hard sell with us and on the less crowded side of the pagoda they seemed genuinely surprised to see westerners wandering around. One I spoke to who had the best English skills told me it was mainly Burmese folks who ventured down the hill on this side of the pagoda. She also said that a lot of western tourists do not get to spend the night at Golden Rock and in her opinion rush their visit too much. Personally, I am happy to spend some money with such easy going stall holders rather than the pushy, never give up variety you sometimes meet.
Some talk at the bar Ok, Mal, Lorenza and I did find a bar at our guesthouse, which sold the type of drinks that break the 5
th precept. We got talking to some Swiss travellers who were actually travel agents checking out the facilities at our guesthouse. They told us that even though it was not star rated at all the views and the food in the restaurant out did the 5 star places they had stayed
The Hermit & The Buddha
Rock I sat on to meditate at Yangon and the rooms were worthy of a very good rating. They were an interesting couple and spent sometime comparing note son our journeys.
Morning Meditation The hardy ones amongst us (Ohnmar, Mum, Yong and myself) got up at 4.30am to make an offering of food and candles at the Golden Rock before the dawn. Then we joined the numerous pilgrims in morning meditation. I found a comfortable spot to sit on a rock, just under the statue of the hermit and the Buddha pointing at the Golden Rock.
To mediate with so many other people at the one time is a very empowering experience. Meditating alone has many benefits, but group meditation always seems to be a much more intense experience. Then when you add the location and the fact that so many millions of pilgrims have done the same before you that morning’s meditation seemed supercharged. In the moments immediately after finishing my meditation a snippet of a poem by the Zen Buddhist monk and hermit, Ryokan (1758-1831) flashed into my mind “Let me drop a word of advice for believers of my faith.
To enjoy life’s immensity, you do not need
many things.”
Do many people in your country meditate? When I rose from the rock I sat on to meditate, a monk who looked to be about 35 years of age approached me. He spoke reasonable English and we got into conversation about meditation and if it was common in my country for people to meditate.
He told me he had never seen a westerner meditate before and said he could not help observing me as I sat on the rock under the statues. He also said “I hope you do not mind, but I took a photo of you sitting there”. I told him I had no problem with the photo and that meditation was not uncommon in Australia, but not widely practiced.
Our conversation then led to a discussion about where I had learnt to meditate and he was surprised to learn that I attend a Burmese meditation centre in Sydney which has it’s parent centre in Yangon. He had heard of the centre in Yangon but had not realised a country like Australia had a large enough Burmese community to support such a centre. He had certainly heard of The Venerable Sayadaw U
Pandita who had opened the Panditarama Centre in Sydney and said that he was overjoyed to know that an Australian would have such an interest in Theravada Buddhism and Vipassana meditation.
He told me that he, his Abbot and a group of fellow monks had travelled to the Golden Rock from Yangon for some kind of ceremony. We had a happy conversation and the atmosphere of this place was certainly continuing to wash over me.
Raincoat mister? Later in the morning we had to head back down the mountain, meet up with our driver and make of our way to Mawlamyine. As we sat in the back of a truck waiting for it to fill with passengers the rain started to fall. Street hawkers never miss a chance to make a buck and we were very quickly offered some plastic ponchos for less than a dollar. They quickly ran out of stocks.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Seeking the Golden Rock Pagoda
If you dream it, it can be done. So happy you've finally made it to a place you dreamed of going. Sounds fantastic. Very cool photos. Thanks for sharing this adventure.