vaga #3/20 Fatty "a"
INTRODUCING FATTY, MY DRIVER AND MOTORCYCLE GUIDE OUTSIDE MANDALAY
Part XX
The very name made me laugh, but silently and how many times I have to swallow my laugh because YES, it was Fatty. My Argentinian friend recommended him to me, he turned out to be a very kind man, always smiling, honourable, proud of its culture, knowledgeable of its history. He was about 45 years old and has 4 sons. I thought he was just the motorcycle driver, NOPE !!! He was a highly insightful tour guide and that was a very gratifying PLUS. He spoke English, not very common in Myanmar, since they only opened their doors to the world about 12 years ago. older people had no chance to learn English and still feel intimidated by visitors from abroad. The first day Fatty came to my hotel to coordinate two days of sightseeing, I didn't understand him at all, he spoke fluently, without hesitating for a second, he spoke fast ... I did not understand even 20% of what he said. I mean, nothing. For example, when we talked about what time we would leave the next day, he would tell me "ho ho ho" over and over again, I tried with my utmost imagination to understand what he was saying…. finally, I give up and let him continue, …. I only followed his instructions that he asked for in writing, the time of departure and return, for example, without asking for many details, because I did not think I understood. later in the room, the penny dropped , it was HO this meant HOT (40 degrees)…. LOL !!! or when a semi-ruined temple was explained to me, he would tell me “ereque,” (please read it with Spanish pronunciation), he would repeat it over and over again, I still didn't use the translator, I didn't have it and now that I do have, I never use it, it is not very good in those cases of talking, what was "ereque ...." ? .then I finally deduced it was 'earthquake', ha ha ha !!!! and I was always trying to imagine what he was saying to me. Which in the end was NOT FUN, because he explained everything to me at length at each stop we made, it must have been very interesting, but I didn't understand him much. A real shame.
My first day on his motorcycle, Him with his Lengthy skirt they wear, and I don't know how they manage to handle it. The motorcycle that would be about 30 years old. We spent more than 6 hours every day, between ups and downs, the truth wash that I had ridden long runs on a motorcycle in Vietnam and I was totally fine. But here after a while my arse began to bother me, it was impossible to get into a new position YIP ! Let's go realising that I was literally sitting on a board covered by thin foam covered by a thick plastic …… …at the end of the day PFFFF I couldn't walk from the atrophy in my bum
the video and like all my less than basic videos, sorry, it is there, but it is important to grasp the feeling of the trip in a short time, I only want to portray a few seconds of what was many hours. I put it in so that I can remember, and you imagine the ride, hearing the roar of "that motorcycle" (there is a motorcycle and a motorcycle), the landscape in motion through its dirt roads, (12% paved in the country) passing houses, some people doing their things, empty bus stops, feeling the heat, the dust and the precariousness of the place and the only one that is popular here and the most uncomfortable chair I have ever sat in comes out.
We start from this majestic pagoda, SHWE IN BIN KYAUNG, the most important pagoda in Mandalay.
Mandalay, is the centre of Myanmar Buddhism and was historically all-Asian Buddhist Buddhism. Around 1,400 AD for more than a century right up until the Mongol invasion. They came to the monasteries to study from all over Asia and then returned to their lands. The number of majestic Pagodas and the monasteries with good reputations was evidence of their bright and shining past. famous reputation, leaves in evidence its ancient its heyday. Pilgrims come from many countries, I associated it with something like the Vatican, but here there are more than 5 pagodas in this small city of great solemnity and tremendous architecture, along with the many monasteries. Several were in the city, others in its surrounding areas, generally these were built where the Kingdom was. One, because they were the most important for their wealth that financially supported Buddhism through monasteries and pagodas for the faithful. Each king and queen ordered the most powerful pagodas to be built. The Kingdoms were moving around to different places, as it was in Bagan, the surroundings of Mandalay and finally in Mandalay where the last royal palace is , in perfect condition, and it is a wonder. In another case a very large monastery was inserted into the middle of the city, today it has public streets where vehicles and buses pass. I went to it, I estimated it has about 8 blocks. It is clear that Myanmar is the most devoted country of Buddhism in the world.
From a distance, two blocks from where we left the bike, you couldn’t see much, the photos below were my first images, and it didn't make much of an impression on me. Entering was another thing, a huge pagoda unfolds, it was very difficult to photograph, There is no perception, that is, distance to take a more complete photo, it was boiling hot amongst the crowd and the scorching heat.
In this pagoda there are other minor pagodas inside, temples, altars, museums, people picnicking, sleeping, children playing. It is not well known that everything is mixed up inside or outside as it does not have external walls. It is all jammed in, almost like a maze. I entered through the main entrance, it has several entrances, it was a narrow corridor there were many shops, most with products related to religion, hundreds of different images of Buddha, large, small, plastic, marble, luminous and unrecognisable materials, varieties of incense, necklaces used for prayers and many religious trinkets, souvenirs for tourists like me. There I found my sunglasses .,. I lost them in a jiffy.
The pagodas and monasteries are exclusively ordered to be made and maintained by the faithful. Those that are decreasing in size have to do with the resources of the faithful. The idea is that they are for reincarnation to be better and to advance in it and not return. I see how to pay for the sins of life and building the pagodas and monasteries, This brings forgiveness for sins, this was taken from the book I read "Burmese Days" surely there are other explanations also perhaps more faithful. This makes sense to me so far.
its architecture is impressive, complex, refined with proportions of majesty and I mean to construct the main Pagoda they have to build the best of the pagodas" and it is more than represented and here is one of the representations I am talking about. It is the place of pilgrimage and is the most relevant in the area. Again I repeat, instead of being a place of seclusion, and it is, there is so much hustle and bustle and people taking photos, full of neon lights on the walls, altars, too much saturation for my taste. Many Burmese parishioners who come from afar only for the pagoda and no tourists. It was more crowded than usual for being the celebration of the birth of Buddha, "Holy Water Festival" and that is why you have to visit it on those dates as well as other ones.
In this complex that is not large in its dimensions and didn’t relate to the intensity of its activity. There is a museum where it shows the customs and paintings of the life of Buddha, there is the famous and huge "gong" about 5 meters in diameter that has many symbols, all with relevant meanings. Fatty explained to me, I was overwhelmed by that environment, chaotic and fascinating, with that crowd of people made everything very powerful, the architecture, the enormous images, feeling the deep devotion of the faithful. Fatty with great conviction and pride gave me long explanations of each one. For me, it was impossible to absorb everything, too much information about Buddhist symbols, history and devotions and added to that his particular accent in English. The truth is that it was a pity there was so much history there that I could not understand as I would have liked.
This pagoda is the most visited because it has the solid gold Buddha, and gold sheets attached to the walls, columns and ceilings. How do you explain this ? All the photos you see are sheets with gold and there is a photo of the column that is outside, and it is peeling, please take note of the architectural proportions. The enormous building is covered in gold. I asked Fatty over and over again if it was made of gold ?, because I did not believe it, but it is real gold. I visited the place where they make the gold sheets by hand, more details of that trade will come. Gold sheets are in common use, totally common to acquire, attached to the building is an offering.
On the columns and walls at my height there are drawings on the plates of gold with images of the history of the Buddha and the Sutras. Hundreds of metres filled with these images. There would be about 50 columns and each one about 15 metres in diameter and with an approximate height of about 25 metres all approximations A respectable handcrafted, drawing on the plates. I had not thought about the blog yet, so I did not report it better visually, but I try to convey it in words.
Jasmine is the most common offering, each pilgrim wears a pendant and puts it in front of this and other Buddha images, wherever they are. Jasmine is used in their hair every day, from the most humble women to high society, in cars it hangs from mirrors, sellers of jasmine bouquets are everywhere and who knows where else they use it. It withers easily from the heat and is easily replenished at any social level. Seeing so much devotion that it also made me want to meditate among that chaos and rare spirituality, I sat with those women…. and my meditation is only to say thank you for my life.
I ran into these pilgrims by chance or luck, there were about 30, Fatty, told me that they come from another town and dress for the occasion, children, women, adolescents, older men, they were already leaving when I saw them.
They were repairing other adjacent pagodas and when it comes to scaffolding there I am with a particular curiosity, since part of my life was spent in scaffolding. These are made of bamboo and with the flag of Buddhism at all times, everything is paid for by the faithful. Now this blog is part of my life diary and I write about the past, present and future, I go on to tell an anecdote about scaffolding that I remember with great sympathy. I was installing a large sculpture in Calama, in Chile, I had to assemble it on the spot, I hired a team of assistants, the ones who usually service Codelco, the copper mine. Their boss, was more sensitive and happy to work with an artist, he told me that he had never met one before, but here comes the story: After a week of assembly it had to be hung in its place. Scaffolding 6 levels high, if I remember correctly. There was always a reluctant assistant, working under a woman in such a masculine environment. I gave him instructions where to make an anchor, he looked at me, …. He did not move… . and did not follow my orders, so I told him “I will race you and whoever reaches the last level first GIVES THE ORDERS . I said I'm GREAT to climb on scaffolding ...... he looked at me, thought about it for a few seconds and then told me that well he would do what I asked ... ha ha ha since I said it was with such conviction that he thought twice about challenging me and possibly look ridiculous in front of his teammates, end of topic and everyone worked together from then on … … it was nice to remember, and today I have totally lost my ability to climb the scaffolding, ha ha
Now we have reached the great importance as to why it surpasses all the other pagodas, it is the enormous image of this solid gold Buddha, thousands of gold plates glued one on top of the other for hundreds of years and the faithful still do today, I do not remember the tons of gold that he has, the number is written on a sign as his weight increases, year by year. It is the first time that I saw only men could perform this rite. Buddhism has no difference between genders, but this is as an exception, how they explained to me. When I mentioned this to Rafa, and he told me that with this gold, they can melt it and supply the country with water and electricity to the homes they do not have, at least a third of the country or more. Well, this is their belief, perhaps more important than having water or electricity in the houses. These are the things that makes me feel uneasy, because he is right in his logic. I asked Fatty if he gave donations to the Buddhists, he told me YES without doubt, and he tried to do it every year. Giving money anonymously and from what I understood, he gave 50% of what I paid him as a donation. And he made me realise what a stupid question I had asked him about his donating to the Buddha
this video was taken by Fatty I couldn't get close enough.
Back on the bike and as a great surprise for me, it was that when we got to it, parked two blocks away, Fatty had left the keys in and the helmets that looked new, thankfully, without tying them down. It is a very, very poor country, my jaw dropped. there is no theft or apprehension of material things. AMAZING to say the least
This Pagoda could have taken a single chapter, but we saw so many things, all extraordinary because none was left small, which is why I include this monastery. We will have seen 2 ancient royal palaces, 30 pagodas, 4 monasteries, places of natural beauty, places where they make handicrafts because I asked them to; carved, in marble, work of precious and semi-precious stones, already shown, the weavers do the fabrics, the most impressive that I have seen in my life, they will come.
We arrived at this is the monastery but I do not remember the name, there are too many, it is very old and I spoke it in Vaga # 3 XVIII where the Buddha image with neon was and that video corresponds to this place, it is about 20 minutes out of town by motorcycle
being absolutely all carved of wood, it is the most relevant, every door, every wall and everything imaginable is carved, again an overwhelming job.
Just as I incorporated the video at the beginning, I share this with the same intention, but here is silence, peace, and its architectural beauty. circling. Here, I didn’t see any young monks, it was quiet, old, and I felt I could pray here. I felt embarrassed to be in their private places. I missed 80% percent of what Fatty told me ... and as always it was a tremendous shame.
