{"id":753,"date":"2013-11-26T07:25:07","date_gmt":"2013-11-26T07:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelcake.site\/?p=753"},"modified":"2025-04-20T15:23:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T15:23:34","slug":"traveling-myanmar-land-of-infinite-buddhas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/traveling-myanmar-land-of-infinite-buddhas\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar: land of infinite Buddhas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Myanmar: A Thousand? Try Hundreds of Thousands<\/em> of Pagodas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Myanmar is often called the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153land of a thousand pagodas.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d A thousand<\/em> feels wildly inaccurate.
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hundreds of thousands\u00e2\u20ac\u009d might be more fitting.<\/p>\n

The Burmese seem to dedicate their lives to honouring Buddha \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and building pagodas, stupas, and temples. Each structure holds relics or statues of Buddha, often in impossible numbers. Constructing a stupa earns believers spiritual credit: a handful of bonus karma points to help them level up in their next life, and eventually, reach that ultimate goal \u00e2\u20ac\u201d nirvana<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As I travelled through the country, I discovered that Buddhism in Myanmar has its own unique flavour. In this version, there’s a distinct heaven and hell<\/strong>. Hell is a dark place beneath the earth, where sinners are sent temporarily before reincarnation. There, terrifying monsters spend their days creatively torturing the damned.
Heaven, in contrast, is a glowing realm in the sky \u00e2\u20ac\u201d no hunger, no pain, no sadness. A mental and physical nirvana.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"very
very graphic depiction of hell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So back to the stupas<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and why there are so many<\/em>.
Building one dedicated to Buddha is believed to cleanse a generous chunk of one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sins. It was explained to me, that most people in Myanmar believe constructing or maintaining a temple outweighs a lifetime of thieving, cheating, misconduct\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 even murder. Though, to be fair, murder<\/em> might require a few extra-large temples. With the right amount of cash, a handful of pagodas, and the right intentions, one still stands a decent chance of strolling through the pearly gates of the afterlife.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but wonder \u00e2\u20ac\u201d is that why you see stupas everywhere?
In every direction, in the most unexpected places\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Could this be evidence of centuries of bad behaviour among the rich and powerful? A spiritual cover-up in gold leaf and polished stone?<\/p>\n

I wonder.<\/p>\n

\"grave
grave Buddhas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After three weeks in Myanmar, I remember thinking: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How is this even possible?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/strong>
We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be out in the middle of nowhere \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not a single soul in sight \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and then, rising out of the untamed wilderness: another temple. Often covered in hundreds (if not thousands) of tiny Buddha statues. At first, I was in awe. Eventually\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I hit a wall.<\/p>\n

Yes, friends, I had my first Buddha overdose<\/em>. I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bring myself to enter another temple or admire another statue.<\/p>\n

Now, to be clear: I love places of prayer. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re often my favourite landmarks when exploring other countries. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve wandered through countless temples in India and Nepal, stared up at cathedral ceilings across Europe, and tiptoed barefoot through mosques in the Arab world. But never \u00e2\u20ac\u201d never<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201d have I seen this many houses of worship concentrated in a single country.<\/p>\n

Still, despite the temple fatigue, I was oddly satisfied.
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something oddly joyful about reaching the point of spiritual sensory overload.<\/p>\n

\"ancient
ancient Buddhas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"mini\"
tiny wall Buddhas<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"standingb\"
32 storey Buddha<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"graves2\"
Buddha highway<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"can
can you spot the 15 Buddhas?<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"tt\"
the smaller the Buddhas, the more you can fit in one temple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"reclining
reclining Buddha with bizarre entrance location<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"wise\"
accidental Buddha<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"sitting\"<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Have you ever gotten insensible to a local custom or curiosity while traveling?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Myanmar: A Thousand? Try Hundreds of Thousands of Pagodas Myanmar is often called the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153land of a thousand pagodas.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d A thousand feels wildly inaccurate.\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hundreds of thousands\u00e2\u20ac\u009d might be more fitting. The Burmese seem to dedicate their lives to honouring Buddha \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and building pagodas, stupas, and temples. Each structure holds relics or statues of Buddha, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,124],"tags":[5,56,46],"country":[246],"class_list":["post-753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-destinations","category-myanmar","tag-asia","tag-myanmar","tag-quirky","post_format-post-format-image","country-myanmar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4501,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions\/4501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}