2007.10.02: October 2, 2007: Headlines: COS - Thailand: Burma: Human Rights: Speaking Out: Flickr: Atlanta Journal Constitution: Patricia Templeton writes: I traveled to Burma from Thailand, where I was a Peace Corps volunteer. The difference in the political climate between the two neighboring countries was striking.
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2007.10.02: October 2, 2007: Headlines: COS - Thailand: Burma: Human Rights: Speaking Out: Flickr: Atlanta Journal Constitution: Patricia Templeton writes: I traveled to Burma from Thailand, where I was a Peace Corps volunteer. The difference in the political climate between the two neighboring countries was striking.
Patricia Templeton writes: I traveled to Burma from Thailand, where I was a Peace Corps volunteer. The difference in the political climate between the two neighboring countries was striking.
In Thailand, we were free to travel and go wherever we pleased. In Burma, we were restricted to a seven-day visa, and travel was limited to three cities. We were told what forms of transportation to take and what hotels we could stay in. There was an oppressive sense that someone from the government always knew where we were. And yet wherever we went, people engaged us in conversation and were delighted to share their country with us.
Patricia Templeton writes: I traveled to Burma from Thailand, where I was a Peace Corps volunteer. The difference in the political climate between the two neighboring countries was striking.
Burma, where peace should be golden
Unrest on sacred grounds touches off sadness for monks
By PATRICIA TEMPLETON
Published on: 10/02/07
Shwedagon Pagoda is the center of Myanmar Buddhism. Built over 2500 years ago by King Okkalapa, it has been added to over the centuries. It stands at a towering 100m above the green cityscape of Yangon. The lower stupa is plated with 8,688 solid gold bars, an upper part with another 13,153. The tip of the stupa, far too high for the human eye to discern in any detail, is set with 5448 diamonds, 2317 rubies, sapphires, and other gems, 1065 golden bells and, at the very top, a single 76-carat diamond. Photo: gpinniger Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic
The golden spires of the Shwedagon Pagoda glimmered in the background of pictures from Burma in recent days, where thousands of monks dressed in saffron robes marched barefoot in the streets in the country's largest antigovernment demonstration in decades.
I watched with sadness, remembering my own Burma days of a quarter-century ago, particularly one transcendent moment of peace and hope that stands in sharp contrast to the violence and fear that now pervade the country.
I traveled to Burma from Thailand, where I was a Peace Corps volunteer. The difference in the political climate between the two neighboring countries was striking. In Thailand, we were free to travel and go wherever we pleased. In Burma, we were restricted to a seven-day visa, and travel was limited to three cities. We were told what forms of transportation to take and what hotels we could stay in. There was an oppressive sense that someone from the government always knew where we were. And yet wherever we went, people engaged us in conversation and were delighted to share their country with us.
The most famous and sacred spot in Burma is the Shwedagon Pagoda, a great temple in the center of Rangoon.
Legend says the temple was built before the 11th century to house eight hairs from the historical Buddha's head. I had heard that it was magnificent, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see and experience.
Before me was an enormous, bell-shaped pagoda, its spire reaching more than 300 feet into the sky. Every inch of it is covered with gold leaf, 53 tons of it. Its top is inlaid with thousands of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires that sparkle in the tropical sun.
Surrounding this massive gold pagoda are hundreds of smaller ones, along with statues of the Buddha, enormous bells and other structures. Buddhist monks in their bright saffron robes were everywhere, praying and chanting.
Although I am now an Episcopal priest, this was a time in my life when issues of faith and church were not high on my list of priorities. But I knew as soon as I set foot on the grounds of that temple that I was treading on holy ground.
I spent the entire afternoon walking around this incredible place. As the hour grew late, I slipped behind the buildings to an isolated spot to watch the sun set over the hills.
In that part of the world, the late afternoon sun is an enormous, brilliant orange-red ball of flame in the sky. And because it is so close to the equator, the sun drops quickly through the sky and below the horizon.
The Burmese sunset is a magnificent sight, and I was delighted to have found such a beautiful, isolated spot to watch it.
I had not been there long when I sensed another presence with me. I turned to look and standing beside me was an old, wizened Burmese man. He wore a traditional sarong tied around his waist. Dark brown eyes shone from his face, which was partially covered with a long, thick, white beard. A white turban was wrapped around his head.
Our eyes met, but neither of us spoke. I turned back to watch the sun, the Burmese man by my side. For many minutes we stood that way, side by side, watching the sun drop in the sky, not saying a word.
And then, at the precise moment when the last sliver of fiery red disappeared below the horizon, the Burmese man gently touched my arm.
I turned. He looked me in the eye, nodded, smiled and then walked away, back toward the gleaming golden pagoda, never saying a word.
When I make a list of people who have been important in my life, this Burmese man whose name I do not know is there.
We never spoke a word. We did not share a common language, a common culture or religion. And yet we shared a sacred moment.
Although I could not discuss it with him, I know beyond a doubt that standing on that holy temple ground watching the setting sun was for both of us a moment of experiencing God's presence.
And I also know beyond a doubt that although he was Buddhist, and I Christian, we stood in the presence of the same God.
Last week, this holiest of shrines was the scene of the first violence against the monks who marched for justice and peace. News reports say that the streets of Rangoon, and the grounds of the Shwedagon, are mostly empty now.
But the prayers of pilgrims of all faiths who have trod those holy grounds for centuries remain, prayers that the monks and people of Burma may one day again know justice and peace.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: October, 2007; Peace Corps Thailand; Directory of Thailand RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Thailand RPCVs; Human Rights; Speaking Out; Creative Commons
When this story was posted in November 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Thailand; Burma; Human Rights; Speaking Out; Flickr
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