Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 264, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 November 1914 — Mecca of Buddhist World [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mecca of Buddhist World

LONG before the clean, green shores of Rangoon become vist ible to the navigator on the Irrawaddy, there appears highest point of the horizon a shaft of gold set in a coronet of gems that throws a rainbow shimmer across the splendid blue of the Asiatic sky. As you draw near the fine old city the jeweled diadem slowly rises and,takes definite outline, and presently you behold the great golden dome of the Sway Dragon pagoda, which is the "Glory of Burma” and the Mecca of the Buddhist world. From every viewpoint the radiant temple dominates the city, imposing and glorious—one of the finest sights of world in its barbaric splendor of color and form. It is the oldest shrine in Burma, the one most frequently visited of all places of worship east of India, and it contains actual relics ot Gautama Buddha which have so, centuries attracted pilgrims from every part ol Asia, evenfrom the remote corners of almost inaccessible Tibet At first you, being an OcqJ-. dental traveler, accustomed to the towering. architectural triumphs of the West, wonder idly at the compelling attractiveness of the ancient edifice that incites so much speculative reflection; then you gradually become aware of a distinctively personal interest in the golden monitor that greets you so invitingly wherever you turn in your wanderings about the beautiful old town. Finally it takes possession of your fancy, more than any other thing that you have traveled so very far to see; more than the old torts the ancient shrines, the lovely garden's and the brilliant, light-humored native'life —more than anything in all picturesque Burma. Stone Dragons Guard Approach. The, principal approach to the temple city—for it is literally a city of shrines % clustered about the central pagoda—is guarded by two enormous blue stone dragons behind which rise stairs in long series, covered with elaborately carved teakwood roofs sup>

ported at regular intervals by great stone pillars. The stone steps have been worn very uneven by the countless feet that have gone up and down for more than seven hundred worshipful years. Seats are ranged along the spacious landings for the comfort of the old and decrepit worshipers who find the long climb difficult, and above these seats are numerous very old but finely preserved carvings and frescoes of fanciful design and beautiful workmanship. As you toil upward you meet and pass men and, women of all races, some of whom are so remote from you in speech and customs and habits of thought that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find the key of a common understanding between you. Only one word can unlock the deep antipodean silence and place you for an instant on a plane of comprehension with those strange primitive beIngs whose existence holds nothing that can bridge the vast gulf that separates civilization and medievalism, and that word, “Buddha,” which brings light to every Buddhist face. You hesitate to speak experimentally because it has mysteriously become sacred to you in that vast assembly of worshipers to whom it means all they know of holiness and mercy and hope. So you pass on in awed' silence, watching the human stream with An interest intensified by the strangeness of the place and by the evidences of the common spiritual need that drew the heterogeneous throng from the far ends of the universe. J, ■ That curious horde is well worth watching. There are old, old men tottering feebly from step to step, equally old women of many races; handsome young girls with blithe morning faces'; little radiant children in humming bird -attire; stolid, harsh-featured Mongolians from Western China, Tibetans in

coarse, ungainly and far from clean at-, tire; squat and homely men and women from further Cambodia and Siam; pale, refined looking Hindus in snowy garments and enormous spotless turbans—all bent upon a single purpose. Sell Flowers to Gild Great Dome. At close intervals along the wellnigh interminable steps are fragrant little booths containing all the opulent flowers of the country, incense sticks and tiny packets of gold leaf, presided over by bright looking Burmese girls who offer their wares with charming modesty. Yon need not buy if you feel disinclined, but the chances are that you will gladly invest a few cents in a thin packet of gold leaf which will be used, later, on, tojoverlay some tiny weather flaw, in the great golden dome of the pagoda which is never permitted to suffer impairment for lack of attention (for your little purchase is intended for a votive offering).' It takes a great deal of gold to keep the dome in perfect repair, for it is 1,350 feet in circumference and 370 feet high, and it is covered from base to summit with pure gold leaf. The Jeweled diadem that crowns this marvelous temple is valued at $250,000, and was a gift of the common people of Burma; and the gold leaf reserve fund in the temple treasury was contributed by pilgrim worshipers, many of whom are so wretchedly poor all their lives that they have never known the luxury'-of a full meal, yet their poverty pinched hands are rarely empty within the temple precincts. At length you find yourself at the base of the central pagoda, surrounded by a multiplicity of small shrines exquisite in detail, but fantastic in conception, yet with a sort of appealing , grotesqueness that'causes your heart to beat faster, as if it brought you to the verge of an understanding of the strange spiritual fervor which it represents. In a vast court open to the brilliant Asiatic sunshine those confusingly numerous shrines display a great variety of Buddhas, some reclin-

ing luxuriously among jeweled lotus flowers, some bowed In profound meditation, but 7 all of them serene and peaceful in feature in spite of th Ir profusion of paint and gilding. Among the offerings piled about the shrines are many old and worthless objects such as paper umbrellas, fans, toys, faded flowers and brass trinkets, but there are also some pretty trifles of personal adornment At the feet of a smiling seated Buddha is a coll of blue black hair covered with the dust of a long pilgrimage, perhaps, bestowed by a very poor young girl who had nothing else to give. Within the larger shrines many devotees' kneel In prayer at all hours of the day, each with a flower clasped against his bowed forehead. The very young girls pray together in a beautiful pavilion hung with banners and silk draperies and many bright things symbolical of buoyant girlhood. There is even a gay little American flag, bung there by some facetious tourist, probably, and accepted in a better spirit by the simple-minded votaries who never turn anyone away, of whatever creed or race.

GOLD COATED PAGODA