Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 265, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 November 1914 — Mecca of Buddhist World [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mecca of Buddhist World

LONG before the clean, green shores of Rangoon become visible to the navigator on the. Irrawaddy, there appears above the > 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 o t 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 the 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 oi, Gautama Buddha which have so, centuries attracted pilgrims from every part ol Asia, even from the remote corners of almost inaccessible Tibet At first you, being an Occidental traveler, to the towering architectural triufnphs 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 you turn in your wanderings about the beautiful old town. Finally it takes possession of your fancy, more than any other thing that yoir have traveled so very far to see; more than the old torts the ancient shrines, the lovely gardens 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 abodt 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. Thq 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 toll upward you meet and pass men and women of all races, some ot 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 assebably of worshipers to whom it means all they know of holitfess and meroy and hope. So yod 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 endß of the universe. That curious horde la well worth watching. There are old, old men tot tering feeblyjrom step to step, equally pld women of many races; handsome young girls with blithe morning faces; Ijttle radiant children in humming bird attire; stolid, harsh-featured Mongolians from Western Cl ina, Tibetans In

coarse, ungainly and far from clean attire; squat and homely men and worn-' en from further Cambodia and Slam; pale, refined looking Hindus in snowy garments and enormous spotless turbans —all -tent 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, to overlay some tiny weather flaw in the great golden dome of the pagoda which is never permitted to suffer impairment #6r lack of attention (for your little purchase Bn 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 ftind in the temple treasury was contributed by pilgrim worshipers, many of whom are so wretchedly poor all their live’s 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 thg 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 reelin'

ing luxuriously among jeweled lotus flowers, some bowed in profound meditation, but 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 ®fscoil 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, hung there by some facetious tourist, probably, and accepted in a better spirit by the votaries who never turn anyone away, of whatever creed or race.

GOLD COATED PAGODA