Sagaing: the Hidden Treasure of the Golden Land

“After the return to Australia I found out that for a Buddhist to go to the Sagaing Hills is something like a Moslem going to Mecca, and when I casually mentioned to an Australian Buddhist who had been in Burma that I had stayed there, I could almost feel the halo growing round my head.” Marie Byles, Journey Into Burmese Silence

It’s difficult to overstate the majesty and wonder of the Sagaing Hills (The name “Sagaing” actually denotes three different things: the largest division in the country extending from Mandalay to the northwest; the town of Sagaing; and the Sagaing Hills. This chapter is concerned with the latter two.). And for the yogi intent on Burmese Buddhist practice, there are few—if any—places that compare. For yogis who have never been to Burma but have heard about the country from the lips of Dhamma friends or books by Burmese Sayadaws from another era, Sagaing may come the closest to approximating the image one had formed. More than one meditator has been known to remark, “Ah… this is Burma!” after spending time in the Sagaing Hills.

From almost the moment one leaves the dusty lanes of the downtown Sagaing for the rarefied air of the Hills, one enters the stillness and quiet of winding forest paths, past countless caves, kutis, monasteries, pagodas, shrines, Dhamma halls, monuments, and water stands. It brings a sense of calm to the heart. And like with Shwedagon Pagoda, even if a person is just passing at a distance, he/she often bows in veneration towards the pagoda-covered hills.

In Colorful Myanmar, Khin Myo Chit writes, “Of the first things I learned about pagodas, nothing had to do with the intellectual side of Buddhism, but all was full of colour and romance. Once, while we were crossing the river from Mandalay to Sagaing in a small flat-bottomed boat, we headed towards the long dark range of thickly wooded hills, crested with shining pagodas, and the tinkling bells from their htis chimed welcome to us. Colonnaded stairways zig-zagged through the flowering foliages. They looked so inviting that I could hardly wait to run up the steps and reach the pagodas there.”

The Mantle of Romance in a Magic Land

A Burmese boy and the pilgrimage guide leader pose happily during the 2014 Burma pilgrimage

"It is easy enough to overlook this magic land. Nature has endowed this land with water-falls, rapids, whirlpools, hot-spring, and volcanoes. There are mountains, gigantic caves, and stately, irresistible rivers. Upon these has fallen the mantle of romance." Khin Myo Chit, Burmese Wonderland

Full Moon Sunday at Kun Lay Monastery

Full Moon Days are always a special event in Burma, but they are especially sacred at Kun Lay Monastery. This short clip takes the yogi on a virtual Dhamma tour of three minutes on such a day, showing the many activities taking place around the monastery grounds. Whether young or old, male or female, monastic or lay, there are a variety of roles that happen within the space of a day.

Two nuns from Sagaing discuss Dhamma with resident monks at Maha Gandayone Monastery in Amarapura, as large rice buckets dry out after lunch

“People would have a fine time meeting friends at the monastery. ‘Apart from being a happy outing, a day at the monastery is satisfying in many ways, social, cultural and spiritual.’ I heard my grandmother used to say, never failed for all time. I concluded my diary the day at the monastery by the end of a perfect day.” Junior Win

“[My grandfather] usually had an interesting time discussing Buddhist scriptures with other retired gentlemen, who, like him, had found a useful vacation in the study of the scriptures in their retirements. Sometimes the discussions were spirited and they would often take their arguments to the head monk for decision. [My grandmother] would have a fine time meeting friends and she had an opportunity to do deeds of merit like sweeping the grounds. Children happily helped with chores and were taught the sacred duty of keeping the monastery grounds clean… Late in the afternoon we would come home, the end of a perfect day.” Khin Myo Chit (grandmother of Junior Win), Colorful Myanmar

Sagaing Hills from Soon Oo Ponya Shin Pagoda

“Towering above all is the golden Ponnyashin Pagoda, where tourists and devout pilgrims alike go first.” Khin Myo Chit, A Wonderland of Pagoda Legends

It is not hard to see why this pagoda receives a steady flow of local pilgrims and tourists alike, with its sparkling mirrors and tiles and fantastic views of the rolling Sagaing Hills and the white stupas peeking out amongst the vast greenery. The vast panorama includes the Shan Plateau, Mandalay, and Amarapura, and is especially enchanting as dusk falls.

The pagoda rests on Nga-pha Hill, meaning “Five Frog Hill”, so called because its shape resembles the reptile. It has also gone by the name of Dhammika Taung, or “Hill of the Dhamma Practitioners.” It is 684 feet in height, and one of 37 hilltops in this part of the Sagaing Hills. The rise got its name from its frog-like shape, and indeed, there are giant frog statues standing as guards before the main Buddha image inside. Its central stupa dates back to 1312, just before Sagaing became the royal capital. A local belief centers on a Buddha relic that U Ponya, a minister in the kingdom, acquired via a supernatural flight from Sagaing to the Himalayas, and that successive kings have since revered.

The word “soon” in the pagoda’s name refers to the alms food given to monks, and particularly the first alms offered by celestial beings ahead of any humans. To this day, it is known as the first pagoda in Sagaing to offer alms to monks each morning, doing so before any of the other hilltop pagodas. And U Ponya himself is also remembered as the first person ready to offer alms at dawn, having prepared the food earlier than anyone else in all of Sagaing. While it is considered greatly meritorious to be the first person ready with alms foods to offer, there is a traditional belief that no matter how much one endeavors to be first, one will always find a ceremonial plate already prepared at the base of a Buddha image, prepared by an even more industrious well-wisher. To this day, pilgrims hope to find themselves first to rise in front of Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, and foreign meditators may wish to rise to the challenge! This pagoda is also said to grant 14 wishes to pilgrims, such as gaining insights into future events, getting promoted, and being free from dying by murder.

Interestingly, the history of this land goes back even further than the orginal construction of the pagoda. Local legend tells of a hermit named Varuna who, similarly, also traveled by flight from the Himalayas to the forests of Sagaing. Joining with other spiritual seekers, the oral history relates how the Buddha himself came to this spot to teach them, and they presented a number of offerings. At this time an orangutan approached with flowers and fruit, and the Buddha was said to point towards what would become the later royal capital of Ava and proclaim that a great city would one day rise here. He is said to have gone on to say that as a result of the primate’s wholesome deed of making an offering to the Buddha, he would be reborn as its king. Some Burmese believe this to be the 14th century King Mingyiswa. The story ends with the local dragons burrowing under the earth in fright upon hearing such a prophecy, and the southern stretch of hills still bear the name Nagashore Taung, meaning “Dragon’s Burrow.”