Beautiful Buddhas in Bagan, Myanmar

Serene Buddha of Myanmar

This post is from 2012, just before President Obama traveled to Myanmar.

The Buddhists of Myanmar revere the ancient, sacred statues of Buddha found throughout Burma (aka Myanmar). A place to view towering and elegant statues of Buddha is in Bagan, Myanmar. Bagan is a 'must see' in Myanmar. It is not yet a UNESCO world heritage site....but hopefully one day it will be.

We traveled on a slow tourist boat  up the Irrawady river from Mandalay to Bagan. The trip was a full day. We boarded in Mandalay at dawn and arrived in Bagan after dark. We had made arrangements before-hand to be picked up at the landing site and taken to our hotel. This you must do in Myanmar. 

Many of the stunning, towering Buddhas of Bagan are covered in gold leaf. These are huge sculptures of Buddha, that have survived for hundreds of years in the protective stupas and temples of Bagan. 

The temples, monasteries, and pagodas of Bagan were constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries, when the ancient city was the capital of the region of Pagan, later to be known as Myanmar or Burma. 

Of the 10,000 original structures, just over 2000 remain.  This amazing sight is particularly gorgeous at dawn or sunset.

Placing gold leaf  on Buddha

“Know from the rivers in clefts and crevices: those in small channels flow noisily, the great flow silent. Whatever’s not full makes noise. Whatever is full is quiet.”
The Buddha

“A further sign of health is that we don't become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it's time to stop struggling and look directly at what's threatening us. ” 
― Pema Chödrön, The Places that Scare You

Mudra - meaningful hand gestures

“nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know” 
― Pema Chödrön

One of four towering buddhas, facing four different directions

“When we protect ourselves so we won't feel pain, that protection becomes like armor, like armor that imprisons the softness of of the heart.” 
― Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

Revered

The Buddha statues of Bagan are magnificent. They tower, in their original halls of worship, so majestic and powerful, yet so gentle and kind. They loom large, but each one provides, through expression and mudra (hand gestures) teachings of the Buddha.

Bagan, Myanmar Sunrise.

Buddhist Monks in Bagan, Myanmar

See more beautiful Buddhas from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England.

View beautiful Buddhas from Singapore

UNESCO World Heritage Cella Septichora, Early Christian Burial Site in Pecs, Hungary

UNESCO Early Christian Burial Site of Sopianae, Pecs, Hungary

 A few hours south by train from Budapest is Pecs, a cultural center of Hungary, a lovely medieval and modern university town with multi-cultural roots. It is also home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Early Christian Necropolis of Pecs.  This archaeological site is part of the ancient city of Sopianae, founded by the Romans almost two thousand years ago and once home to 10,000 people. The city of Pecs, with a population of 150,000, now completely overlays the ancient town of Sopianae.

Early Symbol of Christianity at Pecs

The Romans introduced Christianity to this part of Hungary and by 400 AD,  the trading center of Sopianae had a significant Christian population. Three ancient Christian burial grounds are just outside the old walled town of Sopianae. Here are tombs, numerous family burial chapels, monuments and mausoleums. This type of Christian burial site, with many grouped stone ceremonial buildings and chambers, was unique for this era in Europe. The well-preserved 1600 year old site is, therefore, historically important. 

From the town center in Pecs we easily walked to the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Cella Septichora, Early Christian Cemetery. The burial chambers excavated here, around the Szent Istvan Square, date back to the 4^th century.

Cella Septichora, Early Christian Cemetery, UNESCO World Heritage site at Pecs, Hungary

Early image of Mary?

                                                                                                   The UNESCO Center entrance is a low, concrete structure, nestled into the surrounding public plaza and steps. It's easy to miss. Once inside, descend below ground to the courtyard chamber, well-lit due to a glass roof that serves as the floor of the public square above. Through tunnels we ventured into deeper burial chambers with remnants of biblical frescoes and Christian and Roman imagery. 

In the two story barrel-vaulted Saint Peter and Paul Chamber, the Apostles point to an early Christian symbol of Jesus,  a circular Christogram with Greek letters. The garden of Eden and other biblical stories are depicted as well as a faded portrayal of a woman, possibly the Virgin Mary. It was fascinating to see these Christian images which were created only a few hundred years after the death of Christ. 

We later toured the nearby Mausoleum, with a large sarcophagus and 4th century images of Daniel and lions, and Eden. 

UNESCO World Heritage Site Cella Septichora, Early Christian Necropolis, Pecs, Hungary

Fresco in Saint Peter and Paul Chamber, UNESCO

This World Heritage site is well protected and beautifully displayed. It is one of the largest and best preserved early Christian burial grounds in Europe. We found it interesting, well-presented, reasonably priced and like most UNESCO World Heritage sites, invaluable for its preservation of human history and culture. In Pecs, be sure to seek it out. The Center is also used for current cultural events by the citizens of Pecs. The UNESCO site was closed on Mondays.

Apostles point to early Christian symbol of Jesus, UNESCO World Heritage, Pecs, Hungary

More information on the World Heritage Pecs site.

Pecs, Hungary - medieval roads

Pecs, Hungary, with temporary Leonardo da Vinci exhibit -the Horse.

Center Square of Pecs, Hungary