1 00:00:02,336 --> 00:00:04,605 Narrator: FIRST IT WAS A LAND OF KINGDOMS, 2 00:00:04,638 --> 00:00:08,575 THEN A LAND OF POLITICAL UPHEAVAL AND REPRESSION, 3 00:00:08,609 --> 00:00:09,977 BUT THROUGH IT ALL, 4 00:00:10,010 --> 00:00:13,347 BURMA HAS NURTURED A REMARKABLE CULTURE OF WORSHIP, 5 00:00:13,380 --> 00:00:16,650 WITH A LANDSCAPE LIKE A BUDDHIST WONDERLAND-- 6 00:00:16,683 --> 00:00:20,587 TEMPLES, STUPAS, STATUES. 7 00:00:20,621 --> 00:00:24,024 THE SHRINES OF BURMA GLITTER WITH GOLD. 8 00:00:24,057 --> 00:00:27,527 ALL ARE CONSIDERED SACRED, WITH SOME THOUGHT TO CONTAIN 9 00:00:27,561 --> 00:00:30,898 THE RELICS OF THE BUDDHA HIMSELF. 10 00:00:30,931 --> 00:00:34,101 HERE, MYTHOLOGY IS KING. 11 00:00:34,134 --> 00:00:37,204 NO COUNTRY HAS SPUN ITS OWN SPIRITUAL STORY 12 00:00:37,237 --> 00:00:39,406 QUITE LIKE BURMA, 13 00:00:39,439 --> 00:00:43,410 AND THE MYTHS ARE STILL SWIRLING AND CHANGING TO THIS DAY, 14 00:00:43,443 --> 00:00:45,745 CREATING DEEP DEVOTION 15 00:00:45,779 --> 00:00:48,248 AND COLORFUL SPECTACLE. 16 00:00:48,282 --> 00:00:50,518 TRAVEL DEEP INTO THE SHRINES, 17 00:00:50,551 --> 00:00:55,156 FESTIVALS, AND FOLKLORE OF A SECRETIVE NATION 18 00:00:55,188 --> 00:00:58,458 AND DISCOVER THE HEARTBEAT OF BURMA, 19 00:00:58,492 --> 00:01:02,062 A JEWEL OF ASIA, GILDED IN GOLD. 20 00:01:03,797 --> 00:01:06,099 ♪ 21 00:01:06,133 --> 00:01:16,143 ♪ 22 00:01:16,176 --> 00:01:21,748 ♪ 23 00:01:21,782 --> 00:01:33,661 ♪ 24 00:01:33,694 --> 00:01:35,829 Donald Stadtner: BURMA IS UNIQUE IN THE SENSE 25 00:01:35,862 --> 00:01:40,200 THAT IT’S BEEN SO ISOLATED FOR SO LONG. 26 00:01:40,233 --> 00:01:42,602 IT’S ONLY IN THE LAST TEN YEARS 27 00:01:42,636 --> 00:01:46,573 THAT BURMA HAS STARTED TO LOOK OUTSIDE ITS BORDERS, 28 00:01:46,607 --> 00:01:50,211 AND PEOPLE ARE LOOKING MORE AND MORE INSIDE BURMA. 29 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,749 AND BUDDHISM, AS IT’S ALWAYS BEEN, 30 00:01:55,782 --> 00:01:59,452 HAS BEEN CENTRAL TO PEOPLE’S LIVES, 31 00:01:59,486 --> 00:02:01,722 AND IT’S A WONDERFUL STORY. 32 00:03:22,903 --> 00:03:26,407 Narrator: THE ANCIENT MYTHS OF BURMA, NOW CALLED MYANMAR, 33 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:28,842 ARE NOT JUST BURIED IN HISTORY. 34 00:03:28,875 --> 00:03:32,245 THEY ARE PART OF EVERYDAY BURMESE CULTURE. 35 00:03:35,348 --> 00:03:37,383 THAT’S WHY TODAY IS A SPECIAL DAY 36 00:03:37,417 --> 00:03:39,953 IN THE VILLAGES AROUND INLE LAKE. 37 00:03:45,392 --> 00:03:47,160 PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE REGION 38 00:03:47,194 --> 00:03:50,297 ARE COMING TOGETHER IN A COLORFUL SWARM. 39 00:03:57,104 --> 00:03:58,572 THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN 40 00:03:58,605 --> 00:04:02,609 WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE LOCAL INTHA FISHERMEN, 41 00:04:02,642 --> 00:04:06,246 AN ETHNIC GROUP KNOWN FOR ROWING WITH THEIR LEGS. 42 00:04:06,279 --> 00:04:14,220 ♪ 43 00:04:14,254 --> 00:04:17,657 THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE PHAUNG DAW OO FESTIVAL, 44 00:04:17,691 --> 00:04:22,029 INLE LAKE’S BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR. 45 00:04:22,062 --> 00:04:26,333 FOR NOW, THE EPICENTER OF THE FESTIVAL IS THE PAGODA, 46 00:04:26,366 --> 00:04:31,438 BUT SOON, IT WILL SPREAD OUT TO THE ENTIRE LAKE. 47 00:04:31,471 --> 00:04:37,477 ♪ 48 00:04:37,511 --> 00:04:41,949 WOMEN LINE UP, WAITING TO MARCH IN A FESTIVAL PROCESSION. 49 00:04:41,982 --> 00:04:46,386 THEY CARRY FLOWER BOUQUETS AND FOOD AS OFFERINGS TO BUDDHA. 50 00:04:48,688 --> 00:04:51,491 MUSICIANS AND DANCERS ENTERTAIN THE MASSES 51 00:04:51,525 --> 00:04:54,795 AS THEY WAIT FOR THE MAIN EVENT TO BEGIN. 52 00:04:54,828 --> 00:04:59,199 ♪ 53 00:04:59,232 --> 00:05:03,436 SOON, BOATS FROM EVERY VILLAGE CREATE A HUGE FLOTILLA, 54 00:05:03,470 --> 00:05:06,940 AND THEY GATHER BEHIND THE ONE LEADING THE WAY, 55 00:05:06,973 --> 00:05:09,809 THE GOLDEN DRAGON BOAT. 56 00:05:09,843 --> 00:05:11,244 FOR ALMOST THREE WEEKS, 57 00:05:11,278 --> 00:05:16,016 THIS BOAT WILL CRISSCROSS THE LAKE AND VISIT 19 VILLAGES, 58 00:05:16,049 --> 00:05:20,520 A FLOATING PROXY FOR THE LAND-BOUND PHAUNG DAW OO PAGODA. 59 00:05:22,522 --> 00:05:25,658 INSIDE, IT CARRIES PRECIOUS SPIRITUAL CARGO 60 00:05:25,692 --> 00:05:28,862 THAT USUALLY SITS DEEP WITHIN THE PAGODA. 61 00:05:32,532 --> 00:05:36,369 NOW, EVERY VILLAGE IS WAITING TO SEE IT. 62 00:06:09,836 --> 00:06:11,638 Narrator: FOR EACH VILLAGE AROUND THE LAKE, 63 00:06:11,671 --> 00:06:17,110 IT’S AN ANNUAL RITUAL. 64 00:06:17,143 --> 00:06:20,513 THEY AWAIT THE ARRIVAL OF THE SACRED BUDDHA STATUES, 65 00:06:20,547 --> 00:06:21,748 EVEN THOUGH THEY DON’T LOOK 66 00:06:21,781 --> 00:06:24,083 ANYTHING LIKE THE BUDDHA ANYMORE. 67 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:55,715 Narrator: THEY APPEAR TO BE LUMPS, 68 00:06:55,749 --> 00:06:58,585 BUT EACH IS A TINY BUDDHA STATUE, 69 00:06:58,618 --> 00:07:03,423 ENLARGED AND OBSCURED BY COUNTLESS LAYERS OF GOLD FOIL. 70 00:07:04,658 --> 00:07:07,161 [RINGING] 71 00:07:07,193 --> 00:07:10,096 THE FOUR STATUES ARE CAREFULLY CARRIED OFF THE BOAT 72 00:07:10,130 --> 00:07:12,566 AND BECOME THE FOCUS OF A HUGE PROCESSION 73 00:07:12,599 --> 00:07:15,268 TOWARDS THE VILLAGE SHRINE. 74 00:07:15,302 --> 00:07:18,005 THIS IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE FESTIVAL, 75 00:07:18,038 --> 00:07:20,374 GETTING TO SEE THE ACTUAL RELICS OF A STORY 76 00:07:20,407 --> 00:07:24,878 THAT BURMESE LEARN AS CHILDREN AND KNOW BY HEART. 77 00:07:24,911 --> 00:07:26,946 IT IS SEARED INTO BUDDHIST CULTURE 78 00:07:26,980 --> 00:07:30,250 AND COUCHED IN ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY. 79 00:07:32,953 --> 00:07:36,457 IN THE 12th CENTURY, BURMA WAS NOT YET A COUNTRY. 80 00:07:36,489 --> 00:07:40,393 IT WAS A PATCHWORK OF KINGDOMS AND DYNASTIES. 81 00:07:40,427 --> 00:07:42,996 THE MOST IMPORTANT WAS THE PAGAN DYNASTY, 82 00:07:43,029 --> 00:07:45,832 LED BY KING ALAUNGSITHU. 83 00:07:49,669 --> 00:07:52,205 LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THIS ERA, BUT A MYTH AROSE 84 00:07:52,238 --> 00:07:56,476 THAT THE KING CARVED FIVE SMALL WOODEN IMAGES OF BUDDHA. 85 00:07:58,611 --> 00:08:00,546 FOR CENTURIES, THEY WERE ENSHRINED 86 00:08:00,580 --> 00:08:04,551 IN VARIOUS CAVES AND PAGODAS AROUND INLE LAKE. 87 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,623 THEY FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE PHAUNG DAW OO PAGODA 88 00:08:09,656 --> 00:08:11,858 IN THE 1900s. 89 00:08:11,891 --> 00:08:20,299 ♪ 90 00:08:20,333 --> 00:08:21,734 WHEREVER THEY TRAVELED, 91 00:08:21,768 --> 00:08:26,039 WORSHIPERS PLACED SMALL AMOUNTS OF GOLD FOIL ON THE BUDDHAS. 92 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:31,110 FOR CENTURIES, THE STATUES GREW IN SIZE 93 00:08:31,144 --> 00:08:34,014 AND IN MYTHICAL IMPORTANCE. 94 00:08:35,882 --> 00:08:40,120 BUT RECENTLY, THEY WERE ALMOST LOST FOREVER. 95 00:08:42,622 --> 00:08:46,426 IN 1965, DURING THE PHAUNG DAW OO FESTIVAL, 96 00:08:46,459 --> 00:08:50,730 A STORM CAPSIZED THE BOAT THAT HAD THE STATUES ON BOARD. 97 00:08:52,298 --> 00:08:55,835 ALL FIVE SANK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE. 98 00:08:55,869 --> 00:08:59,072 A SALVAGE OPERATION RECOVERED FOUR OF THEM, 99 00:08:59,105 --> 00:09:01,741 BUT ONE REMAINED MISSING. 100 00:09:27,033 --> 00:09:30,403 Narrator: WHAT HAPPENED NEXT TOOK THE STORY TO ANOTHER LEVEL, 101 00:09:30,437 --> 00:09:34,541 MAKING THE STATUES EVEN MORE SACRED TO THE BURMESE PEOPLE. 102 00:09:38,411 --> 00:09:40,847 ACCORDING TO LOCAL LEGEND, 103 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:42,515 WHEN PEOPLE RETURNED TO THE TEMPLE 104 00:09:42,549 --> 00:09:46,787 IN MOURNING OF THE LOST STATUE, IT APPEARED ON THE STAND, 105 00:09:46,820 --> 00:09:49,523 WET AND COVERED IN WATER WEEDS. 106 00:09:53,460 --> 00:09:56,596 TO THE BURMESE, IT WAS A MIRACLE. 107 00:09:56,629 --> 00:10:01,067 ♪ 108 00:10:01,101 --> 00:10:04,004 TO THIS DAY, AS THE GOLDEN DRAGON BOAT 109 00:10:04,037 --> 00:10:08,008 TAKES THE OTHER STATUES AROUND THE LAKE FOR WORSHIP, 110 00:10:08,041 --> 00:10:13,446 THE FIFTH ONE REMAINS BEHIND, SAFE INSIDE THE PAGODA. 111 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:14,915 THE MIRACLE JUST ADDED 112 00:10:14,948 --> 00:10:18,852 TO THE MYTHOLOGY OF THIS PARTICULAR BUDDHA. 113 00:10:18,885 --> 00:10:20,787 COUNTLESS THOUSANDS HAVE SINCE COME 114 00:10:20,820 --> 00:10:24,290 TO ADD A PIECE OF GOLD FOIL, AN ACT OF MERIT 115 00:10:24,324 --> 00:10:27,260 THAT HAS TRANSFORMED NOT JUST THIS STATUE, 116 00:10:27,293 --> 00:10:29,662 BUT ALL OF BURMA. 117 00:11:01,828 --> 00:11:04,664 Narrator: THE COLOR OF GOLD POPS OUT IN A LANDSCAPE 118 00:11:04,697 --> 00:11:08,434 OTHERWISE LUSH WITH GREEN-- 119 00:11:08,468 --> 00:11:13,740 GOLDEN PAGODAS AND BUDDHAS. 120 00:11:17,644 --> 00:11:22,482 GOLDEN DESIGNS, BOTH ORNAMENTAL AND INTRICATE. 121 00:11:28,521 --> 00:11:31,024 GOLDEN OASES OF WORSHIP 122 00:11:31,057 --> 00:11:36,563 IN CITIES AND IN THE COUNTRYSIDE. 123 00:11:36,596 --> 00:11:41,734 GOLDEN ARCHITECTURE HAS BECOME BURMA’S CALLING CARD. 124 00:11:41,768 --> 00:11:44,771 ANY ONE OF THEM IS A WONDER, 125 00:11:44,804 --> 00:11:47,440 AND THERE ARE THOUSANDS. 126 00:11:47,473 --> 00:11:50,543 HOW DID GOLD BECOME THE STANDARD? 127 00:11:55,114 --> 00:12:00,119 BURMA IS IN THE HEART OF SOUTHEAST ASIA. 128 00:12:00,153 --> 00:12:05,792 HUMANS FIRST INHABITED THE AREA 5,000 YEARS AGO. 129 00:12:05,825 --> 00:12:07,794 THEN ABOUT 2,000 YEARS AGO, 130 00:12:07,827 --> 00:12:11,497 DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS BEGAN TO FORM SMALL KINGDOMS. 131 00:12:15,068 --> 00:12:16,770 BY THE 15th CENTURY, 132 00:12:16,803 --> 00:12:19,272 KING DHAMMAZEDI RULED LOWER BURMA 133 00:12:19,305 --> 00:12:22,008 AND ERECTED BUDDHIST SHRINES CALLED STUPAS 134 00:12:22,041 --> 00:12:23,809 AROUND HIS KINGDOM. 135 00:12:30,049 --> 00:12:32,184 IN SOME STONE INSCRIPTIONS, 136 00:12:32,218 --> 00:12:37,990 THE KING REFERS TO HIS LAND AS SUVARNABHUMI, OR LAND OF GOLD. 137 00:12:39,792 --> 00:12:42,228 THIS NAME IS RECORDED IN ANCIENT TEXTS 138 00:12:42,262 --> 00:12:44,798 DATING BACK TO THE FIFTH CENTURY. 139 00:12:48,501 --> 00:12:53,039 TODAY, BURMA’S HISTORY IS ON DISPLAY AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 140 00:12:56,509 --> 00:12:59,912 THERE IS A WHOLE WING DEVOTED TO GOLDEN ARTIFACTS, 141 00:12:59,946 --> 00:13:03,316 WORKS OF ART THAT SPAN CENTURIES 142 00:13:03,349 --> 00:13:07,920 BUT ARE TIED TOGETHER BY TIMELESS CRAFTSMANSHIP. 143 00:13:07,954 --> 00:13:12,759 THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF GOLDEN ARTIFACTS ARE ASTOUNDING. 144 00:13:15,461 --> 00:13:19,031 SOME ARE EVERYDAY ITEMS. 145 00:13:19,065 --> 00:13:23,169 OTHERS ARE ORNAMENTAL MASTERPIECES. 146 00:13:23,202 --> 00:13:25,871 THE SOPHISTICATION AND INTRICACY OF THESE WORKS 147 00:13:25,905 --> 00:13:31,411 REVEAL THAT THESE ANCIENT KINGDOMS VALUED ARTISTRY, 148 00:13:31,444 --> 00:13:34,948 WITH GOLD AS A FAVORED MEDIUM. 149 00:13:34,981 --> 00:13:37,917 TODAY, IT’S EASY TO SEE WHY THE COUNTRY’S IDENTITY 150 00:13:37,950 --> 00:13:40,453 IS WRAPPED AROUND THIS PRECIOUS METAL. 151 00:13:40,486 --> 00:13:45,057 ♪ 152 00:13:45,091 --> 00:13:49,395 ASIDE FROM GOLDEN ARTIFACTS, THERE ARE GOLDEN SUNSETS. 153 00:13:49,429 --> 00:13:52,933 IT SEEMS TO BE THE NATIONAL COLOR, 154 00:13:52,965 --> 00:13:56,068 BUT ITS SPIRITUAL VALUE IS PRICELESS. 155 00:13:56,102 --> 00:13:59,572 THE MYTHOLOGY OF GOLD LINKS THE ANCIENT TO THE MODERN, 156 00:13:59,605 --> 00:14:03,609 WITH CREATION STORIES PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS. 157 00:14:48,521 --> 00:14:58,531 ♪ 158 00:14:58,564 --> 00:15:03,969 ♪ 159 00:15:04,003 --> 00:15:07,139 Narrator: LEGEND HAS IT THAT THE BROTHERS, TAPHUSSA AND BHALLIKA, 160 00:15:07,173 --> 00:15:10,943 WERE MERCHANTS WHO TRAVELED BETWEEN INDIA AND BURMA. 161 00:15:12,979 --> 00:15:16,950 ONE DAY, THEY CAME ACROSS BUDDHA WHILE VISITING INDIA. 162 00:15:16,983 --> 00:15:21,087 THEY BECAME BUDDHA’S DISCIPLES AND OFFERED HIM HONEY BALLS... 163 00:15:24,757 --> 00:15:28,261 FOR WHICH BUDDHA GAVE THEM EIGHT STRANDS OF HIS HAIR. 164 00:15:30,963 --> 00:15:34,633 THE HAIR OF BUDDHA WAS CONSIDERED A PRICELESS TREASURE. 165 00:15:37,170 --> 00:15:42,809 THE BROTHERS GAVE THE HOLY STRANDS OF HAIR TO THE KING. 166 00:15:42,842 --> 00:15:46,879 FROM HERE, THE MYTH EXPLODES INTO A MIRACLE. 167 00:15:50,750 --> 00:15:55,955 CRACKS FORMED ON LAND, AND A STRONG WIND BLEW. 168 00:15:55,988 --> 00:16:00,259 THE EARTH SHOOK, AND LIGHTNING STRUCK. 169 00:16:00,293 --> 00:16:03,897 FROM THE SKY, JEWELS FELL LIKE RAIN, 170 00:16:03,930 --> 00:16:07,233 AND THE PEOPLE WERE KNEE-DEEP IN GEMS. 171 00:16:13,906 --> 00:16:16,075 EVEN THOUGH IT WASN’T SPRING YET, 172 00:16:16,108 --> 00:16:18,978 THE TREES IN THE HIMALAYAS BORE FRUIT. 173 00:16:23,182 --> 00:16:29,355 AMID THE BURSTING FLOWERS, THE KING BUILT A NEW PAGODA. 174 00:16:29,388 --> 00:16:34,126 THIS CREATION STORY IS INTERTWINED WITH ACTUAL HISTORY. 175 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,263 ON THIS SAME HILL, AN ANCIENT STUPA WAS LIKELY BUILT 176 00:16:37,296 --> 00:16:41,167 SOMETIME IN THE FIRST MILLENNIUM. 177 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,002 AROUND THE 14th CENTURY, 178 00:16:43,035 --> 00:16:46,405 THE STRUCTURE WAS REBUILT, EXPANDED, 179 00:16:46,439 --> 00:16:50,109 AND BY THE 18th CENTURY, TOOK ITS CURRENT FORM. 180 00:16:53,546 --> 00:16:58,751 THIS IS THE SHWEDAGON PAGODA, THE MOST SACRED SITE IN BURMA. 181 00:17:00,586 --> 00:17:01,720 THE SOLID GOLDEN DOME 182 00:17:01,754 --> 00:17:05,157 IS A BEACON ON THE SKYLINE OF YANGON. 183 00:17:05,191 --> 00:17:08,428 THIS WAS THE CAPITAL OF THE COUNTRY, KNOWN AS RANGOON, 184 00:17:08,461 --> 00:17:10,863 UNTIL THE GOVERNMENT RELOCATED THE CAPITAL 185 00:17:10,897 --> 00:17:12,999 AND CHANGED THE CITY’S NAME. 186 00:17:17,003 --> 00:17:20,907 BUT SHWEDAGON PAGODA HAS SURVIVED THE TURMOIL OF POLITICS 187 00:17:20,940 --> 00:17:25,178 AND HAS GROWN BOTH IN MEANING AND IN PHYSICAL SIZE. 188 00:17:27,780 --> 00:17:31,350 SURROUNDING THE MAIN PAGODA ARE NEARLY 100 BUILDINGS, 189 00:17:31,384 --> 00:17:35,755 MANY BUILT IN THE 19th AND 20th CENTURIES. 190 00:17:35,788 --> 00:17:39,792 THERE ARE COUNTLESS PAVILIONS AND ENSHRINED STATUES. 191 00:17:43,229 --> 00:17:46,599 BUT AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL IS THE MAIN PAGODA, 192 00:17:46,632 --> 00:17:49,768 WITH A DOME WELL OVER 300 FEET TALL, 193 00:17:49,802 --> 00:17:53,005 ROUGHLY EQUAL TO A 30-STORY BUILDING. 194 00:17:58,544 --> 00:18:02,415 THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE PAGODA HAS CHANGED OVER CENTURIES, 195 00:18:02,448 --> 00:18:06,686 WITH COUNTLESS CYCLES OF DISREPAIR AND RENOVATION. 196 00:18:16,262 --> 00:18:19,098 THESE STONE SLABS WERE FOUND IN 1880, 197 00:18:19,131 --> 00:18:20,799 UNDER SOME ANCIENT BRICK FLOORING 198 00:18:20,833 --> 00:18:24,136 THAT WAS BEING EXCAVATED. 199 00:18:24,170 --> 00:18:26,973 THEY DATE FROM THE 15th CENTURY, 200 00:18:27,006 --> 00:18:29,208 AND THE INSCRIPTIONS HAVE HELPED UNRAVEL 201 00:18:29,241 --> 00:18:32,945 SOME OF THE PAGODA’S HISTORY, 202 00:18:32,979 --> 00:18:35,482 BUT EACH TABLET IS IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE, 203 00:18:35,514 --> 00:18:41,053 AND DETAILS DIFFER BETWEEN THE STONES. 204 00:18:41,087 --> 00:18:44,090 EVEN WITH MUCH OF ITS PAST A MYSTERY, 205 00:18:44,123 --> 00:18:46,225 SHWEDAGON HAS BECOME THE EPICENTER 206 00:18:46,258 --> 00:18:50,162 OF BUDDHIST DEVOTION IN BURMA. 207 00:18:50,196 --> 00:18:55,535 EVERY YEAR, OVER 100,000 VISITORS ARRIVE AT SHWEDAGON. 208 00:18:55,568 --> 00:18:58,504 SOME ARE CASUAL TOURISTS, 209 00:18:58,537 --> 00:19:03,442 BUT MOST ARE BUDDHISTS COMING TO PRAY AND MAKE AN OFFERING. 210 00:19:03,476 --> 00:19:05,211 THIS IS A WAY TO BUILD MERIT 211 00:19:05,244 --> 00:19:09,949 AND HOPEFULLY HAVE PRAYERS ANSWERED. 212 00:19:09,982 --> 00:19:13,052 THIS GOES FOR COMMONERS AND KINGS. 213 00:19:13,085 --> 00:19:17,156 THROUGH HISTORY, ROYALS HAVE MADE TREMENDOUS OFFERINGS. 214 00:19:17,189 --> 00:19:19,825 SOME THINK THEY WERE TRYING TO OUTDO EACH OTHER. 215 00:19:19,859 --> 00:19:26,833 [BELL RINGING] 216 00:19:26,866 --> 00:19:32,438 KING THARRAWADDY COMMISSIONED AND DONATED THIS BELL IN 1842. 217 00:19:32,471 --> 00:19:36,742 IT’S CALLED THE MAHA TISSADA. 218 00:19:36,776 --> 00:19:40,847 IT’S 8 1/2 FEET TALL AND WEIGHS 42 TONS. 219 00:19:43,182 --> 00:19:46,452 ATOP THE BELL SITS A REMARKABLE FIGURE, 220 00:19:46,485 --> 00:19:48,087 PYINSA YUPA, 221 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:50,723 WHICH IS A COMPOSITE OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS. 222 00:19:53,726 --> 00:19:58,097 TWO KINGS LATER CAME ONE OF THARRAWADDY’S SONS, MINDON. 223 00:19:58,130 --> 00:20:01,467 INSTEAD OF HEFT, HE WENT FOR SPARKLE. 224 00:20:05,137 --> 00:20:09,308 KING MINDON DONATED AN ORNAMENTAL SPIRE FOR THE PAGODA. 225 00:20:09,341 --> 00:20:12,244 SINCE THEN, IT HAS BEEN REPAIRED AND REPLENISHED 226 00:20:12,278 --> 00:20:16,749 WITH EVEN MORE OPULENCE. 227 00:20:16,782 --> 00:20:19,918 IT HAS THE SHAPE OF A CROWN WITH SEVEN LEVELS, 228 00:20:19,952 --> 00:20:25,524 GLITTERING WITH PRECIOUS METALS AND STONES. 229 00:20:25,558 --> 00:20:29,295 THE GILDED UMBRELLA CROWN IS MADE OF STEEL. 230 00:20:29,328 --> 00:20:31,230 ADORNING IT IS AN INCREDIBLE ARRAY 231 00:20:31,263 --> 00:20:37,102 OF GOLD, SILVER, AND JEWELS, AND, OF COURSE, BUDDHAS. 232 00:20:38,804 --> 00:20:43,275 SET INTO THE WEATHER VANE ALONE ARE OVER 1,000 DIAMONDS. 233 00:20:43,309 --> 00:20:46,712 COVERING THE SPHERE ARE 4,000 MORE. 234 00:20:46,746 --> 00:20:52,185 AND AT THE VERY TOP, A SINGLE 76-CARAT DIAMOND. 235 00:20:52,218 --> 00:20:56,222 IT ALL PUSHES THE CROWN’S WEIGHT TO OVER ONE TON, 236 00:20:56,255 --> 00:21:00,526 AND IT SITS ATOP A HUGE DOME GILDED IN REAL GOLD. 237 00:21:04,830 --> 00:21:07,733 EVERY PAGODA AT SHWEDAGON, BIG AND SMALL, 238 00:21:07,767 --> 00:21:12,138 IS GILDED IN GOLD. 239 00:21:12,171 --> 00:21:15,941 THE PRECIOUS METAL IS CENTRAL TO BUDDHIST CULTURE IN BURMA. 240 00:21:19,111 --> 00:21:23,649 GOLD FINDS ITS WAY INTO EVERY CORNER OF BURMESE LIFE. 241 00:21:23,682 --> 00:21:26,285 GOLD JEWELRY IS AN IMPORTANT TRADITION, 242 00:21:26,318 --> 00:21:30,556 WITH EXAMPLES GOING BACK CENTURIES. 243 00:21:30,589 --> 00:21:32,357 GILDING, 244 00:21:32,391 --> 00:21:34,627 SCULPTING, 245 00:21:34,660 --> 00:21:36,929 EVEN EMBROIDERING. 246 00:21:36,962 --> 00:21:41,333 IF YOU CAN DO IT WITH GOLD, THE BURMESE HAVE SURELY DONE IT. 247 00:21:43,135 --> 00:21:44,703 THE SKILLS TO WORK WITH GOLD 248 00:21:44,737 --> 00:21:48,074 HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS. 249 00:21:48,107 --> 00:21:51,177 IN A COUNTRY THAT STILL BATTLES ENDEMIC POVERTY, 250 00:21:51,210 --> 00:21:57,016 GOLD REMAINS UBIQUITOUS, FOR DECORATION AND FOR DEVOTION. 251 00:21:57,049 --> 00:21:58,617 BUT HOW CAN THE AVERAGE PERSON 252 00:21:58,651 --> 00:22:04,390 AFFORD A DONATION OF GOLD TO BUDDHA? 253 00:22:04,423 --> 00:22:07,927 THE ANSWER STARTS WITH HAMMERS. 254 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,129 CRAFTSMEN TAKE A SMALL LUMP OF GOLD 255 00:22:10,162 --> 00:22:14,166 AND POUND IT INTO A FORM AS THIN AS PAPER. 256 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:18,538 IT MIGHT TAKE OVER 1,000 STRIKES. 257 00:22:18,571 --> 00:22:22,642 EVENTUALLY THEY ARE BUNDLED INTO REAMS OF GOLD LEAF. 258 00:22:27,646 --> 00:22:32,951 THE PROCESS CONTINUES PIECE BY PIECE, HAND BY HAND. 259 00:22:34,954 --> 00:22:40,159 WOMEN CUT EACH LEAF TO A UNIFORM SIZE. 260 00:22:40,192 --> 00:22:43,696 THE GOLD LEAFS ARE PRESSED ONTO PIECES OF PAPER. 261 00:22:47,333 --> 00:22:52,038 THEN THEY’RE READY FOR MARKET. 262 00:22:52,071 --> 00:22:55,675 GOLD LEAFS ARE A BEST-SELLING ITEM IN BURMA. 263 00:22:55,708 --> 00:22:59,445 AT ALMOST EVERY TEMPLE, PEOPLE ARE EAGER TO BUY THEM UP 264 00:22:59,478 --> 00:23:03,215 AND GIVE THEM RIGHT BACK AS THEIR OWN GOLDEN OFFERING. 265 00:23:06,185 --> 00:23:07,953 GILDING RELIGIOUS SHRINES BEGAN 266 00:23:07,987 --> 00:23:11,924 WITH THE ABUNDANT RESOURCES OF ROYALTY 267 00:23:11,957 --> 00:23:17,062 AND CONTINUES WITH THE HUMBLE HANDS OF MILLIONS. 268 00:23:17,096 --> 00:23:21,968 PEOPLE HAVE COVERED STATUES, PAGODAS, AND TEMPLES, 269 00:23:22,001 --> 00:23:24,537 ONE THIN LAYER AT A TIME. 270 00:23:29,074 --> 00:23:31,176 Stadtner: BECAUSE IT IS SO PRECIOUS, 271 00:23:31,210 --> 00:23:33,112 THIS IS WHAT TO OFFER. 272 00:23:33,145 --> 00:23:35,080 IT’S A GREATER SACRIFICE. 273 00:23:35,114 --> 00:23:39,352 AND ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT BUDDHISM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 274 00:23:39,385 --> 00:23:41,854 IS THAT IT’S VERY RECIPROCAL. 275 00:23:41,887 --> 00:23:44,590 I GIVE THIS SHRINE SOMETHING, 276 00:23:44,623 --> 00:23:50,796 AND I WOULD LIKE SOMETHING BACK IN THE FORM OF A WISH. 277 00:24:10,149 --> 00:24:12,018 Narrator: COVERING SACRED TEMPLES WITH GOLD 278 00:24:12,051 --> 00:24:15,388 IS A FORM OF PRAYER TO THE BURMESE. 279 00:24:15,421 --> 00:24:17,890 EACH GOLD LEAF REPRESENTS AN ACT OF GIVING 280 00:24:17,923 --> 00:24:20,025 THAT THEY HOPE WILL BRING MERIT 281 00:24:20,059 --> 00:24:22,662 AND BE RECIPROCATED WITH GOOD FORTUNE. 282 00:24:28,701 --> 00:24:32,205 THIS FORM OF WORSHIP CONTINUES DAY AND NIGHT, 283 00:24:32,237 --> 00:24:37,075 FREE FROM THE SCHEDULED CEREMONIES OF OTHER RELIGIONS. 284 00:24:37,109 --> 00:24:40,946 IN THIS PHILOSOPHY, MERIT ACCUMULATES, 285 00:24:40,980 --> 00:24:44,484 JUST AS THE GOLD ACCUMULATES ON STATUES AND SHRINES. 286 00:24:49,288 --> 00:24:52,024 BUT GOLD IS NOT THE ONLY GIFT. 287 00:24:57,096 --> 00:25:00,032 THIS IS A TYPICAL MORNING IN BURMA. 288 00:25:00,065 --> 00:25:03,268 AT 5:00 A.M., BUDDHIST MONKS FROM A NEARBY TEMPLE 289 00:25:03,302 --> 00:25:07,606 GO FOR A WALK, AS THEY DO EVERY MORNING. 290 00:25:07,639 --> 00:25:09,141 THEY ACCEPT FOOD FROM THE PEOPLE 291 00:25:09,174 --> 00:25:12,744 WHO LINE THE ROADS IN A DAILY RITUAL. 292 00:25:12,778 --> 00:25:15,547 THEY WOKE UP BEFORE DAWN TO PREPARE IT. 293 00:25:15,581 --> 00:25:18,084 NOW THEY FREELY GIVE IT AWAY. 294 00:25:18,117 --> 00:25:22,121 THIS ACT OF SHARING IS CALLED GIVING ALMS. 295 00:25:22,154 --> 00:25:25,924 IT ISN’T CONSIDERED CHARITY AS MUCH AS A WAY TO BUILD MERIT 296 00:25:25,958 --> 00:25:30,062 AND SHOW RESPECT AND HUMILITY TO BUDDHIST MONKS AND NUNS. 297 00:25:30,095 --> 00:25:32,831 IT’S A CUSTOM PRACTICED EVERYWHERE IN BURMA, 298 00:25:32,865 --> 00:25:36,302 AS REGULAR AS THE SUNRISE. 299 00:25:36,335 --> 00:25:41,574 IT’S PART OF THE DAILY RHYTHM OF LIFE. 300 00:25:41,607 --> 00:25:46,011 ♪ 301 00:25:46,045 --> 00:25:49,081 THERE IS ALSO AN ANNUAL RHYTHM TO BURMA. 302 00:25:49,114 --> 00:25:51,249 EVERY FALL BRINGS KATHAIN, 303 00:25:51,283 --> 00:25:56,555 A FESTIVAL MARKING THE END OF THE RAINY SEASON. 304 00:25:56,588 --> 00:26:01,927 IT IS CELEBRATED NATIONWIDE. 305 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,696 DURING THIS TIME, PEOPLE HANG EVERYDAY ITEMS 306 00:26:04,730 --> 00:26:10,369 ON A STICK CALLED A PAYADABIN, AND DONATE THEM TO THE TEMPLES. 307 00:26:10,402 --> 00:26:12,738 KITCHEN UTENSILS, 308 00:26:12,771 --> 00:26:15,207 CLEANING SUPPLIES, 309 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,476 SMALL AMOUNTS OF MONEY. 310 00:26:17,509 --> 00:26:21,646 ♪ 311 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:23,749 ANYTHING USEFUL. 312 00:26:27,152 --> 00:26:29,988 THEN THE LOCALS CARRY EACH PAYADABIN TO A TEMPLE 313 00:26:30,022 --> 00:26:32,892 IN A FESTIVE PROCESSION. 314 00:26:32,925 --> 00:26:35,060 NEIGHBORHOODS, MARKETS, AND COMPANIES 315 00:26:35,094 --> 00:26:38,431 EACH MAKE THEIR OWN PAYADABIN TO DONATE. 316 00:26:38,464 --> 00:26:42,568 IT CREATES A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND SHARED PURPOSE. 317 00:26:42,601 --> 00:26:44,369 IT ALL TIES INTO BUDDHIST IDEAS 318 00:26:44,403 --> 00:26:47,172 ABOUT THE CYCLE OF GIVING AND RECEIVING 319 00:26:47,206 --> 00:26:50,042 AND BUILDING UP MERIT. 320 00:26:50,075 --> 00:26:53,011 DO GOOD DEEDS, BUILD YOUR SHARE OF MERIT, 321 00:26:53,045 --> 00:26:55,681 AND BE REWARDED BY GOOD FORTUNE. 322 00:27:00,252 --> 00:27:04,456 EVERY TEMPLE IN BURMA RELIES ON ALMS. 323 00:27:04,490 --> 00:27:08,894 FROM THE FOOD THEY EAT TO THE GOLD THAT GILDS THE DOMES, 324 00:27:08,927 --> 00:27:11,496 IT’S ALL DONATED. 325 00:27:11,530 --> 00:27:20,005 ♪ 326 00:27:20,038 --> 00:27:22,307 MANY OF THOSE WHO GIVE LARGER DONATIONS 327 00:27:22,341 --> 00:27:25,845 ARE RECOGNIZED WITH INSCRIPTIONS ON TEMPLE WALLS. 328 00:27:25,878 --> 00:27:29,081 LIKE THE ROYALTY OF HISTORY, PEOPLE WITH MORE MONEY 329 00:27:29,114 --> 00:27:31,416 ARE EXPECTED TO GIVE LARGER DONATIONS 330 00:27:31,450 --> 00:27:35,054 AND BUILD UP MORE MERIT, 331 00:27:35,087 --> 00:27:39,758 AND THE MOST PRECIOUS DONATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOLD. 332 00:27:39,791 --> 00:27:47,832 ♪ 333 00:27:47,866 --> 00:27:49,568 IN THE 12th CENTURY, 334 00:27:49,601 --> 00:27:54,272 A KING LEFT A MESSAGE INSCRIBED IN STONE AT A TEMPLE. 335 00:27:54,306 --> 00:27:55,808 THIS MESSAGE ENCAPSULATES 336 00:27:55,841 --> 00:28:01,246 THE BUDDHIST WAY OF THINKING ABOUT GIVING ALMS. 337 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,016 Man: "IN VIRTUE OF MY BUILDING THIS TEMPLE, 338 00:28:04,049 --> 00:28:06,585 I WISH ONLY FOR GOOD FORTUNE. 339 00:28:06,618 --> 00:28:08,987 I DO NOT WANT TO BE REINCARNATED 340 00:28:09,021 --> 00:28:12,658 AS BRAHMA OR SOME GREAT GOD. 341 00:28:12,691 --> 00:28:16,795 I DON’T WANT TO RETURN TO EARTH AS A KING. 342 00:28:16,828 --> 00:28:20,398 I ONLY WANT TO BECOME A BUDDHA." 343 00:28:26,605 --> 00:28:29,208 Narrator: CENTURIES HAVE PASSED, 344 00:28:29,241 --> 00:28:34,046 AND THE WORLD IS FAR DIFFERENT THAN IT WAS IN BUDDHA’S TIME, 345 00:28:34,079 --> 00:28:38,817 BUT THIS IDEA HAS SURVIVED AS A LINCHPIN OF BURMESE CULTURE. 346 00:28:43,255 --> 00:28:47,025 Stadtner: THE MORE MERIT YOU ACCUMULATE, 347 00:28:47,059 --> 00:28:50,629 IT’S LIKE A BANK, YOU’RE ACCUMULATING THIS MERIT, 348 00:28:50,662 --> 00:28:54,232 WILL HELP WHAT WE CALL YOUR KARMA, 349 00:28:54,266 --> 00:28:55,567 AND THIS HELPS YOU, 350 00:28:55,601 --> 00:28:59,538 NOT ONLY IN THIS LIFETIME, BUT FOR THE NEXT. 351 00:29:05,444 --> 00:29:06,912 Narrator: THE HOLIER THE SITE, 352 00:29:06,945 --> 00:29:09,948 THE MORE MEANINGFUL THE DONATION OF GOLD. 353 00:29:09,982 --> 00:29:12,551 THAT’S WHY THE SHWEDAGON PAGODA, 354 00:29:12,584 --> 00:29:16,154 CONSIDERED THE MOST IMPORTANT PILGRIMAGE IN THE COUNTRY, 355 00:29:16,188 --> 00:29:19,658 IS AWASH IN GOLD. 356 00:29:19,691 --> 00:29:22,227 AS THE CENTRAL ATTRACTION OF A MAJOR CITY, 357 00:29:22,261 --> 00:29:25,531 IT’S NOT HARD TO GET THERE, 358 00:29:25,564 --> 00:29:30,302 BUT FOR ANOTHER IMPORTANT SACRED SITE, IT’S A DIFFERENT STORY. 359 00:29:33,739 --> 00:29:36,909 THE ROAD IS LONG, NARROW, AND STEEP. 360 00:29:36,942 --> 00:29:41,313 IT IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. 361 00:29:41,346 --> 00:29:43,915 MOUNT KYAIKTIYO IS 130 MILES 362 00:29:43,949 --> 00:29:46,952 FROM THE SHWEDAGON PAGODA IN YANGON, 363 00:29:46,985 --> 00:29:50,155 FAR AWAY, AND ABOVE, THE BUSTLE OF THE CITY. 364 00:29:53,692 --> 00:29:55,994 MANY DON’T WANT TO DRIVE IT THEMSELVES. 365 00:29:56,028 --> 00:29:58,397 INSTEAD, THEY CLIMB INTO TRUCKS MORE SUITED 366 00:29:58,430 --> 00:30:01,133 FOR THE DIFFICULT JOURNEY INTO THE CLOUDS. 367 00:30:05,270 --> 00:30:08,140 SOME EVEN FORGO THE TRUCK RIDE 368 00:30:08,173 --> 00:30:11,610 AND HIKE ALMOST SEVEN MILES UP THE MOUNTAIN, 369 00:30:11,643 --> 00:30:14,713 MAKING THE PILGRIMAGE EVEN MORE MEANINGFUL. 370 00:30:20,085 --> 00:30:23,121 RISING 3,600 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL, 371 00:30:23,155 --> 00:30:25,658 MOUNT KYAIKTIYO IS A COOL RESPITE 372 00:30:25,691 --> 00:30:30,362 WHERE PEOPLE CAN SEE A MONUMENT THAT APPEARS TO DEFY GRAVITY, 373 00:30:30,395 --> 00:30:34,532 SHROUDED BOTH IN CLOUDS AND IN ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY. 374 00:30:37,536 --> 00:30:39,304 [HORSE NEIGHS] 375 00:30:39,338 --> 00:30:41,907 1,000 YEARS AGO, THERE WAS A KINGDOM 376 00:30:41,940 --> 00:30:44,876 DEEP IN A REGION CALLED UPPER MON. 377 00:30:44,910 --> 00:30:52,151 ♪ 378 00:30:52,184 --> 00:30:56,789 ONE DAY, THE KING ENCOUNTERED A BUDDHIST HERMIT. 379 00:30:56,822 --> 00:31:00,826 THE HERMIT HELD A STRAND OF BUDDHA’S HAIR INSIDE HIS HAT 380 00:31:00,859 --> 00:31:03,061 AND OFFERED IT TO THE KING. 381 00:31:03,095 --> 00:31:10,235 ♪ 382 00:31:10,268 --> 00:31:13,872 IN RETURN, THE HERMIT INSISTED THE HAIR SHOULD BE ENSHRINED 383 00:31:13,905 --> 00:31:18,176 IN A PAGODA BUILT ON A ROCK THE SHAPE OF HIS HEAD. 384 00:31:18,210 --> 00:31:28,153 ♪ 385 00:31:28,186 --> 00:31:30,055 THE KING ENLISTED A GOD 386 00:31:30,088 --> 00:31:35,060 TO SEARCH THE WORLD FOR THE ROCK. 387 00:31:35,093 --> 00:31:39,531 AT LAST, HE FOUND IT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN. 388 00:31:39,564 --> 00:31:47,872 ♪ 389 00:31:47,906 --> 00:31:51,543 HE HAD THE ROCK PULLED FROM THE SEAFLOOR 390 00:31:51,576 --> 00:31:56,548 AND LIFTED TO THE TOP OF MOUNT KYAIKTIYO. 391 00:31:56,581 --> 00:31:58,817 AFTER BALANCING THE ROCK ON THE MOUNTAIN, 392 00:31:58,850 --> 00:32:01,119 THE KING BUILT A PAGODA ON TOP 393 00:32:01,153 --> 00:32:04,990 AND ENSHRINED THE BUDDHA’S HAIR INSIDE. 394 00:32:05,023 --> 00:32:09,060 THE HERMIT’S WISH WAS FINALLY FULFILLED. 395 00:32:09,094 --> 00:32:11,797 THIS LEGEND MAKES THE KYAIKTIYO PAGODA 396 00:32:11,830 --> 00:32:14,599 ONE OF BURMA’S MOST POPULAR SHRINES. 397 00:32:14,633 --> 00:32:18,170 IT’S A NATURAL WONDER MADE SACRED BY STORIES. 398 00:32:20,505 --> 00:32:22,741 THE ROCK IS 25 FEET HIGH, 399 00:32:22,774 --> 00:32:26,711 BALANCING PRECARIOUSLY ON THE EDGE OF AN ABYSS. 400 00:32:26,745 --> 00:32:29,781 TO THE HUMAN EYE, IT APPEARS BAFFLING. 401 00:32:29,815 --> 00:32:35,487 TO THE DEVOTED, IT’S PROOF OF THE DIVINE. 402 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:37,522 THEY BELIEVE THAT THE ROCK STAYS IN BALANCE 403 00:32:37,556 --> 00:32:40,993 BECAUSE OF BUDDHA’S MIRACULOUS POWERS. 404 00:32:41,026 --> 00:32:43,729 FEW BURMESE QUESTION THE GEOLOGY. 405 00:32:43,762 --> 00:32:47,399 INSTEAD, THEY ARE DEVOTED TO THE MYTHOLOGY. 406 00:32:49,968 --> 00:32:53,405 THE MORE THAT A SITE IS SHROUDED IN MYTH AND MIRACLES, 407 00:32:53,438 --> 00:32:58,610 THE MORE IMPORTANT IT IS TO PRAY THERE. 408 00:32:58,643 --> 00:33:00,612 VISITORS HOPE THE MIRACULOUS AURA 409 00:33:00,645 --> 00:33:05,750 WILL HELP THEIR PRAYERS COME TRUE. 410 00:33:05,784 --> 00:33:09,121 A STEADY STREAM OF PEOPLE MAKES THE TREK TO THE MOUNTAINTOP 411 00:33:09,154 --> 00:33:11,690 TO MAKE AN OFFERING OF GOLD. 412 00:33:11,723 --> 00:33:14,526 GOLD LEAF IS FOR SALE IN NEARBY KIOSKS, 413 00:33:14,559 --> 00:33:17,529 AND PILGRIMS APPLY THEM TO THE ROCK. 414 00:33:17,562 --> 00:33:21,399 WITH THIS CONSTANT APPLICATION, THE COLOR RARELY FADES. 415 00:33:21,433 --> 00:33:26,872 THE GOLDEN SHEEN IS ALWAYS BEING RENEWED. 416 00:33:26,905 --> 00:33:29,708 THE GROUNDS OF THE SHRINE ARE OPEN TO ALL, 417 00:33:29,741 --> 00:33:32,844 BUT ONLY MEN ARE ALLOWED TO APPROACH THE SACRED ROCK 418 00:33:32,878 --> 00:33:36,815 AND MAKE A GIFT OF GOLD. 419 00:33:36,848 --> 00:33:38,917 WOMEN WHO WISH TO MAKE THE GESTURE 420 00:33:38,950 --> 00:33:41,486 MUST HAVE A MAN DO IT FOR THEM. 421 00:33:45,056 --> 00:33:46,558 Stadtner: GOLDEN ROCK IS ONE 422 00:33:46,591 --> 00:33:49,260 OF THE MOST IMPORTANT IN THE COUNTRY, 423 00:33:49,294 --> 00:33:54,766 AND SO, CONSEQUENTLY, IT HAS THE MOST POWER. 424 00:33:57,068 --> 00:33:59,904 Narrator: THE DEPTH OF THIS GOLDEN LAYER IS UNKNOWN, 425 00:33:59,938 --> 00:34:04,342 AS ARE THE COUNTLESS NUMBER OF PRAYERS THEY REPRESENT, 426 00:34:04,376 --> 00:34:06,578 BUT PEOPLE ARE FIRM IN THEIR BELIEF 427 00:34:06,611 --> 00:34:10,982 THAT THEIR DIFFICULT JOURNEY WILL BE REWARDED. 428 00:34:11,016 --> 00:34:16,154 LIKE ANY RELIGION, PRAYERS RANGE FROM THE GLOBAL TO THE PERSONAL. 429 00:34:44,015 --> 00:34:48,152 ♪ 430 00:34:48,186 --> 00:34:50,422 Narrator: THE GOLDEN ROCK STANDS MOTIONLESS, 431 00:34:50,455 --> 00:34:52,090 EVEN AMID THE SWIRLING MYTHS 432 00:34:52,123 --> 00:34:55,259 THAT TOOK CENTURIES TO EVOLVE AROUND IT. 433 00:35:33,565 --> 00:35:35,233 Narrator: IN THE CITY OF MANDALAY, 434 00:35:35,233 --> 00:35:40,805 ANOTHER BUDDHIST BEACON LIGHTS UP THE PREDAWN SKY. 435 00:35:40,839 --> 00:35:42,374 AT THE MAHAMUNI TEMPLE, 436 00:35:42,407 --> 00:35:45,577 THERE’S ALREADY A CROWD AT 4:30 IN THE MORNING. 437 00:35:50,515 --> 00:35:51,549 THEY ARE HERE TO WITNESS 438 00:35:51,583 --> 00:35:55,487 THE BATHING OF THE BUDDHA STATUE. 439 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:56,988 THIS IS A DAILY RITUAL, 440 00:35:57,022 --> 00:35:59,625 PERFORMED EVERY MORNING AT THE SAME TIME. 441 00:36:01,026 --> 00:36:02,828 [BELL CHIMES] 442 00:36:02,861 --> 00:36:04,730 MANY BUDDHIST FOLLOWERS BELIEVE 443 00:36:04,763 --> 00:36:10,135 THAT THE MAHAMUNI STATUE EXACTLY RESEMBLES BUDDHA. 444 00:36:10,168 --> 00:36:12,570 THAT’S WHY MONKS BATHE IT EVERY MORNING. 445 00:36:16,741 --> 00:36:20,111 AND PEOPLE SIT REVERENTLY TO WATCH. 446 00:36:20,145 --> 00:36:23,849 IT IS EMBEDDED INTO THE DAILY RHYTHM OF THE CITY. 447 00:36:29,654 --> 00:36:31,789 WITH AN EXPRESSION OF TRANQUILITY, 448 00:36:31,823 --> 00:36:33,591 THE MAHAMUNI BUDDHA STATUE 449 00:36:33,625 --> 00:36:36,862 IS THE SPIRITUAL CENTER OF MANDALAY. 450 00:36:43,601 --> 00:36:46,838 MANDALAY IS A BUSTLING CITY OF OVER A MILLION PEOPLE 451 00:36:46,871 --> 00:36:49,407 ON THE BANKS OF THE IRRAWADDY RIVER, 452 00:36:49,441 --> 00:36:52,744 IN THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER OF THE COUNTRY. 453 00:36:52,777 --> 00:36:54,779 IT’S AN IMPORTANT RELIGIOUS CENTER 454 00:36:54,813 --> 00:36:59,751 AND THE HOME OF MANY BUDDHIST MONKS. 455 00:36:59,784 --> 00:37:03,655 THE MAHAMUNI TEMPLE IS THE CITY’S MOST FAMOUS SHRINE. 456 00:37:03,688 --> 00:37:06,558 ITS NAME COMES FROM SANSKRIT. 457 00:37:06,591 --> 00:37:10,962 "MAHA" MEANS GREAT, AND "MUNI" IS A REFERENCE TO BUDDHA. 458 00:37:10,995 --> 00:37:16,267 TOGETHER IT TRANSLATES INTO "THE GREAT BUDDHA." 459 00:37:16,301 --> 00:37:19,671 THERE IS MORE THAN ONE GRAND STATUE HERE. 460 00:37:19,704 --> 00:37:21,806 OTHER IMPORTANT RELICS ARE ON DISPLAY 461 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:25,844 WITHIN THE MANY HALLWAYS AND CHAMBERS. 462 00:37:25,877 --> 00:37:27,712 THESE EXOTIC BRONZE STATUES 463 00:37:27,746 --> 00:37:32,651 ARE FROM THE KHMER EMPIRE THAT ONCE FLOURISHED IN CAMBODIA. 464 00:37:32,684 --> 00:37:36,087 THEY SYMBOLIZE THE ROLE OF EMPIRE IN BURMA’S HISTORY, 465 00:37:36,121 --> 00:37:38,090 AN EBB AND FLOW OF POWER 466 00:37:38,123 --> 00:37:43,829 THAT SWEPT UP RELICS LIKE THIS IN THEIR WAKE, 467 00:37:43,862 --> 00:37:46,631 RELICS LIKE THE MAHAMUNI BUDDHA. 468 00:37:46,664 --> 00:37:48,099 LIKE OTHER SHRINES, 469 00:37:48,133 --> 00:37:52,237 THE HISTORY OF THIS STATUE IS PART MYTH, PART MODERN, 470 00:37:52,270 --> 00:37:54,672 BUT UNLIKE THE SMILE ON BUDDHA’S FACE, 471 00:37:54,706 --> 00:37:57,576 IT HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN PEACEFUL. 472 00:38:00,945 --> 00:38:03,414 THE LEGEND BEGINS DURING THE TIME OF BUDDHA, 473 00:38:03,448 --> 00:38:09,020 TRADITIONALLY CONSIDERED TO BE AROUND 500 B.C. 474 00:38:09,053 --> 00:38:12,223 ONE DAY, BUDDHA AND 500 OF HIS FOLLOWERS 475 00:38:12,257 --> 00:38:16,895 VISITED THE RAKHINE KINGDOM IN WHAT IS NOW WESTERN BURMA. 476 00:38:23,434 --> 00:38:27,171 THE RAKHINE KING WISHED TO HEAR BUDDHA’S SERMON. 477 00:38:27,205 --> 00:38:29,808 THE KING WAS DEEPLY IMPRESSED BY HIS WORDS 478 00:38:29,841 --> 00:38:33,244 AND CONVERTED TO BUDDHISM. 479 00:38:33,278 --> 00:38:34,379 BUDDHA ALLOWED THE KING 480 00:38:34,412 --> 00:38:37,215 TO CREATE A BRONZE STATUE IN HIS IMAGE 481 00:38:37,248 --> 00:38:40,685 SO THAT THE KING AND HIS PEOPLE COULD PRAY BEFORE IT. 482 00:38:49,661 --> 00:38:53,632 LEGENDS RECORD THAT BUDDHA HIMSELF COMPLETED THE WORK 483 00:38:53,665 --> 00:38:55,233 BY BREATHING ON IT, 484 00:38:55,266 --> 00:38:58,569 THUS INFUSING LIFE INTO THE COLD METAL. 485 00:39:01,072 --> 00:39:05,109 IN 1784, A CROWN PRINCE FROM THE BURMESE EMPIRE 486 00:39:05,143 --> 00:39:07,379 INVADED THE RAKHINE KINGDOM, 487 00:39:07,412 --> 00:39:11,283 TAKING THE STATUE AS A WAR PRIZE, 488 00:39:11,316 --> 00:39:14,519 BUT MOVING THE SIX-TON SCULPTURE BACK TO MANDALAY 489 00:39:14,552 --> 00:39:16,821 WAS A COLOSSAL TASK. 490 00:39:16,855 --> 00:39:21,159 AN ARMY OF MEN PULLED THE STATUE OVER THE RAKHINE MOUNTAIN RANGE. 491 00:39:23,561 --> 00:39:26,364 THEN IT WAS FLOATED UP THE IRRAWADDY RIVER 492 00:39:26,397 --> 00:39:30,801 TO BRING IT TO ITS FINAL DESTINATION IN MANDALAY. 493 00:39:30,835 --> 00:39:36,007 IT HAS NOT MOVED SINCE, BUT IT HAS CHANGED. 494 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:37,575 OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS, 495 00:39:37,609 --> 00:39:41,847 THE BRONZE MAHAMUNI STATUE SUCCUMBED TO THE WEAR OF TIME. 496 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:49,321 ♪ 497 00:39:49,354 --> 00:39:52,891 THEN IN 1884, A FIRE DESTROYED THE TEMPLE 498 00:39:52,924 --> 00:39:57,829 AND MELTED SOME OF THE GOLD RIGHT OFF THE STATUE. 499 00:39:57,862 --> 00:40:01,532 IT WAS RECOVERED AND RESHAPED AS A MANTLE ABOVE THE BUDDHA, 500 00:40:01,566 --> 00:40:05,136 IN THE FORM OF A MONK’S ROBE. 501 00:40:05,169 --> 00:40:07,138 TODAY, DAILY ACTS OF DEVOTION 502 00:40:07,171 --> 00:40:10,307 CONTINUE TO CHANGE ITS APPEARANCE. 503 00:40:10,341 --> 00:40:11,642 FROM THE NECK DOWN, 504 00:40:11,676 --> 00:40:16,414 THE ORIGINAL STATUE IS COMPLETELY ENTOMBED IN GOLD. 505 00:40:16,447 --> 00:40:17,848 THE MOST RECENT ANALYSIS 506 00:40:17,882 --> 00:40:21,753 DESCRIBES THE GOLD TO BE ABOUT SIX INCHES THICK, 507 00:40:21,786 --> 00:40:24,222 AN ESTIMATED 12 TONS OF GOLD, 508 00:40:24,255 --> 00:40:28,960 ADDED ONE FEATHER-LIGHT LEAF AT A TIME. 509 00:40:28,993 --> 00:40:31,662 THOUGH HISTORIANS GUESS THE STATUE’S ORIGINS 510 00:40:31,696 --> 00:40:33,498 TO BE 14th CENTURY, 511 00:40:33,531 --> 00:40:35,833 FOLLOWERS PREFER THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE IMAGE 512 00:40:35,867 --> 00:40:40,505 DATING BACK TO THE TIME OF BUDDHA HIMSELF. 513 00:40:40,538 --> 00:40:42,440 THE MILESTONES AND RITUALS OF BUDDHISM 514 00:40:42,473 --> 00:40:45,076 THRIVE LESS ON HISTORY AND FACT 515 00:40:45,109 --> 00:40:48,045 AND MORE ON MYSTERY AND FAITH. 516 00:40:53,184 --> 00:40:56,888 BACK AT INLE LAKE, THE DRAGON BOAT ENTERS ANOTHER VILLAGE, 517 00:40:56,921 --> 00:40:59,724 TRIGGERING THE ANNUAL CELEBRATION. 518 00:41:04,162 --> 00:41:06,398 WOMEN PERFORM TRADITIONAL DANCES 519 00:41:06,431 --> 00:41:08,133 WHILE THE VILLAGERS WAIT FOR THE BOAT 520 00:41:08,166 --> 00:41:10,969 AND ITS PRECIOUS CARGO TO ARRIVE. 521 00:41:15,039 --> 00:41:18,109 SUCH A GATHERING ONLY HAPPENS DURING THIS FESTIVAL, 522 00:41:18,142 --> 00:41:20,711 MAKING IT AN ANNUAL SPECTACLE. 523 00:41:24,248 --> 00:41:28,152 IT’S A MILESTONE OF ANOTHER PASSING YEAR. 524 00:41:28,186 --> 00:41:32,857 IT DRAWS NOT ONLY LOCALS, BUT VISITORS FROM AFAR. 525 00:42:01,786 --> 00:42:04,122 Narrator: THEY CAREFULLY TAKE THE STATUES FROM THE BOAT 526 00:42:04,155 --> 00:42:06,157 TO THE VILLAGE TEMPLE. 527 00:42:12,764 --> 00:42:15,367 THEN, THE FOUR BUDDHAS ARE REVEALED. 528 00:42:19,871 --> 00:42:22,874 CELEBRATION TURNS TO REVERENCE. 529 00:42:22,907 --> 00:42:27,178 FOR SOME, THIS IS A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME PILGRIMAGE. 530 00:42:31,115 --> 00:42:33,618 TO JUST GLIMPSE THE PHAUNG DAW OO STATUES 531 00:42:33,651 --> 00:42:38,022 IS SAID TO BRING BLESSINGS AND BUILD MERIT. 532 00:42:38,056 --> 00:42:42,327 AN OFFERING OF GOLD ONLY MAGNIFIES THE DEVOTION. 533 00:42:44,095 --> 00:42:48,132 IT IS TIME TO PASS TRADITIONS ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION. 534 00:42:55,807 --> 00:42:58,843 EVERY FAITH HAS ITS ANNUAL RITUALS-- 535 00:42:58,876 --> 00:43:02,580 EASTER, PASSOVER, RAMADAN. 536 00:43:09,287 --> 00:43:12,257 BUT THESE BUDDHIST RITUALS LEAVE A TANGIBLE LEGACY 537 00:43:12,290 --> 00:43:15,393 THAT ALTERS THE ART OVER TIME. 538 00:43:15,426 --> 00:43:17,328 THE GOLD BUILDS UP, 539 00:43:17,361 --> 00:43:20,898 AND THE IMAGE OF WORSHIP BECOMES HIDDEN FOREVER. 540 00:43:25,303 --> 00:43:29,107 LIKE THE MYTHS THAT SURROUND ALL THESE FAMOUS SHRINES, 541 00:43:29,140 --> 00:43:32,377 THEY ARE FLUID WORKS. 542 00:43:32,410 --> 00:43:36,114 IN BURMA, BUDDHISM IS ROOTED IN THE ANCIENT, 543 00:43:36,147 --> 00:43:38,950 BUT IS ALWAYS BEING RENEWED. 544 00:43:38,983 --> 00:43:46,891 ♪ 545 00:43:46,924 --> 00:43:48,359 AT INLE LAKE, 546 00:43:48,392 --> 00:43:53,497 THE BUDDHAS ARE BACK INSIDE THE PHAUNG DAW OO PAGODA, 547 00:43:53,531 --> 00:43:55,900 SAFE FOR ANOTHER YEAR. 548 00:44:00,905 --> 00:44:06,377 THE ANNUAL RITUAL ENDS, 549 00:44:06,410 --> 00:44:09,013 AND DAILY RHYTHMS RETURN. 550 00:44:09,046 --> 00:44:16,820 ♪ 551 00:44:16,854 --> 00:44:19,357 BUT THE SPIRITUAL RENEWAL REMINDS EVERYONE 552 00:44:19,390 --> 00:44:22,994 WHY SUNSETS IN BURMA ARE SO SPECTACULAR. 553 00:44:39,944 --> 00:44:42,079 Narrator: MANY OF THE SHRINES AND STATUES OF BURMA 554 00:44:42,113 --> 00:44:45,249 PREDATE THE COUNTRY ITSELF, 555 00:44:45,283 --> 00:44:50,688 BUT THE RELICS ARE NOW PART OF ITS NATIONAL IDENTITY. 556 00:44:50,721 --> 00:44:55,526 Stadtner: THE GOLDEN ROCK, OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, 557 00:44:55,560 --> 00:44:59,497 THE SHWEDAGON, A STANDARD STUPA, 558 00:44:59,530 --> 00:45:03,634 AND THE MAHAMUNI BUDDHA, ALL ENSHROUDED IN GOLD, 559 00:45:03,668 --> 00:45:06,471 COULD NOT BE MORE DIFFERENT, 560 00:45:06,504 --> 00:45:09,307 BUT THEY EACH HAVE THIS ELEMENT 561 00:45:09,340 --> 00:45:15,279 CONNECTING IT TO THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA, 562 00:45:15,313 --> 00:45:19,918 AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES THESE SITES SO SPECIAL. 563 00:45:19,951 --> 00:45:29,928 ♪ 564 00:45:29,961 --> 00:45:39,971 ♪ 565 00:45:40,004 --> 00:45:46,844 ♪ 566 00:45:46,877 --> 00:45:59,156 ♪