Narrator: TO THE REST OF THE WORLD,
BURMA IS KNOWN MORE FOR POLITICAL REPRESSION
THAN RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION,
BUT SET FOOT IN THIS COUNTRY AND STAND IN AWE
AT THE SCOPE AND DEPTH OF BUDDHIST CULTURE.
Donald Stadtner: BURMA’S ONE OF THE FEW PLACES IN ASIA
WHERE TRADITIONAL ASIA IS JUST STARING YOU IN THE FACE.
Narrator: FROM SMALL-TOWN PAGODAS TO GRAND MONUMENTS,
THIS COUNTRY IS AWASH IN ANCIENT SHRINES,
AND THEY CRYSTALLIZE THE ONE ELEMENT
THAT SEEMS TO HOLD BURMA TOGETHER--BUDDHISM.
HOW DID THIS DEVOTION SHAPE A PATCHWORK OF ANCIENT KINGDOMS
INTO A SINGLE NATION?
TRAVEL THROUGHOUT THIS GORGEOUS COUNTRY, AND BACK IN TIME,
AS WE TRACE THE MYTHOLOGY
THAT BUILT BURMA INTO A BUDDHIST WONDERLAND.
[SINGING]
♪
THE COLORS ARE INTENSE.
THE AIR IS SWEET AND THICK,
AND THE MOOD IS ANCIENT.
THE NATION OF BURMA, NOW KNOWN AS MYANMAR,
IS SHROUDED IN MYTHOLOGICAL MYSTERY.
Stadtner: THE MYTHS TODAY ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT,
AND THAT’S WHAT GIVES THESE SACRED SITES THEIR OOMPH.
WITHOUT MYTHS, THESE PLACES HAVE NO SANCTITY.
Narrator: THESE MYTHS ARE CENTURIES IN THE MAKING
AND AS FLEETING AS A BREEZE.
IT’S HARD TO PINPOINT WHERE THEY CAME FROM
OR WHERE THEY’RE GOING.
BUT ALONG THE WAY,
THEY HAVE INSPIRED REMARKABLE RELICS OF FAITH
BY THE THOUSANDS.
TEMPLES AND PAGODAS DOT THE COUNTRYSIDE
AS IF THEY ONCE RAINED FROM THE SKY
OR GREW OUT OF THE ROCK.
Stadtner: BURMA’S ONE OF THE FEW PLACES IN ASIA
WHERE TRADITIONAL ASIA IS JUST STARING YOU IN THE FACE,
AND IT’S ONE OF THE LEAST DEVELOPED PARTS OF ASIA,
AND SO THAT’S ENSURED
THAT MORE TRADITIONAL ELEMENTS HAVE SURVIVED.
Narrator: THIS IS THE MAN WHO HAS INSPIRED
ALL THIS ARCHITECTURE FOR 2,000 YEARS AND COUNTING--
THE BUDDHA.
♪
THERE ARE MANY FESTIVALS DURING THE YEAR
THAT KEEP THE ANCIENT RITES OF BUDDHISM
INTERTWINED WITH MODERN BURMA.
THIS IS THE SHINBYU FESTIVAL, A COMING OF AGE CEREMONY.
♪
BOYS ARRIVE IN TRADITIONAL DRESS,
ON HORSES ADORNED WITH DECORATIONS.
♪
BUT SOON, ALL THE ORNAMENTATION AND CELEBRATION
GIVES WAY TO QUIET, SPARSE SIMPLICITY.
ON THIS DAY, THE BOYS HAVE THEIR HEADS SHAVEN.
FOR A BRIEF PERIOD, THEY WILL LIVE AS MONKS,
LEARNING THE QUIET RITUALS
THAT HAVE BEEN SHAPED BY THE CENTURIES.
Stadtner: IT IS MODELED ON THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA,
WHERE THE BUDDHA LEAVES HIS PARENTS, HIS WIFE,
HIS FAMILY, HIS PALACE,
FOR THE FOREST AND FOR THE LIFE OF A RENUNCIANT.
Narrator: ALMOST 90 PERCENT OF BURMESE PEOPLE
ARE BUDDHIST FOLLOWERS,
AND ALL MEN ARE EXPECTED TO EXPERIENCE MONASTIC LIFE
AT ONE POINT IN THEIR LIVES.
BUT THESE BOYS ARE NOT BECOMING FULL-FLEDGED MONKS QUITE YET.
THAT’S A CHOICE FOR LATER IN LIFE.
FOR NOW, IT’S JUST A TASTE OF THE ANCIENT WAYS,
A TRADITION FROM THE LONG THREAD OF BUDDHIST HISTORY
THAT PREDATES BURMA AS A NATION,
BUT EVENTUALLY HELPED STITCH IT TOGETHER.
FOR CENTURIES, THIS LAND WAS A PATCHWORK
OF ETHNIC GROUPS AND SMALL KINGDOMS.
HISTORIANS CAN ONLY SKETCH
THE BASIC OUTLINES OF GEOGRAPHY AND TIME,
DRAWN FROM ANCIENT INSCRIPTIONS AND ARTIFACTS,
BUT MOST DETAILS ARE UNKNOWN.
IN THAT FACTUAL VACUUM, MANY MYTHS HAVE EVOLVED,
STORIES THAT MANY BURMESE RECOUNT AS REAL.
IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE HISTORY, YOU BUILD THE MYTHOLOGY,
AND NO COUNTRY HAS SPUN ITS OWN SPIRITUAL STORY
QUITE LIKE BURMA.
Stadtner: AND SO MANY OF THESE MYTHS THAT GREW UP
WERE EFFORTS TO EXPLAIN MONUMENTS
WHERE THE ORIGINAL HISTORY WAS LARGELY LOST.
Narrator: ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCES OF MYTHOLOGY
IS THE GLASS PALACE CHRONICLE.
WRITTEN AROUND 1829, IT WAS AN EFFORT TO COMPILE
CENTURIES OF BURMESE HISTORY INTO ONE DOCUMENT.
IT WAS WRITTEN ON PALM LEAVES, A PAINSTAKINGLY SLOW PROCESS.
COPIES WERE MADE BY HAND.
BY 1923, SOME OF IT
WAS TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH AND PRINTED.
THE HISTORY IT PORTRAYS
IS CONSIDERED FLAWED BY TIME AND MOTIVES,
BUT IT REMAINS REMARKABLE IN SCOPE.
THE GENERAL OUTLINES OF THE KINGDOMS AND DYNASTIES
MAY BE HISTORICAL FACT,
BUT THE FANTASTICAL STORIES OF MYTHOLOGY
ARE CLEARLY WORKS OF FAITH.
THE BURMESE CONSIDER IT AS CLOSE TO TRUTH AS THEY’LL EVER GET
AND EMBRACE IT AS A SOURCE
OF BUDDHIST LORE AND NATIONAL IDENTITY.
Stadtner: I CALL IT THE FUNNEL
THROUGH WHICH BURMESE TODAY HAVE INTERPRETED THEIR HISTORY,
FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE.
♪
Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE GLASS PALACE CHRONICLE,
THIS IDENTITY STARTED TAKING SHAPE
AT THE TURN OF THE LAST MILLENNIUM.
THE YEAR--1044.
KING ANAWRAHTA HAD JUST ASSUMED THE THRONE OF PAGAN,
ONE SMALL CITY-STATE AMONG MANY.
IN JUST A FEW CENTURIES,
IT WOULD BECOME THE PAGAN KINGDOM,
AN EXPANSE THAT LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR MODERN BURMA.
KING ANAWRAHTA WAS REGARDED AS AN AMBITIOUS POLITICIAN
AND A SKILLED SOLDIER.
HE EXPANDED THE PAGAN KINGDOM
WITH THE HELP OF HIS SON, KYANSITTHA.
THEIR ARMIES CONQUERED OTHERS
TO EXPAND TERRITORY AND SPREAD IDEOLOGY.
♪
ONE STORY DESCRIBES THE MOMENT
OF THE KING’S CONVERSION TO BUDDHISM
AND THE SEED OF RELIGIOUS CONFORMITY FOR AN ENTIRE NATION.
ABOUT 10 YEARS INTO HIS RULE, A HUNTER ARRIVED
WITH A STRANGE BUDDHIST MONK HE’D MET IN THE FOREST.
NO ONE RECOGNIZED THIS OUTSIDER,
AND THE KING WAS INTRIGUED BY HIS PECULIAR WAYS,
SO HE DECIDED TO TEST HIM.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO LEGEND,
THE MONK BEGAN TO WALK, OBLIVIOUS TO HIS SURROUNDINGS.
HE HEADED STRAIGHT FOR THE KING’S THRONE
AND SAT HIMSELF DOWN.
IT WAS AN UNIMAGINABLE ACT.
Narrator: THE MONK’S NAME WAS SHIN ARAHAN,
AND HE HAD JUST SPOKEN THE BASIC TENETS
OF A BRANCH OF BUDDHISM CALLED THERAVADA.
Stadtner: MYTHOLOGY AROSE
TO EXPLAIN HOW THIS KINGDOM BECAME BUDDHIST,
AND IT WASN’T SIMPLY BUDDHIST.
IT WAS A VERY PARTICULAR TYPE OF BUDDHISM,
ONE THAT WE CALL TODAY THERAVADA BUDDHISM.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO MYTHOLOGY,
THERAVADA BUDDHISM WAS PRECEDED BY THE ARI FAITH,
A SURPRISING FLAVOR OF RELIGION.
DEEP INSIDE A TEMPLE
ARE STORIES THAT SHOW THE STATE OF SPIRITUALITY
BEFORE THE BUDDHIST REVIVAL.
PAINTINGS DEPICT LITTLE MORE THAN A CODE OF CORRUPTION.
NAKED MONKS WITH HAIR AND MUSTACHES CAROUSING WITH WOMEN.
TALES OF IGNORING BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS
AND MISLEADING HIS FOLLOWERS.
THE GLASS PALACE CHRONICLE SPINS A SORDID TALE,
DESCRIBING WHAT APPEARS TO BE THE MONKS’ SELF-WRITTEN RULES
FAVORING DEBAUCHERY OVER DEVOTION.
NO MATTER HOW HEINOUS A CRIME AN ARI MONK COMMITTED,
EVEN KILLING THEIR OWN PARENTS,
ALL WOULD BE FORGIVEN IF THEY SIMPLY RECITED SCRIPTURE.
AND MONKS APPEARED TO WIELD POWER
TO SATISFY THEIR OWN DESIRES.
BEFORE ANY WEDDING,
THE BRIDE WOULD BE HANDED OVER TO THE MONKS
FOR A CEREMONY CALLED THE FLOWER OF VIRGINITY.
BUT ACCORDING TO THE MYTHS,
BUDDHISM WAS ABOUT TO FLOURISH AND PURIFY THE KINGDOM.
Stadtner: IN BUDDHISM, THERE’S A STRONG HISTORY
OF REVIVALS AND PURIFICATIONS ON THE PART OF KINGS.
NOT REVOLUTION, BUT PURIFICATION.
Narrator: SO WHEN KING ANAWRAHTA HEARD THE PURITY OF THE WORDS
FROM THE STRANGE MONK SITTING ON HIS THRONE, HE WAS SOLD.
THERAVADA BUDDHISM WAS THE NEW WAY,
AND THE KING WOULD SPREAD IT PEACEFULLY OR NOT.
KING ANAWRAHTA MADE SHIN ARAHAN THE STATE PRIEST,
AND TOGETHER THEY DREW UP PLANS FOR RELIGIOUS REFORM.
FIRST, THEY NEEDED THE SCRIPTURES
OF THIS NEW BRANCH OF BUDDHISM.
IT’S CALLED THE PALI CANON,
BUT IT WAS NOT WITHIN THE PAGAN KINGDOM’S TERRITORY.
DESPITE WESTERN PERCEPTIONS OF BUDDHISM,
IT HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN A DOCILE FAITH.
Stadtner: BUDDHISM HAS BEEN GIVEN A PASS IN THE WEST,
AND IT’S A MYSTERY TO SPECIALISTS
BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTLESS WARS
COMMITTED IN ITS NAME.
Narrator: THE PALI CANON WAS RESTING IN THATON,
ANOTHER SMALL KINGDOM IN WHAT IS NOW SOUTHERN BURMA.
IN 1057, ANAWRAHTA LED HIS ARMY TO TRY TO TAKE IT OVER.
AFTER THREE MONTHS OF FIGHTING,
THATON FELL TO THE PAGAN KINGDOM.
ITS TERRITORY WAS EXPANDING.
THE KING TOOK THE SPOILS OF WAR--
THE PALI CANON SCRIPTURES, JEWELS, AND 30,000 PEOPLE--
AND MARCHED THEM BACK TO PAGAN CITY.
THEY WERE SCHOLARS, ARTISANS, MONKS--
PEOPLE THAT WOULD HELP SOLIDIFY
AND SPREAD PAGAN’S NEW STATE RELIGION.
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT PRIZE OF ALL WAS THE PALI CANON.
THEY ARE THE FIRST KNOWN SCRIPTURES
OF THERAVADA BUDDHISM, INCLUDING RECORDS OF BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS.
BY THE TIME KING ANAWRAHTA GOT HIS HANDS ON THEM,
THEY WERE ALREADY 1,000 YEARS OLD,
DATING BACK TO THE TIME OF CHRIST.
TODAY, THE DELICATE PROCESS OF COPYING THE SCRIPTURES
CAN BE REPLICATED.
THE LEAVES WERE SOAKED IN RICE WATER AND DRIED IN THE SUN,
GIVING THEM A PAPER-LIKE QUALITY.
THEN COPIES WERE HANDWRITTEN, ONE BY ONE,
ALLOWING THE KING TO DISTRIBUTE THEM THROUGHOUT HIS TERRITORY.
Stadtner: AND IT WAS THIS INTRODUCTION OF THE SCRIPTURES
THAT LED TO THIS FOUNTAINHEAD OF THERAVADA BUDDHISM,
BUT IT’S MYTH.
Narrator: COPIES OF THE PALI CANON WERE THE AMMUNITION
THE KING NEEDED TO SPREAD THIS FAITH, IF NEEDED, BY FORCE.
BUT WORDS ALONE WOULD NOT BE ENOUGH
FOR A RELIGIOUS TRANSFORMATION.
♪
ACCORDING TO LEGEND,
JUST TWO YEARS AFTER GETTING HOLD OF THE PALI CANON,
ANAWRAHTA WAS GIVEN A REPLICA OF THE BUDDHA’S SACRED TOOTH.
HE THEN SET IT UPON A WHITE ELEPHANT
ON THE BANKS OF THE IRRAWADDY RIVER.
♪
WHERE THE ELEPHANT CHOSE TO KNEEL,
THE TOOTH WOULD BE ENSHRINED IN A NEW PAGODA.
[TRUMPETS]
♪
ANAWRAHTA ORDERED THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MASSIVE PAGODA
AT THE VERY SPOT WHERE THE WHITE ELEPHANT KNEELED.
♪
IT BECAME THE SHWEZIGON PAGODA.
RISING 160 FEET INTO THE AIR,
SHWEZIGON BECAME THE LARGEST PAGODA IN THE PAGAN KINGDOM.
♪
THE EXTERIOR IS A GOLDEN MASTERPIECE,
HIDING THE INTERIOR RELIC CHAMBER,
WHICH IS COMPLETELY ENTOMBED.
WITH THREE LEVELS,
THE TERRACE HAS STONE PLAQUES DEPICTING THE LIFE OF BUDDHA.
IN BUILDING THE SHWEZIGON, KING ANAWRAHTA CREATED A SHRINE
TO HELP CEMENT THIS NEW BRANCH OF BUDDHISM INTO PAGAN CULTURE.
Bob Hudson: HE WAS SAYING TO THE PEOPLE,
"HERE IS A BUILDING THAT REPRESENTS
"THE NEW BUDDHISM THAT WE’VE JUST ADOPTED.
"HERE IS A BUILDING THAT REPRESENTS THE UNITED NATION
"THAT, AS A ROYAL LEADER,
"I WANT TO BRING UNDER MY CONTROL,
"AND HERE IS THE SYMBOL
"OF THE GREAT REVOLUTION THAT’S HAPPENED IN BUDDHISM,
AND WE’RE TELLING THE WORLD ABOUT IT."
Narrator: BUT IT WAS ALSO CONSIDERED
A PERSONAL ACT OF MERIT, AN OFFERING TO BUDDHA,
THAT THE KING HOPED WOULD BE RECIPROCATED IN HIS NEXT LIFE.
Hudson: EVERY KING OF PAGAN BUILT A WORK OF MERIT,
A BUILDING THAT WOULD BENEFIT HIM SPIRITUALLY
IN HIS FUTURE LIVES.
SO, WHEN KING ANAWRAHTA BUILT THE SHWEZIGON,
FIRST OF ALL, HE WAS DOING IT FOR HIMSELF.
THIS WAS HIS PATH TO NIRVANA.
Narrator: THE GLASS PALACE CHRONICLE RECOUNTS LEGENDS
OF HOW KINGS LIKE ANAWRAHTA
SPREAD THE INFLUENCE OF THERAVADA BUDDHISM
THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF SUCH SHRINES.
SHWEZIGON WAS JUST THE FIRST.
BUT BUILDING TEMPLES
AND DISTRIBUTING COPIES OF THE SCRIPTURES
WAS ONLY PART OF THE EFFORT.
TO EFFECTIVELY SPREAD AND ENFORCE
THIS NEW BRANCH OF BUDDHISM,
THE KING NEEDED STRUCTURE AND STABILITY AMONG THE MONKS
TO BUILD A MORE ORGANIZED RELIGION.
♪
FROM NOW ON, MONKS UNDERWENT TRAINING
TO LEARN THE MONASTIC WAYS OF THE NEW FAITH.
SHIN ARAHAN, THE MONK WHO CONVERTED THE KING
AND WAS NOW STATE PRIEST,
HELPED SOLIDIFY AND STANDARDIZE THESE NEW BUDDHIST PRACTICES
IN THE GROWING KINGDOM.
HE HELPED ESTABLISH A BUDDHIST COUNCIL,
A CENTRALIZED STATE NETWORK
THAT CONNECTED MONKS OF DIFFERENT RANKS.
AS THE COUNCIL BECAME MORE POWERFUL,
CHANGES BEGAN TO SPREAD.
LEGENDS DESCRIBE A KINGDOM
THAT BEGAN LOOKING MORE LIKE A COUNTRY,
WITH TEMPLES ACTING AS GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
LOCAL BUDDHIST TEMPLES DOUBLED AS SCHOOLS.
MONKS TAUGHT VILLAGERS TO READ AND WRITE
THROUGH BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE LESSONS.
Hudson: VERY OFTEN, THE MONKS WERE THE EDUCATORS.
THEY WOULD TEACH PEOPLE NOT JUST RELIGION,
BUT READING AND WRITING AND, PERHAPS,
ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES SO THEY COULD GO ON AND HELP THE KING.
Narrator: SOME CREDIT THIS PRACTICE
FOR PUTTING BURMA ON A PATH TO WIDESPREAD LITERACY
LONG BEFORE OTHER CULTURES.
BY THE 1800s, ONE VISITOR REMARKED
THAT THE BURMESE APPEARED TO HAVE A HIGHER LITERACY RATE
THAN THE BRITISH.
IT ALL STEMS FROM CENTURIES EARLIER,
WHEN THE LOCAL TEMPLE WAS THE COMMUNITY HUB.
IT ALLOWED ONE KING TO SPREAD HIS POWER,
WEAVING RELIGION AND POLITICS TO HIS ADVANTAGE.
Hudson: ANAWRAHTA REALLY MADE BUDDHISM HIS POLITICAL PARTNER,
AND SO IT WAS A GREAT COMBINATION
AND AN INSEPARABLE COMBINATION,
AND TO THE PEOPLE, THE RULE WAS IF YOU LOVE BUDDHISM,
THEN YOU MUST ALSO LOVE THE KING.
Narrator: WHILE BUDDHIST REFORMS SWEPT THROUGH THE PAGAN KINGDOM,
ARMIES WERE ON THE MARCH TO CONQUER NEIGHBORS
AND EXPAND TERRITORY.
THE EMPIRE WAS GROWING,
AND THE NEW RELIGIOUS FERVOR BEHIND IT SPREAD IN ITS WAKE.
EVIDENCE OF THIS ERA HAS SINCE BEEN UNEARTHED.
THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATES ANAWRAHTA’S DEDICATION TO BUDDHA
AND MAY HAVE BEEN USED AS A MARKER OF EXPANDING TERRITORY.
SIMILAR PLAQUES, ALL FEATURING IMAGES OF BUDDHA,
HAVE BEEN FOUND ALL OVER MODERN BURMA.
THEY REVEAL THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF THE PAGAN KINGDOM.
Stadtner: AND SO WITH THE INSCRIPTIONS
AND WITH THESE TABLETS,
WE CAN ASSUME THAT THE KINGDOM OF PAGAN,
BY THE LATE 11th CENTURY,
HAD EXTENDED INTO WHAT WE KNOW AS LOWER BURMA AND UPPER BURMA.
Narrator: THESE ARTIFACTS HELP SKETCH A BASIC HISTORY,
BUT THE BURMESE HAVE ADDED
THE MYTHICAL AND IRRESISTIBLE ELEMENTS OF HUMAN DRAMA
TO THE KINGDOM’S STORY.
Stadtner: I THINK THERE WAS SUCH AN IMPETUS
TO GIVE EACH OF THESE KINGS A COLORFUL BIOGRAPHY
THAT HAD LITTLE TO DO WITH WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THEM.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO LEGEND,
KING ANAWRAHTA’S SON, PRINCE KYANSITTHA,
LED A BATTLE TO REPEL INVADERS.
GRATEFUL FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE KING’S ARMY,
THE LOCAL VICEROY SENT THE KING A GIFT,
HIS BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER, KHIN U.
IT WAS THE PRINCE’S DUTY
TO ESCORT THE YOUNG WOMAN BACK TO THE KING,
BUT INSTEAD, HE FELL IN LOVE WITH HER.
♪
THIS ANCIENT MYTH REVEALS A TIMELESS UNIVERSAL TRUTH--
FEW CAN RESIST A GOOD LOVE STORY,
BUT THE STORY IS NOT THAT SIMPLE.
THE KING WAS IRATE THAT HIS SON HAD FALLEN IN LOVE
WITH THE WOMAN MEANT TO BE HIS QUEEN.
Narrator: THE KING WAS DISHONORED BY HIS OWN SON.
PRINCE KYANSITTHA WAS SENT INTO EXILE, LEAVING KHIN U A QUEEN,
BUT NOT WITH THE MAN SHE LOVED.
HOWEVER, THE MYTHICAL TALE DOES NOT END THERE.
RELIGION HELPED PROPEL THE PAGAN DYNASTY
TO TRANSFORM CITIES AND COUNTRYSIDE
WITH ARCHITECTURAL MARVELS.
IN THE 13th CENTURY, A VISITING MONK FROM SRI LANKA
DESCRIBED THE CITY OF PAGAN WITH ENCHANTMENT.
Man: THIS CAPTIVATING CITY
IS AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE LAND OF BUDDHA ITSELF.
THE HIGH BALCONIES OF THE ROYAL PALACE SHINE LIKE CROWNS
AND EVEN GIVE OFF BEAMS OF GOLDEN LIGHT.
THERE ARE ENDLESS PAGODAS,
EACH OF WHICH IS ENCIRCLED IN BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT,
LIKE THE MILK OF THE GODS.
Narrator: TODAY, THE RELICS OF THE PAGAN KINGDOM
STILL DOMINATE THE LANDSCAPE AND INSPIRE WONDER.
THE EXPANSION AND DOMINATION OF THE DYNASTY
LASTED ABOUT 200 YEARS.
THE KINGS WHO CAME AFTER ANAWRAHTA
CONTINUED TO BUILD MAGNIFICENT PAGODAS.
WHETHER TO PROJECT POWER OR TRULY MAKE AN OFFERING,
PAGODA-BUILDING BECAME THE GRANDEST WAY TO HONOR BUDDHA
AS THE CENTURIES ROLLED ON.
♪
THE FIELDS OF PAGAN BECAME A SWEEPING PANORAMA OF DEVOTION.
Stadtner: PAGAN MUST BE ONE
OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE ANCIENT BUDDHIST SITES THAT WE HAVE.
THERE’S NOTHING THAT EVEN REMOTELY COMES CLOSE.
Narrator: ROYALTY, NOBILITY,
ANY FAMILY WITH ENOUGH RESOURCES BUILT A PAGODA.
IT WAS A WAY TO BUILD MERIT, SHOW DEVOTION, AND IMPLY WEALTH.
REGULAR FARMERS AND FAMILIES
DIDN’T HAVE THE MONEY TO BUILD THEIR OWN PAGODAS,
BUT THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO TRAVEL FAR TO FIND ONE.
OVER TIME, THE LANDSCAPE FILLED
WITH PAGODAS, STUPAS, AND MONASTERIES OF EVERY SIZE.
DURING THE PAGAN DYNASTY, THERE WERE TWO MAIN TYPES OF PAGODAS.
ONE HAD A PRECIOUS RELIC ENSHRINED INSIDE,
SURROUNDED BY SOLID WALLS, AND TOPPED WITH A DOME.
IT WAS SEALED SO THAT NO ONE COULD ENTER.
ANOTHER TYPE ALLOWED PEOPLE TO ENTER INTO A CAVE-LIKE ROOM
THAT HAD A BUDDHA STATUE IN THE CENTER.
OTHER BUDDHA STATUES OFTEN SURROUNDED THE CENTRAL FIGURE.
♪
THE DARK CORRIDORS OF THE INTERIOR
WERE CAPPED BY AN ORNATE SERIES OF ROOFTOP TIERS,
USUALLY CULMINATING IN A PINPOINT PEAK.
♪
STARTING WITH THE PAGAN KINGDOM
AND CONTINUING FOR ANOTHER 1,000 YEARS,
AN ESTIMATED 4 MILLION PAGODAS WERE BUILT ACROSS BURMA.
DESPITE THE RAVAGES OF TIME, THOUSANDS REMAIN STANDING,
THEIR AGE SOMETIMES KNOWN, SOMETIMES NOT.
NO COUNTRY HAS SUCH A WIDESPREAD ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY
OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.
Stadtner: AT ANY TIME OF DAY,
BUT ESPECIALLY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON
WHEN THE SUN IS SETTING AND THE RIVER’S FLOWING BY,
IT’S MAGICAL.
IT JUST GOES ON AND ON AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE.
♪
Narrator: PAGODAS BUILT IN THE PAGAN PERIOD
WEREN’T JUST RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS.
THEY WERE ARCHITECTURAL MARVELS.
DHAMMAYANGYI IS THE LARGEST REMAINING TEMPLE
FROM THE PAGAN DYNASTY.
IT DATES TO THE 12th CENTURY.
Stadtner: THE DHAMMAYANGYI TODAY, IT’S MAMMOTH.
IT’S THE LARGEST STANDING TEMPLE AT PAGAN.
Narrator: DURING THIS ERA, STONE WAS SCARCE,
SO IT WAS MOSTLY MADE OF BRICKS,
OVER SIX MILLION OF THEM, ACCORDING TO MODERN ESTIMATES.
THOUGH IT’S ABOUT 800 YEARS OLD,
IT REMAINS IN REMARKABLE CONDITION
AND STILL FULL OF MYSTERY.
Stadtner: AT SOME COURSE OF ITS HISTORY, FOR UNKNOWN REASONS,
AN INNER CORRIDOR, A HUGE SPACE, WAS FILLED WITH BRICKS,
AND WE DON’T KNOW WHY.
Narrator: ONLY THE OUTER CORRIDORS ARE ACCESSIBLE,
BUT WHAT REMAINS IN VIEW OFFERS A GLIMPSE BACK IN TIME,
TEASING THE IMAGINATION.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE 800 YEARS AGO,
ON THE SITE OF SUCH A MASSIVE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT?
COUNTLESS BRICKLAYERS WOULD HAVE BEEN BUSY
CREATING THE BASIC FRAMEWORK.
THEN OTHERS COVERED THE BRICK WITH A LAYER OF STUCCO
TO PROTECT IT FROM EROSION.
Stadtner: IT’S AMAZING HOW DURABLE THAT STUCCO CAN BE.
IT’S OVER, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF YEARS,
AND IT’S AS IF IT’S NEW.
Narrator: FOR THE FINER DETAILS,
SCULPTORS SHAPED THE DESIGNS AND CARVED THE STATUES,
EACH FACE OF BUDDHA BEING AN ACT OF ARTISTRY AND WORSHIP.
♪
Stadtner: AND THE INTERIORS OF THE STRUCTURES
WERE NOT ONLY STUCCOED,
BUT PAINTED, PAINTED WITH VIBRANT-COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS,
USUALLY FROM BUDDHIST MYTHOLOGY.
Narrator: THERE WERE WOODCARVERS, METAL WORKERS,
AND COUNTLESS LABORERS WHO HAD TO TRANSPORT
ALL THIS HEAVY MATERIAL TO THE SITE.
AND THAT’S JUST FOR ONE PAGODA,
OUT OF AN ESTIMATED 4,500 BUILT IN PAGAN ALONE.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT ALL THESE ARTISANS?
INSIDE THE PAGAN MUSEUM,
THERE ARE CLUES TO THE WORKFORCE OF PAGAN’S CONSTRUCTION BOOM.
THESE ARE SLABS OF STONE, BUT ALSO WINDOWS INTO ANOTHER WORLD.
THIS STONE WAS ERECTED IN THE PAGAN ERA,
BY A WIDOW WHO BUILT A PAGODA IN MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND.
♪
THE INSCRIPTION CONTAINS MANY NUMBERS.
THEY TURN OUT TO BE PAYMENT
FOR THE VARIOUS ARTISANS WHO BUILT THE PAGODA.
TICALS WERE THE CURRENCY OF THE DAY.
THERE WERE JUST ENOUGH CLUES
TO IMAGINE AN ANCIENT WORLD OF CONSTRUCTION AND COMMERCE.
THE AREA AROUND ANY PAGODA CONSTRUCTION ZONE
MUST HAVE BEEN BUZZING WITH ACTIVITY.
IF WAGES WERE TRULY SET IN STONE,
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ORGANIZED OPERATION.
Stadtner: AND SO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN
A VERY EXCITING TIME INDEED.
PAGAN IS REALLY THE STORY OF BRICK AND THE STORY OF ARCHES.
Narrator: BRICKS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FOUNDATION OF THE PROCESS,
MILLIONS OF BRICKS, HANDMADE AND TRANSPORTED.
THE SHEER TONNAGE NEEDED FOR A SINGLE PAGODA
IS DIFFICULT TO FATHOM.
THEN CONSIDER THE AMOUNT OF PAGODAS BUILT
DURING THIS DYNASTY.
ACCORDING TO ONE MODERN ANALYSIS,
THERE WAS A 300-YEAR-LONG CONSTRUCTION BOOM OF PAGODAS,
STARTING IN THE 11th CENTURY,
PICKING UP PACE IN THE 12th CENTURY,
AND EXPLODING IN THE 13th CENTURY.
IN ANOTHER SIGN OF THE KINGDOM’S GROWTH,
MORE LAND WAS BEING TURNED INTO FARMS.
ACREAGE DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE MAY HAVE TRIPLED
DURING THE PAGAN KINGDOM’S REIGN.
THOUGH EXACT NUMBERS ARE IMPOSSIBLE,
SOME ESTIMATE THE KINGDOM’S POPULATION AT 1.5 MILLION,
COMPARABLE TO LONDON DURING THE SAME PERIOD.
IN MODERN ECONOMIES, GROWTH IS TIED TO JOBS.
THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE CASE IN PAGAN.
WITH PAGODAS BEING BUILT AT AN INCREDIBLE RATE,
LABORERS MAY HAVE COME FROM OUTSIDE THE KINGDOM,
LURED BY THE PROMISE OF SET WAGES.
THIS IDEA CHALLENGES THE NOTION
THAT THE WONDERS OF ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE
WERE ALWAYS BUILT WITH SLAVE LABOR.
Hudson: WE OFTEN THINK THAT BUILDINGS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
WERE MOSTLY MADE BY SLAVES,
BUT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE AT PAGAN.
WE CAN SEE FROM THOSE INSCRIPTIONS
THAT THESE PEOPLE WERE MORE LIKE MODERN BUILDING CONTRACTORS.
IT WAS A MATTER OF "HEY, LET’S GO TO PAGAN.
"THE KING’S PAYING GOOD MONEY
"TO PAINTERS AND DECORATORS AND BUILDERS.
AWAY WE GO!"
AND SO THE POPULATION GREW, AND THE ECONOMY BOOMED.
Narrator: THE REST OF SOCIETY’S INFRASTRUCTURE
MAY HAVE BENEFITTED FROM ALL THIS CONSTRUCTION.
SUPPLIERS OF ALL KINDS
WOULD HAVE FOUND CUSTOMERS IN A BOOMING ECONOMY.
Stadtner: DURING THE 11th, 12th, AND 13th CENTURY,
WHEN THIS BOON OF CONSTRUCTION TOOK PLACE,
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST EXCITING PLACE.
Narrator: PAGAN BECAME ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST KINGDOMS
IN HISTORY.
AT ITS PEAK, IT MAY HAVE ENJOYED A BLIP OF PROSPERITY AND PEACE,
SANDWICHED BETWEEN MORE TURBULENT TIMES.
WITH AGRICULTURE ON THE RISE AND NATURAL RESOURCES APLENTY,
MARKETS MUST HAVE TEEMED WITH FRESH FOOD.
THERE COULD HAVE BEEN EVERYDAY WARES
ALONG WITH JEWELRY AND CRAFTS SOLD BY VENDORS.
THE RULING CLASS FAVORED SILK CLOTH.
NOBLE FAMILIES NEEDED TO LOOK THE PART.
WOMEN OFTEN WORE ELABORATE GOLD JEWELRY.
BUT THE MOST NOTICEABLE LEGACY OF THE PAGAN KINGDOM
IS THE BEGINNING OF A SHARED CULTURE
THROUGHOUT MUCH OF WHAT IS NOW BURMA.
AND THAT CULTURE WAS BUILT UPON BUDDHISM.
TEMPLES, MONASTERIES, AND PAGODAS
WERE THE CENTER OF IT ALL.
COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY.
EDUCATION AND DEVOTION.
RITUAL AND RENEWAL.
IT ALL CONTINUES TODAY,
SUSTAINED BY THE EVOLVING MYTHS THAT SPAN AN ENTIRE MILLENNIUM.
♪
IN THE YEAR 1077, KING ANAWRAHTA DIED.
[THUNDER]
THE GLASS PALACE CHRONICLE
DESCRIBES ANAWRAHTA’S DEATH AS FOLLOWS...
Man: THE KING WHO HAD GARNERED
ALL THE POWER AND GLORY IMAGINABLE
AND WHO TRANSFORMED BUDDHISM IN THE SPACE OF 33 YEARS
HAS DEPARTED AT THE AGE OF 75.
[SHOUTING]
Narrator: UPON ANAWRAHTA’S DEATH,
HIS OLDEST SON, SAWLU, BECAME THE KING,
BUT HIS REIGN WAS SHORT.
HE COULD NOT ACHIEVE PEACE IN THE KINGDOM,
AND AMID THE TURMOIL,
HE WAS KILLED DURING A REBELLION.
THAT LEFT THE SECOND SON, THE EXILED KYANSITTHA,
IN LINE FOR THE THRONE.
HE BECAME THE THIRD KING OF THE PAGAN DYNASTY,
AND HIS QUEEN WAS WAITING.
IT HAD BEEN 14 YEARS
SINCE KYANSITTHA WAS BANISHED INTO EXILE
FOR FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIS FATHER’S YOUNG QUEEN.
NOW THEY WERE REUNITED, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO FOLKLORE.
THE NEW KING OVERSAW AN IMPORTANT PERIOD
OF EXPANSION AND ACHIEVEMENT IN THE PAGAN DYNASTY.
HE WOULD CONTINUE HIS FATHER’S LEGACY,
ENLARGING THE KINGDOM AND ENTRENCHING THERAVADA BUDDHISM
DEEPER INTO PAGAN CULTURE.
HE BUILT ON THE SUCCESS OF HIS FATHER,
WHICH INCLUDED BUILDING MORE PLACES OF WORSHIP.
Stadtner: THE ROLE OF KINGS WAS TO PROMOTE BUDDHISM
AND TO SHOW AND REVEAL THEIR DEVOTION.
Narrator: KYANSITTHA COMMISSIONED THE CONSTRUCTION
OF THE ANANDA TEMPLE, WHICH REMAINS MAGNIFICENT TO THIS DAY.
IT STILL STANDS AS A BEAUTIFUL ARTIFACT OF BUDDHIST DEVOTION,
AND ITS MYTHOLOGY MAY COINCIDE WITH ITS ACTUAL HISTORY.
Stadtner: WE DETERMINE ITS APPROXIMATE DATE
IS LATE 11th, EARLY 12th CENTURY,
THUS CONFORMING TO THE REIGN OF KYANSITTHA.
Narrator: LEGENDS RECOUNT HOW KYANSITTHA HEARD
OF A LARGE CAVE TEMPLE CREATED BY EIGHT INDIAN HOLY MEN
AND DECIDED TO BUILD ANANDA IN ITS LIKENESS.
THE CORRIDORS ARE LONG AND NARROW,
PUNCTUATED WITH ARCHED WINDOWS.
THE LITTLE LIGHT THAT MAKES ITS WAY INSIDE
GIVES THE IMPRESSION OF A NATURAL CAVE.
THE CORRIDORS ARE LINED WITH LITTLE ALCOVES,
AT LEAST 1,000 OF THEM.
EACH CONTAINS A CAREFULLY CARVED STATUE OF BUDDHA.
THE ANANDA TEMPLE IS STILL A STUNNING SIGHT ON THE LANDSCAPE.
IT DRAWS VISITORS FROM AFAR, JUST AS IT DID IN ITS HEYDAY.
SOME THINK IT MAY HAVE HELPED REINVIGORATE BUDDHISM
JUST AS IT WAS FADING ELSEWHERE IN THE REGION.
ONE OF THE FOUR BUDDHA STATUES IN THE TEMPLE
IS FAMOUS IN LEGEND FOR HAVING AN EXPRESSION
THAT APPEARS TO CHANGE, DEPENDING ON THE VIEWING ANGLE.
IF ONE IS SITTING UP CLOSE,
WHERE THE KING WOULD HISTORICALLY SIT,
BUDDHA’S EXPRESSION APPEARS WATCHFUL AND STERN,
BUT FOR THOSE SITTING FARTHER AWAY FROM THE STATUE,
LIKE LESSER NOBILITY AND EVEN POOR COMMONERS,
BUDDHA’S EXPRESSION BECOMES WARMER AND MORE PEACEFUL.
NO ONE KNOWS IF THIS IS A PURPOSEFUL DESIGN
OR A MODERN CURIOSITY,
BUT IT SURELY PLAYS TO TODAY’S MORE DEMOCRATIC SENSIBILITIES--
BUDDHA SMILING UPON THE MASSES,
GIVING ALL FOLLOWERS, THEN AND NOW,
HOPE THAT FAITH CAN PROPEL THEM INTO A BETTER LIFE.
BETWEEN THE MONUMENTS AND THE MYTHOLOGY,
BURMA AND BUDDHISM MAY FOREVER BE INTERTWINED.
Stadtner: THESE SITES ARE NOT STATIC.
THEY’RE CONSTANTLY GROWING, AND THESE MYTHS DON’T STAY STILL.
IT’S LIKE A SNOWBALL ROLLING AND ROLLING
AND GAINING AND GAINING IN POPULARITY,
BECAUSE THESE MYTHS UNDERPIN WHY THESE PLACES ARE SO SACRED.
♪
Narrator: TIME FLOWS ON.
THE PAGODAS REACH EVER HIGHER INTO THE SKY,
LIKE THE ASPIRATIONS OF THE ROYALTY WHO BUILT THEM.
NOW THEY FUNNEL THE PRAYERS OF MODERN BURMESE
WHO CONTINUE THE TRADITION OF MERIT AND DEVOTION.
Stadtner: VISITORS ARE USUALLY VERY, VERY TOUCHED BY BURMA,
AND PAGAN IS VERY IMPORTANT.
IT’S A MAJOR HISTORICAL POINT IN TIME AND LOCATION.
Narrator: AS BURMA BECOMES MORE OPEN,
ITS RICH BUDDHIST HISTORY SHOULD INSPIRE EVEN MORE WONDER.
♪