Shewdegon Paya

I asked Muzzy, "If a crow poops on you while you are at the temple, would it be considered a blessing?" He answered, "No, I think the monks would say no, it just means the crow pooped on you." We started our circumnavigation of the main pagoda and stopped so that Muzzy could launch his tripod for a blurry crowd shot. I was trying to warm up my cold toes in the early morning sun...Muzzy said, "Look, a bird pooped on my arm. I guess I had it coming."

Monks at Shwedegon

Shewdegon is truly one of the wonders of the world. It's hard not to cry when you first step onto the broad plaza filled with golden Buddhas, stories of the Buddha's life, white and golden elephants, Rama and Sita, neon halos around the Buddha's head and pavillion after pavillion of Buddha in all his aspects. People from all over the world come to this wonderful place of pilgrimage. Families walk together and stop to take photos. Monks chant in the individual temples and give teachings and blessings non-stop. Children run and play, people eat lunch or deliver bags of purchased food to the monks and widows and nuns who wander around, because alms giving is a blessing on the giver. I was reminded of those same teachings from Christ and how here, alms are given without strings attached. You don't have to listen to a sermon, or accept Jesus as your savior...you just give because it is the right thing to do...even if there is that Southeast Asian caveat of making merit. Who cares, as long as we take care of one another. Yup...it was a religious experience, bird poop and all.