Mahamuni Pagoda
The most famous of all the religious places in Mandalay is Mahamuni. It is not a pagoda but an image of the Lord Buddha, believed to have been cast in the Lord's lifetime in the very presence of the Lord according to the tradition. Over the years pilgrims have covered it with gold leaf, so that some parts of the body are now barely recognizable.
In places the layer of gold on this ancient statue is several centimeters thick and it must weigh several hundred kilograms. It is also known as theRakhine Image as it was brought to Mandalay during the reign of King Bodawpaya. It is a great favorite of the Buddhist hill tribes of Myanmar. The tribal members in their distinctive costumes can be seen paying their repects to it most of the time.
Every morning at 4 AM, a ceremony is held during which monks wash the face of the most venerated statue in Myanmar and even brush its teeth. Also worth seeing are six bronze Khmer figures, which some 800 years old and were originally enshrined at Angkor Wat (Cambodia). Three of these figures are lions and two are temple guards (dvrapala) who, according to folklore, can cure the ills of the faithful if centain parts of their bodies are rubbed. The best preserved of these statues, however, is a three-headed elephant, the mount of the Hindu god Indra.
According to legend, the Gautama Buddha visited Dhanyawadi, the capital city of Arakan during his travels on a Proselytization mission to spread Buddhism. During the 26th anniversary of the King at the time, a devout Buddhist, the Buddha accompanied by Shin Ananda and 500 disciples landed at Salagiri mountain peak near Khaukrah town. The King of Arakan, along with his Chief Queen Sandra Mala (with her retinue of 1,600 ladies in waiting), and an entourage of ministers, generals and officials, paid homage to the Buddha. They were deeply moved by his teachings and upon his departure to Thawuthi (Sravasti), the King insisted that he leave his image for people to worship. For this purpose, the Buddha then sat under a Bodhi tree for a week of meditation. During this time Sakka (in Pāli, the ruler of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven inBuddhist cosmology, supported by his assistant Vissakamma, moulded a lifelike image of the Buddha using ornaments donated by the king and his people. It is also said that Sakka and Vissakamma (or Vishvakarman) created a separate pavilion for the Buddha to live and enjoy during these seven days. After looking at his own lifelike image, believed at the time to have been his only true-likeness, Buddha was pleased and "imbued the image with his spiritual essence", or "enlivened and consecrated" the image, naming it "Candasara". He also stated that the image would last for five thousand years as his representative.
