The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-07-25
THE ROAD TO MANDALAY
1.-THE NOBLE SHWE DAGON.
BY Frederic ]. Haskln.

Rangoon, Burma.-To all but the mer-
chant mariners. the invading hosts of in
dustry whose ships crowd each other IL
the narrow river harbor Of this greatest
port in farther India Ransoon is the site
OF the nObles1 shrine in the Buddhist
world. Ragoon, the city. is less tnan three
score years old. but the Shwe DagOn. the
great kangoon pagOda, has lifted its slen-
Ger splre toward heaven for twenty-five
centuries. In the year that Jerusalem was
taken by Nebuchadnezzar. two genera
ions before the expulsion Of the Tarquins
from Rome, century before the defeat
OF the creeks at Thermopylae, five hun
dred years before Julius Caesar crossed
the RubicOn, almost six centuries before
the beginning Of the Christian era the
Buddhist converts Of lower Burma OBJ
tanned some relics Of the body Of the late
departed teacher, CIuatams, the Buddha.
selecting a spot hallowed as sacred by the
devotees of lesser religions from the time
the world was young, these relics were en-
shrined on high hill about two miles
distant from the deepest and sWiftest of
the many mouths Of the Irrawaddy river.
The stupa or pagoda erected then was
only tWenty-seven feet high and the
relics were buried in the center of the pile
OF masonry. never again to be seen Of the
eyes Of man.
Time went on and the religion of the
Buddha spread throughout the greater
part OF the east. In time its native India
fOrsOOk It's teachings, the missionaries OF
the cross and the crescent in their turn,
by prayer and by sword, reduced the
boundaries Of its influence. but Burma re
manned ever true. Pious men protected
the old pagOda by building over IL with
shell after shell of masonry. Shrines were
built about its base by the faithful, and
devout pilgrims gilded it with pure gold.
-Four hundred years ago, just about the
time it was found that America was not
part Of India, the pagoda was completed
and since that day it has not been added
to IN stature nor in girth, although its
rich establishment Is the never-ending
concern of the devOut.
Today the Shwe Dagon stands high on
a platform partly a natural hill and partly
an artificial extension 1t lifts its taper
ing golden head so feet high. which is a
hundred feet higher than the dome of the
capitol at Washington. and as high as
the Park Row building in New York 1t
is a solid structure, and has, Of course, no
windows or other openings. 1t is entirely
covered with gold leaf, the offerings OF
thousands of Buddhist pilgrims.
Surrounding the spire is the golden "ti,
or umbrella, which is the inevitable COM
plement of every pagOda in Burma. From
II depend scores or golden and silver bells
which respond to every trifling breeze
with musical Naturalization. Under the
III is a portion of the spire representing
the lotus flower and the inverted begging
bowl of Buddha. This portion IS covered
over with thick sheets of gold, and con-
to time. The gilded portions of the pagoda
show the effects OF time in places where
the leaf was too thin, or has been suf-
fered TO remain too long without care.
The great golden IT. now Gaping the
structure was put up by one of the last
kings of Burma at a cost of $4,000, al
though the I'll itself and its golden and
jeweled OrnamentatiOn was paid for by
popular subscription.
The pagOda platform is reached by a
landings and crossing the ancient protect
ing mOat over a modern bridge. The stair
way is covered over and both sides are
lined with the shops of those who sell
flowers and gold leaf offerings, or the
candles and paper prayers which are
necessary to worship If one would acquire
great merit soda water and all sorts Of
soft drinks in bottles, sweets and more
substantial food, cigars and cherOOts. The
pagoda is always a lively place, and there
is no end TO the business day. for the last
straggler al midnight has not departed
before the earliest wOrshiper of the morn
is at hand. Burmese girls and women
keep the shops. and children all una
Dashed. unhaberdashed and unafTaid" be-
guile the Christian tourist into buying
roses and jasmines
Leaving the stairs and the shops, one
finds himself on the square platform of
the IagOda Here he is lost in a veritable
forest Of slender pagoda spires and small
Ter shrines. Every wealthy Buddhist
seeks to acquire merit. in his old age, by
building a pagoda. The whole country
is dotted with them. but the group about
the base Of Shwe DagOn is the most re-
markable. There are TO be seen ancient
and decaying structures in the purest
Burmese style, unaffected by contact with
the outside world. Such as these are in
geniously decorated with intricate teak
wood carving, and serve to win praise for
the ancient Burmese arts and create d
basis for regret at the modern decadenCe.