March 25, 2006

Pagoda upon the Hermit's Head - A massive 50 foot boulder covered in gold perched precariously upon an extremely small inclined area of contact with the rock beneath, a 23 foot shrine mounted upon it, high in the mountains of Myanmar (Burma). It is a reliquary for a hair or three of Buddha, with attendant temples. It seems to be just about to topple over, but this giant gilded rock has weathered storms and earthquakes for over 2,000 years. And it would take you a while to get there.
posted by Chyren 18 years ago
  • I had not ever seen nor heard of this before. My first and lasting impression after viewing the photos: why the fuck did they have to go and paint it, give it a hat, build a pagoda nearby, and turn it into a tourist trap? Just leave it alone, it would have been amazing.
  • Yeah, and how about Mt Rushmore? Imagine the fantastic coincidence of those rock formations resembling presidents of the USA, and then they cheapen the place by installing lights and guided tours and stuff. Very cool post, Chy - I'd never heard of this either.
  • "...why the fuck did they have to go and paint it..." Well, maybe reverence has something to do with it. If it truly is "gilded", it's covered in gold leaf, not housepaint. Think about it - Europeans built grandious churches to house relics of Christian saints. This seems much simpler (though more precarious) in contrast. I have a hard time thinking of it as a tourist trap. The trip there sounds arduous and the site doesn't appear to be welcoming to tour bus parking. It's my guess that the people who make the journey do it as a pilgrimage, not a day trip. If the builders had left it alone, it'd be a boulder on the side of a mountain. What makes it noticeable is the devotion of those who worship there. I bet they don't even have a gift shop. :)
  • This rocks!
  • O golden rock on your lofty perch guide us in Nirvana's search Over time and space you seem to hang balancing both yin and yang And if your fall should ever come please don't squash a Dharma bum.
  • ))) for the cleverness, islander!!!
  • I read about this as a kid, although now I'm not sure which is the correct account - that the hair of the Buddha is supposed to be holding up the boulder, or that the temple at the top of the boulder is the reliquary holding the hair?
  • islander That was great! The rock wasn't always so golden. Nice post!
  • So doing a google (which any interesting post leads me to), brought me to this little travelog.
  • How about that? Neat post. It looks like someone wrapped it in foil or something.
  • The stupa atop the rock holds the hair, Alnedra; stupas contain relics and such.
  • This reminds me of the balancing rock in Massachusetts.
  • A few more. Get the gold leaf out.
  • Its 1100 km above sea level. Um... yeah... that would take while to get to. And I'd have to bring oxygen and a pressure suit.
  • 1100 meters.
  • It's 1100 km above sea level.... Methinks this goes well with thread #11457's 32 ox steak.