Padmakumara
Circumambulating the Golden Pagoda in Myanmar
 繞緬甸「大金塔」


 Translated by Shizhong Duan, Proofread by Marc Streich, Edited by Jessie Loh


 I entered Myanmar from Thailand's Chiang Rai with a group of disciples. The main purpose of our trip was to circumambulate the Golden Pagoda in Myanmar.

 Myanmar is a country that practices Hinayana Buddhism, which is also very popular in present-day Thailand and Cambodia.

 I think that when Shakyamuni Buddha first turned the Dharma wheel during one of the three periods of his teachings, he gave expositions on The Four Noble Truths for the attainment of Arhatship. His foundation teachings were those of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination for Pratyekabuddhahood.

 Hence, there are Two Vehicles - Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha.

 During the twelve-year period that followed Buddha’s Nirvana, the Two Vehicles were the major teachings interpreted in the Tripitaka which are Sutras, Vinaya and Abhidharma texts.

 This tradition is retained in most areas of all Southeast Asia.

 Hinayana Buddhists observe the precepts of Hinayana Buddhism.

 There are a total of 20 Hinayana sects or more.

 According to Hinayana Buddhism, the three Dharma Seals are those of non-permanence, non-ego, and Nirvana.

 Hinayana Buddhists strive for enlightenment by renouncing the body and mind so as to achieve a condition beyond disturbance for the attainment of Nirvana.

 Theravada Buddhist monks that I have encountered in Southeast Asia are widely respected by their countrymen.

 A special sitting area in the airport terminal is reserved for them.

 They have reserved seats on the bus.

 They still appeal to the public for offerings using an alms bowl.

 They still dress in robes like the monks of Buddha Shakyamuni’s time.

 They live in monasteries.

 They put their palms together in respect when they saw me in my esoteric Buddhist robes. In return, I did the same.

 A Theravadan monk told me, "To show respect between monks is to pay homage to the sacred robe which is a field of blessing. When ordinary people put their palms together before you, they salute your sacred robe as well. Therefore, it is not necessary for you to return the compliment by putting your palms together. Instead, you just need to nod."

 This was the first time I heard this and I found it very interesting.

 In the Tripitaka and the twelve divisions of the Buddhist canon, there was a discussion on the theory of the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Nidanas, with discourses on the states of achieving emptiness or nirvana. In these twelve divisions, only the nine classes exist. Four sections of Agamas are Hinayana sutras.

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 I am in Myanmar, mainly for circumambulating the Golden Pagoda.

 It is said that the outer surface of the Golden Pagoda at Rangoon, the capital of Myanmar, was pasted with pure gold foil. In contrast, pagodas at other parts of the country were painted with gold paint. Nonetheless, whether the pagodas are coated with gold foil or painted with gold paint, they looked majestic and brilliant.

 Master Lian Zhu, Master Lian Fei and I circumambulated the Golden Pagoda in a clockwise direction, chanting the Heart Mantra of the White Padmakumara.

 Many disciples standing around took pictures of us and photographed auspicious lights such as "Mahavairocana Lights", "Rainbow Lights" and "Prajna Lights".

 We all felt it was extraordinary.

 There were statues of seven gods lined up at the side of the pagoda. The seven gods are the God of Monday, God of Tuesday, God of Wednesday, God of Thursday, God of Friday, God of Saturday and the God of Sunday.

 Depending on which day of the week one's birthday is on, one should worship the corresponding god for a guaranteed blessing.

 Some disciples asked, "What can we do? We don’t know which days of the week we were born on!"

 I replied, "Then worship all seven gods!"

 The disciples laughed, "Grand Master is right. Worshipping all the seven gods is the most equal way of honoring them."

 The Myanmar pagoda has a round shape like a golden sphere at the bottom. Above the sphere, it looks like a crown with a sharp tip at the top. The pagoda looks slightly like an auspicious fruit held by a Bodhisattva.

 While circumambulating around the Golden Pagoda, I closed my eyes and with my Divine vision, I saw tens of thousands of Mahamayuri Vidyarajni, the Nirmanakaya of Mahavairocana and Shakyamuni Buddha, descending into my body like rain