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At the southern end of Inle Lake, Burma, is the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda. There are five statues fo Buddha here, each covered with layer upon layer of gold leaf which has been stuck on as a token of veneration, and so thick is this gilding that the statues are more like balls of gold than images of Buddha.
From September to October each year, an 18-day festival is held, during which four of the Buddha images are placed on a replica of a royal barge and taken throughout Inle Lake. One image always remains at the temple. The elaborately decorated barge is towed from village to village along the shores of the lake in clockwise fashion, and the four images reside at the main monastery in each village for the night.
Sometime in the 1960s during a particularly windy day, when the waves were high on the lake, the barge carrying the images capsized, and the images tumbled into the lake. It was said that they could not recover one image, but that when they went back to the monastery, the missing image was miraculously sitting in its place.
For such an enlightened religion no-one could tell me why women were not allowed to approach the Buddhas.
v2 is a closer view of the Buddhas. v3 the Pagoda/Temple itself, built on the lake.
| Brand: | Canon |
| Camera: | Canon EOS 7D |
| Lens: | EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM |
| Recording media: | JPEG (digital) |
| Date Taken: | 2 Dec 2012 - 3:32 PM |
| Focal Length: | 31mm |
| Lens Max Aperture: | f/4.4 |
| Aperture: | f/11.0 |
| Shutter Speed: | 1/20sec |
| Exposure Comp: | 0.0 |
| ISO: | 2000 |
| Exposure Mode: | Manual |
| Metering Mode: | Multi-segment |
| Flash: | Off, Did not fire |
| White Balance: | Auto |
| Title: | Prohibition |
| Username: | 
WhiteRose1 |
| Uploaded: | 13 Jan 2013 - 7:29 AM |
| Tags: | Buddhism, Burma, Lake Inle, Landscape / travel, Pagoda |
| VS Mode Rating |
Unrated These stats show the percentage of wins and the rating score that your photo has achieved. You can go to the VS Mode by clicking on this icon. Signup to e2Signup to e2 to see which photo this has won or lost against in the vs mode |
| Votes: | 102 |
 | Variant - Report |
Comments
I wonder how close a Woman has to get before She can read the sign? 
A very busy yet VERY interesting image in V1 Dave, love it. And V3 certainly has the WOW! factor.
John
How peculiar.. Thanks for the background information and your lighting is excellent
Great write up Dave! The reason for no Ladies is because they should be at home cooking and cleaning, excellent set and I agree that V3 should be the lead, it is stunning, makes me want to visit Burma even more.
Regards
Trev.
Three excellent shots of the Pagoda, it's interior and the golden buddhas: the building itself is so well captured and so exotic in structure, and the interior is so richly and colourfully decorated, and quite at odds with the general poverty of the country itself, but a testimony to the importance of their religion in society.
Ronnie.
Three images that work together to give something bigger. V3 is superb, V2 is curious.
But I have just spent a merry half hour trawling the net for an explanation of V1, and cannot find anything! In some branches of Buddhism, women are viewed as unable to achieve full enlightenment, but Burmese Buddhism seems to be quite relaxed. I hope you can find an answer.
Moira
Great set of images Dave, and well presented with a description.
Educational and inspirational.
Regards.
Gavin
3 fine captures David with V3 taking my main interest today a fine capture full of detail and colour good un
Graham
Quote: For such an enlightened religion no-one could tell me why women were not allowed to approach the Buddhas.
Well put, Dave.
And no kidding about the Buddhas looking more like balls of gold! Thanks for V2. They look like gold plated snowmen there, don't they??
Just read Rende's comment about the Buddlist scriptures. I reckon once again - like in other religions - the human interpretation of religion has blurred aspects of and superceded what the religion is actually about.
V3 is stunning!
Great upload and thanks for the write-up.
Andrew
This may be a ritual forbidding women. May be for gold craze.
How very beautiful - a cracking set, Dave, and rather like V3 as my fave 
Trev
A wonderful and excellent set here Dave, yes to cover them in gold leaf is quite a common veneration of Lord Buddha, I was told the reason that women are not allowed by a Monk, but am told not to pass it on, but I did feel the reason to be an out dated one for today, regards Leon.
I find the shapes of the Buddhas to be fascinating.
Like several others, I think V3 is excellent.
I have read that women are not considered to be inferior to men, but "unclean" due to their natural monthly cycles, and that "although the monastery is open to all for veneration, only men are permitted to place gold leaf on the images".
Yes, it is strange that women are forbidden to different degrees in many of the world's religions. How many worshipers do they think would exist without their mothers.
Anyway -- down off my soap box for now.
Very nice image here, Dave and thanks for including the very informative narrative.
-\=Walter
I love V3 Dave it has a great lot going for it just my cup of tea for processing.
Would love to play around with that shadow. Good one.
Well done. WesternRed.
[quote]Three images that work together to give something bigger. V3 is superb, V2 is curious.
But I have just spent a merry half hour trawling the net for an explanation of V1, and cannot find anything! In some branches of Buddhism, women are viewed as unable to achieve full enlightenment, but Burmese Buddhism seems to be quite relaxed. I hope you can find an answer.
Moira[/quote
I agree with Moira . Version 3 stands out so well . I love it .
A fine set of images of which v3 is the stand out shot, you must upload that in its own right sometime
Quote: Great write up Dave! The reason for no Ladies is because they should be at home cooking and cleaning, excellent set and I agree that V3 should be the lead, it is stunning, makes me want to visit Burma even more.
Regards
Trev.
LOL - made me giggle - you must live far far away from every woman on this site lol
Love the images and the narrative. I think V3 for me is especially outstanding
My mum told me that in times past when the Burmese wanted to build a pagoda, the monks would request for people to help by giving them their gold. People would line up and throw their gold jewelry into a pit.
AVA
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