The Pagodas* of Shwe Taung Gon

Tharmanay Kyaw Sayadaw
Senior Teacher, Panditarama

       In ancient times, the Myanmar people had a great penchant for constructing pagodas. It certainly remains that way these days. It seems like it's going to continue in the future, as well. “Four million, four hundred and forty-six thousand, seven hundred and thirty-three were the pagodas of Pagan,” it is said. Though not numerous as ancient Pagan, other cities have their share, as well.

       Sayadaw often says, “We, too, are building pagodas. The pagodas we build are Dhamma pagodas indeed. We are working to help people establish the Buddha-Dhamma in their hearts. We are helping them build Dhamma pagodas.

       The pagodas that most people are building, if they are built without need, are not very beneficial. The Dhamma pagodas we are helping construct are needed everywhere. They need to be built in every human heart.

       Not every one of the pagodas which are built is worthwhile. With these Dhamma pagodas, however, the more you build, the better. The more you build, the greater the benefit. There is great benefit for the Sasana**, and great benefit for oneself. Each and every Buddhist needs to endeavor to construct a Dhamma pagoda in their own heart. Where these Dhamma pagodas endure, so the Sasana endures, and where these Dhamma pagodas do not endure, neither does the Sasana. As Dhamma pagodas disappear, so does the Sasana. In the hearts of those who haven't established Dhamma pagodas, the Sasana is absent. So that the Sasana does not disappear, we need to construct a Dhamma pagodas in each of our hearts, inside each of us.

       There are a great many pagodas at the Shwe Taung Gon Sasana Yeiktha. Local and foreign monks and nuns, men and women, old, young, and middle aged, of all ages and from every stratum of society, come to build their pagodas. The foreign men and women take the pagodas they have been building at the Shwe Taung Gon Sasana Yeiktha back with them when they return to their respective countries and continue to work on them. These are Dhamma pagodas indeed, Satipatthana*** Dhamma pagodas. These Dhamma pagodas are costless to build. Sayadaw and the other senior teachers have already imparted the proper construction technique.

       These Satipatthana Dhamma pagodas are being constructed without a pause from three in the morning until eleven at night. When sitting, they are being built. When standing, they are being built. When walking, they are being built. When lying down, they are being built. When eating, they are being built. When showering, they are being built. Even in on the toilet, they are being built. The Buddha advised us that it is possible to do this everywhere, all the time and directed us to become proficient at this type of continuous construction.

       The Buddha Dhamma is very thorough indeed. In the Buddha’s teaching, there is nothing superfluous, and there is nothing missing. (Anguttara Nikaya, and passim)

       At Shwe Taung Gon Sasana Yeiktha, some yogis build their Dhamma pagodas for a week, some for a month, some for a year, and some for many years. One's own Dhamma pagoda grows by just as much as one is able to build. The higher one's Dhamma pagoda goes, the more meaning ones life has, the higher its value. So if you wish the value of the brief life you've got to rise higher and higher, just build your Dhamma pagoda higher and higher.

       * Pagodas often contain sacred relics of the Buddha or other Buddhist masters.

       ** The dispensation of the Buddhas teachings.

       *** The practice of mindfulness.