Yankin Hill
Yankin is Burmese for "Free from Enemies." The hill is so named because legend has it that the Buddha was able to escape his enemies there. Another story states that when Buddha was a fish he was King of All Fish and he lived in a pond inside a cave on top of the mound. Clearly, this is a special hill.
The hill is not only special because the Buddha once resided there, it also has connections with many of the nats. The worship of nats predates Buddhism in Burma and is incorporated by many Buddhists. When Buddha arrived into the lives of the Burmese, he was given the rank of the highest nat. Nats are an extraordinary mixed collection of deities, including spirits of trees, rivers, ancestors, snakes, and the ghosts of people who have met a violent or tragic death. When in good spirits they can bring wealth and good luck, but when they are provoked, they can reek havoc. In order to appease the nats and to bring good luck, the Burmese set up shrines and nat houses, where they provide offerings of food, drink.
On Yankin Hill there is a shrine to the nat that inhabits the township. Worshippers visit the nat house and perform a little ritual. First one must walk around the shrine 3 times then kneel down to pray to the nat 3 times and finally lift a ball that is at the base of the statue. Only after this, and tipping the monks who "guard" the shrine, will your wish be granted.
At the top of the Hill is a monastery with three large Sambar Deers with bells around their necks. They are the closest animals to reindeer I'd seen in a long time. They were "saved" by a monk, who granted them existence on the hill where Pilgrims feed them biscuits while trying to pet them. I'm not sure if this is what most people mean when they save animals, but its the closest thing to the Humane Society that we saw.
We were brought to Yankin Hill by a Chinese-Burmese family. They took us there to woo us into teaching their daughter English. We hadn't yet visited any sites in Mandalay with anyone we knew and it we had a very interesting time. Without their explanations, the hill would've been just another sacred site, instead we were able to come away with a deeper understanding of why the locals pay tribute to shrines that dot the route to the top.
Mya Kyauck Monastery
Near the base of Yankin Hill is a monastery with an enlightened monk. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Buddhism, enlightenment is what Buddhists strive for. Only through enlightenment does the cycle of suffering end. The Buddha attained enlightenment, but chose to stay in this world in order to teach other about the way towards enlightenment. Needless to say, an enlightened monk doesn't happen everyday and it is a big deal. This is evident by the large fresco of the monk that's painted on the side of the main pagoda.
We were lucky enough to meet with the enlightened monk. Now, I don't know what I was expected from an enlightened monk, but I thought they're be an air about him, something that would radiate from his being, which would confirm his status. Instead, what I found was an ordinary monk who liked to discuss his international travels and the monasteries famous mineral water.
One day, the monk decided to build a well on the monastery land. After making this decision, he begins mediating. During his mediation, the Dragon King, who lives on the grounds, appears to the monk and tells him the best place to build the well. After the well was built, water samples were analyzed and it was discovered that it is the best drinking water in the world - even better then spring water in the Western world, so we're told. The water is so special, that once some Japanese businessmen came to the monastery with US dollars and asked to buy the water for exportation to Japan. Not wanting money, the monk refused. The monastery does bottle and sell the water and they publish a pamphlet listing the benefits of the water, which range from curing diseases to keeping one hydrated.
After our interesting discussion with the Enlightened Monk, we were able to tour a small room that was filled with boxes of stones. These tet tho are said to appear after the cremation of a monk. The more tet tho are present, the more enlightened the monk was upon his death. Somehow this monastery gained a large collection of these stones, which were placed in fish tanks labeled with the name of the monk along with Buddha paraphernalia. I wonder how many tet tho will be present upon my death?
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