January 6 (part 2): A big day for Buddhist temples in Yangon.
Click the photos to enlarge them.
Reclining Buddha in the Chaukhtetgyi Pagoda. This enormous image is the one that President Obama was photographed in front of during his recent trip to Burma. This photo, however, is taken from a different vantage point, one that emphasizes the writing on the soles of the Buddha's feet.
There are often many sculptural images of the Buddha in a single room of a temple. Here they are life-sized, made of shiny plaster to emulate alabaster.
Schwedagon Pagoda is the biggest and most important Buddhist site in Burma. To an outsider, it seems to be a religious site, a community gathering place, and an amusement park.
