Preserving Burmese traditions in Thailand
In 1886 the British finally conquered
Historically, the Burmese have viewed the city of
The original monastery has since been replaced by a new structure, built up over the years by a succession of Burmese monks. Visitors to the monastery in Mae Sariang, which stands in the center of the quiet border town near the Salween river, will easily recognize its Burmese roots in the architecture of the site—the wooden monastery, Buddhist sculptures by Burmese craftsmen, the golden stupa and a statue of the Buddha sitting under a Banyan tree in the middle of the compound.
“When I first came here, the town was sleepy and isolated,” said the Venerable U Nyanika, Chief Abbot of Wat Mandalay. The monastery has developed under the guiding hand of the noble 83-year old monk. U Nyanika came to
Despite the fame of its revered Buddha image, the real pride of the monastery is its banyan tree, reputed to be a scion of the original Bodhi tree under which Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, attained enlightenment.
A cutting from that tree was taken to
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