Tag Archives: worship

Life in the Temples (Times Three) ~ Mandalay, Myanmar

Temples in Southeast Asia are living places. This is certainly true in Myanmar. The many Buddhist temples I visited there were architecturally beautiful – and different, with no two exactly the same. But what I generally find more interesting is the life – both sacred and secular – within and around them. On my first afternoon in Mandalay,…

View full post »

At the edge of the earth: Dingle to Dunquin, Dingle Way (Day 6), Ireland

It’s a funny day today: the blustery winds keep changing directions as I watch the swans and pelicans on the estuary across the road from where I live. I guess the unsettled weather is fitting for this, the last day of the cycle in the ancient Mayan calendar. For a price, you can escape or…

View full post »

The Heart of Myanmar ~ Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon

“Then, a golden mystery upheaved itself on the horizon, a beautiful winking wonder that blazed in the sun, of a shape that was neither Muslim dome nor Hindu temple-spire. It stood upon a green knoll, and below it were lines of warehouses, sheds, and mills. Under what new god, thought I, are we irrepressible English…

View full post »

Craft, Beauty and Joy ~ the Northern Temples of Sukhothai (Part III)

Sukhothai, the UNESCO listed collection of Thai ruins that was, in the 13th and 14th centuries, the capital of the Sukhothai kingdom, is a remarkable place. Inside the ancient walls are the remains of the old royal palace and twenty-six temples. What is even more remarkable, however, is the beauty to be found outside the walls. Beyond the northern walls…

View full post »

Afternoon among the Ruins ~ Wat Ek Phnom, Battambang

Khmer ruins are just magic! Moss and lichen make their homes on the piles of tumbled stones, trees grow up and through fallen buildings, holding walls together with their roots, light and shadow play across the whole scene. Wat Ek Phnom, just outside Battambang, may not be the best known of the Angkor ruins, but…

View full post »