Some flower sellers lied in wait at the entrance

Flower seller working in Shwemawdaw Pagoda — Flower vendor at Shwemawdaw Pagoda

After stepping into the temple grounds, I followed the example of the locals and walked a full circle around the stupa of Shwemawdaw Pagoda, said to be the tallest in Myanmar. The proper direction, I was told, is clockwise, though I am no longer entirely certain I didn’t lose my bearings halfway through. Still, I decided that some amount of merit must have accrued regardless. With that convenient calculation made, I felt quietly satisfied, assumed an innocent expression, and headed for the exit, descending the steps as though nothing in particular had happened.

At the gate, however, a small crowd had gathered. They were not worshippers, but flower sellers. In Myanmar, offering flowers at a temple is so common that prayer and petals come as a kind of set. I recall reading somewhere that flowers, which bloom silently despite harsh conditions, resonate with Buddhist ideals of endurance and discipline. Whether that explanation is true or merely poetic hardly matters. What is certain is that temples without flower sellers are almost unheard of.

Bago was no exception. The vendors had positioned themselves near the entrance, patiently waiting for visitors to pass. The woman in the photograph was one of them. She held long-stemmed flowers in both hands and watched me steadily. Her face was dusted with thanaka, not so much as decoration but as part of everyday grooming. Thanaka is said to protect the skin from sun and heat, though in practice it seems to sit comfortably between cosmetic and utility, a remarkably practical invention.

When I raised my camera, the woman neither pressed her wares on me nor turned away. She simply observed, calmly weighing the situation. Having supposedly accumulated merit moments earlier, I hesitated, wondering if I ought to buy a bouquet. In the end, I walked past. Enlightenment, I decided, is a long road, and probably not one you can shortcut with a single bundle of flowers. That, at least, felt like a suitably modest conclusion.

Shwemawdaw Pagoda on Google Map

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