The Life or Legend of Gaudama, the Buddha of the Burmese (Volume I)Bigandet, Paul Ambroise
Religion
The Life or Legend of Gaudama, the Buddha of the Burmese (Volume I)
Bigandet, Paul Ambroise
Buddhism -- Burma; Burma -- Religion; Gautama Buddha
[21] Tsadoomarit is the first of the six abodes of Nats. The
description of the pleasures enjoyed by the inhabitants of that
seat is replete with accounts of the grossest licentiousness.
[22] A Palou, or rather Bilou, is a monster with a human face,
supposed to feed on human flesh. His eyes are of a deep red hue,
and his body of so subtle a nature as never to project any
shadow. Wonderful tales are told of this monster, which plays
a considerable part in most of the Buddhistic writings.
[23] A Dzedi is a religious edifice of a conical form, supported
on a square basis, and having its top covered with what the
Burmese call an umbrella, resembling in its shape the musical
instrument vulgarly called _chapeau chinois_ by the French. On
each side of the quadrangular basis are opened four niches, in
the direction of the four cardinal points, destined to receive
statues of Buddha. This monument is of every dimension in size,
from the smallest, a few feet high, to the tallest, of one or
two hundred feet high. It is to be seen in every direction, and
in the neighbourhood of towns every elevation is crowned with
one or several Dzedis.
The word Dzedi means a sacred depository, that is to say, a
place where relics of Buddha were enshrined. The word has been
extended since to places which have become receptacles of the
scriptures, or of the relics of distinguished religious, who had
acquired eminence by their scientific and moral attainments. In
the beginning, those Dzedis were a kind of _tumuli_, or mounds
of earth or bricks, erected upon the shrine wherein relics were
enclosed. In proportion as the followers of the Buddhistic faith
increased in number, wealth, and influence, they erected Dzedis
on a grander scale, bearing always a great resemblance in shape
and form to the primitive ones. The stupas or topes discovered
in the Punjaub, and in other parts of the Indian Peninsula, were
real Buddhistic tumuli or Dzedis.
During succeeding ages, when relics could not be procured, the
faithful continued to erect Dzedis, the sight of which was
intended to remind them of the sacred relics, and they paid to
those relics and monuments the same veneration as they would
have offered to those enriched with those priceless objects.
In Burmah, in particular, the zeal, or rather the rage, for
building Dzedis has been carried to a degree scarcely to be
credited by those who have not visited that country. In the
following pages there will be found an attempt to describe the
various forms given to those monuments.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account