World Peace between your head and feet...

   I arrived at the hotel about a hour and a half before the tour was to meet and begin. Worse for the wear with no sleep for about 30 hours, we toured Ang San's workroom; the father of Myanmar's independence movement in the late 1940's and 50's. He was the father of the current leader, Ang San Suu Chi.

   This afternoon we got an audience with Dr Ashin Nanissara who is s considered to be Myanmars holiest Buddhist leaders. He said he doesn't believe in world peace. He said that world peace begins with all of us, that each of us were responsible for world peace within ourselves starting from our head down to our feet. That if each of us find light, that darkness cannot co-exist. That violence, intolerance can be eradicated with the opposite which is love, compassion and inner peace; that each of us should practice cultivating this within ourselves. Each religion has what he calls an inner core and outer shell. The outer shell consists of rites, rituals and ceremonies, the inner core the s common to all religions. Morality, charity, discipline and pure love, pure mind, compassion, goodwill and tolerance are the common denominator and each of us have to practice this within ourselves to counteract darkness.

  In Yangon is Shwedagon pagoda which contains the relics or bones of four Buddhas that obtained enlightenment. The pagoda has been in some form since about 500 BC and in 1453AD, was significantly expanded and raised to over 300ft. It is surrounded by many icons, smaller pagodas and is topped by a weather vane with 2,000 gems.