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Concept
Shwedagon Pagoda
Summary
The Shwedagon Pagoda (, ʃwèdəɡòʊɰ̃ phəjá); ကျာ်ဒဂုၚ်; officially named Shwedagon Zedi Daw (ရွှေတိဂုံစေတီတော်, ʃwèdəɡòʊɰ̃ zèdìdɔ̀, Golden Dagon Pagoda) and also known as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda is a gilded stupa located in Yangon, Myanmar.
The Shwedagon is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar, as it is believed to contain relics of the four previous Buddhas of the present kalpa. These relics include the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Koṇāgamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa, and eight strands of hair from the head of Gautama.
Built on the high Singuttara Hill, the tall pagoda stands above sea level, and dominates the Yangon skyline. Yangon's zoning regulations, which cap the maximum height of buildings to above sea level (75% of the pagoda's sea level height), ensure the Shwedagon's prominence in the city's skyline.
Legend holds that the Shwedagon Pagoda was constructed more than 2,500 years ago — while the Buddha was still alive — which would make it the oldest Buddhist stupa in the world. According to the Buddhavaṃsa, two merchants from Ukkalājanapada named Tapussa and Bhallika were passing through Bodh Gaya when they encountered the Buddha. The Buddha, who was at that time enjoying the bliss of his newly attained buddhahood as he sat under a rājāyatana tree, accepted their offering of rice cake and honey and taught them some of the dharma in return. In so doing, they became the first lay disciples to take refuge in the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha also gave eight strands of his hair to the merchants and gave them instructions on how to construct a stupa in which to enshrine these hair relics. The merchants presented the eight strands of hair to King Okkalapa of Dagon, who enshrined the strands along with some relics of the three preceding Buddhas (Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana, and Kassapa) in a stupa on the Singuttara Hill in present-day Myanmar.
The first mention of the pagoda in the royal chronicles dates only to 1362/63 CE (724 ME) when King Binnya U of Martaban–Hanthawaddy raised the pagoda to .
Official source
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