This century old Chauk Htat Gyi reclining Buddha seems just that same as I remember from my first visit back in 1995. It has been built and rebuilt many times in it’s life. The covered structure of the 65-meter-long reclining Buddha, means there is no way to expand upwards and the fact that it is in downtown Yangon means that it can’t very well expand sideways either! Along with everything else it does seem more shiny and well kept now and as with all the places of worship – the LED light and the small twinkle lights are everywhere!

As far as I can figure out there are two types of reclining Buddha images. One is a resting Buddha and the other is the Buddha after he has passed and is depicted as dead. That doesn’t sound so good but the nature of existence is impermanence, so it makes sense that there would be an image reflecting this aspect of the life of the Buddhas.

The feet of this image is really special with 108 beautifully designed ‘lakshanas’ on the soles of the feet, representing each of the noble characteristics of the Buddha. The reclining Buddha which is simply resting can be spotted by the placement of the hand on the head and by the feet and legs. The resting Buddha has his head lifted up by his hand, resting on the elbow and one knee seems to be bent brings the feet out of alignment. The deceased Buddha has his head laying on his arm and his feet are rigidly together.