Hpaung Daw U Pagoda, Buddhist temple on Inle Lake, Myanmar
Hpaung Daw U is a Buddhist temple on Inle Lake in Myanmar housing five gilded Buddha statues that have been covered in layers of gold leaf over time, obscuring their original forms completely. These statues weigh several kilograms combined and serve as the central focus of this lakeside religious site.
King Alaungsithu brought these sacred Buddha statues to Inle Lake in ancient times, establishing this site as a center of Buddhist worship in the region. Over the centuries, devotees continued to add gold leaf to the figures, creating the heavily gilded forms seen today.
The name of this sanctuary refers to the five gilded Buddha statues housed here, which travel on a decorated barge during the annual Thadingyut Festival across the lake to visit waterfront communities. This journey shows how deeply Buddhist practice connects different settlements and shapes the rhythm of local life.
The temple sits on the water and is best reached by boat, allowing visitors to approach from the lake itself. Weather on the lake can shift quickly, so it is wise to check conditions before setting out on the water.
In the 1960s, one of the Buddha statues fell into the lake during a barge accident and disappeared into the water. Years later, the statue mysteriously reappeared in the temple without anyone retrieving it.
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