Posted Monday, November 15, 2004; 21:00 HKT
During his time on earth, the Buddha was always an isolated figure. He abandoned the life of a prince to become a reclusive ascetic, and it was only after six years of solitary meditation in an Indian forest that he achieved enlightenment.

But these days, being alone with Buddha isn't easy. The world's Buddhist nations are either some of its most densely populated (Japan, South Korea), some of its most religiously intolerant (China, Vietnam), or too overrun with tourists for much of a meaningful one-on-one (Thailand, Cambodia, and to a lesser extent Laos and Sri Lanka). That leaves just Burma, where tourism is a vexed issue. Imprisoned democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters in the West will tell you not to visit the country because your money will prop up the military dictatorship; many ordinary Burmese plead otherwise as they desperately need an influx of foreign cash.

If there is any benefit to the nation's political suffering, it's that Pagan, an ancient Buddhist city that consists of 40 sq km of stupas and temples from the 11th to 13th centuries, has remained sublimely untainted by tourism. Imagine having Lhasa or Angkor Wat all to yourself. No touts, tickets or tinny scooters—just the murmur of a praying monk and enough buddhas, of every imaginable height, color and form, to guarantee a hundred private audiences. Even if you're not meditating, it's worth pondering this strange paradox: that a country ruled with such brutality could also possess this magical oasis of peace and enlightenment.

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