vaga #2/4 the life of the “Princes”
part IV
I have dedicated a whole chapter called VAGA #2 to the monks of Myanmar because for me it was the most striking experience in the country. There are half a million of them, I don't know if they are permanent or if it includes students ....... it is a strong image, their culture, their spirituality, so deeply rooted and still strong.
On the one hand, I thought they were more cloistered and marginalised from everyday life. Seeing them in the streets like any citizen amazes me, as well as seeing children and young people in droves.
The image below is the most demonstrative of what I am talking about. I saw them from the taxi that was taking me to the bus terminal, this huge line of children, it was like a rigorously ordered regiment, walking down the sidewalk, silently. I was very impressed, they were going to have lunch outside their monastery, which I assumed by the time of day. It stretched for like 2 blocks. . If I wasn't on my way to the bus, I'd get off and follow them for the rest of the morning.
The visual image that it produces in me is powerful, seeing those walks, their clothes, their colours, their silence, the simplicity and together with the meaning behind the spiritual and non-military march that could not have more opposite intentions. It produces a mystique, an admiration, amazement, a silence, self-reflection and accentuates the mystery of the culture.
This was an experience from the first week in Myanmar, at the Mahagandhayon Monastery in Amarapura. I was lucky to be there at this time, thanks to "Fatty" my motorcyclist guide, who knew his schedules and took me .......... this was my first shock, you will see the videos ....... No more than three tourists and I felt very "lucky" to be there at that time and that is not a topic nor is it on the tour itinerary. Just what I am looking for, are these intimacies of the culture, more than the temples.
The children in white are the newcomers, then the others with their clothes in maroon.- And then the young people, the older ones I did not see, they must eat privately.
So that you will be impressed there are 2,600 monks in this monastery ........... I will have seen about a thousand in the time I was there .... in another chapter I will talk about this monastery that is outside Mandalay. I had never before seen anything like what I saw that day, I had never known, nor heard, or seen a documentary of these scenes like this.
!!! ... the eyes of the Vagabond saw them ... !!!
It adds to my admiration to see that the few who are at the side of the rows are people who come to worship them, they pray aloud when they pass by, they bow as the monks pass by, they put sweets in their hands ... things that they do not have access to. ... and this was repeated for about 45 minutes without stopping as I continued the slow walk. I learned that they came from India especially for this ....... to worship them, to give them their respects .....- 5-year-old children or monks as they are called- What do they feel when people bow before them?
Pictured here with heavy rice bowls, I don't know why, or where they were taking them .....
The marble slabs in the background are the names of donors, they are registered there and also show the amount of the contribution they make. As you can see how many hundreds of hundreds of years this has been done. In another chapter I will talk about donations and how they give support to monasteries.
This guy lost his place in the line, and had to go straight to the kitchen and he only got rice, he lost the vegetables and especially the sweets. They cannot step out of the of the line, strict order is followed, here the children were first, in others it was the oldest first.
Now in another monastery: Nga Phe Kyaung, in Inle Lake is on an island of "Inle Lake". pictures of the surroundings of "Inle Lake". This is a photo I took from my boat, most of the monasteries are in bad shape and have deteriorated .... although this one is covered with gold sheets inside and there is a golden Buddha image, not solid, but very valuable ... ... at night they close and lock the gate with a padlock. Here it is full of cats… ..weird ……., They are skinny, miserable, pitiful kittens and they look unloved. There is definitely no animal consciousness whatsoever
Although this chapter is about the " princes " I also have to add their environment in which they live, in addition there are so many monasteries that I visited that I also take advantage of posting some photos. The photos are not dark, the place was very dark and I wanted to maintain the atmosphere.
I was glad to find them playing like any other children !!!! finally !!!!! They had built little forts, there were no children here other than these, I did not see any teenagers.
Near Kalaw, on a hike that I did with my guide (low season alone, with the guide, it was a luxury) we crossed through this monastery and I was glad to see them playing ball ,,, there were also a few .......one small boy of no more than 5 years old was happily running to fetch the ball for the older children ....... because life in the monastery is too rigid ...... and I will now tell you about the regime.
!!!! It must be so uncomfortable to play ball with the monk clothes on, as they do not go hand in hand, or rather the foot !!!!!!!
And that ball that is used around here is very curious, it is made of wicker, although I saw that they had the traditional ones, but I never saw them use them
In another town, I came across these three monks walking down the street, eating fruit, alone and outside the monastery ....... I saw how they ate those fruits so eagerly. In Ragoon there was one, about the same age as these monks, he was asking for money, literally begging ......... as he passed by, he said in English .... "money, money" insistently. I did not understand anything, why on the street? Had they sent him from the monastery? because he was an insistent and not a passive beggar .......
I hope to know the answer one day soon, I'm on it ..... as soon as I know more about this situation I will tell you about it .......
the face of the last boy in the picture ... his regret is clear.
The photos at the exit of the Bagan museum, their teacher was taking their photos, it is like an educational outing ...... they are not supposed to talk to each other, or look into each other's eyes. but they are children and how could they not be tempted to look at me, I was the only foreigner who had her phone ..... a curiosity for them ... children and curiosity go hand in hand
I loved this shot in Monte Popa they were also out for an educational tour and they looked very entertained with the chiming of the bong......... when I saw them laugh and talk to each other it made me happy, because seeing them so serious and sad made my stomach feel tight........ They lose their childhood suddenly ...... although they have been preparing for this since they were babies, they know that their families are proud.
WE GO TO THE TEENAGERS
The seriousness on his face is very common. I knew they couldn't listen to music "a teenager without music" ..... poor thing
These were the first monks that I saw on the day of my arrival, I followed them for blocks, I noticed that they were walking through the streets and seeing how they hiked up their robes and pulled them over their heads to protect themselves from the 40-degree heat, made me laugh, Teenagers!
In Su Tuang Pyae Pagoda, in Mandalay Hill they are different, they go at sunset to meet tourists to talk with them, to practice languages, as I hadn’t started my Blog yet, I threw out many of the photos that I took of them, I had taken many photos where they were seen sitting like this on the ground with young travellers in full conversation. I enlarged this photo so that the Pagoda is appreciated, it was different to all the others, all covered with mirror mosaics ..... it was marvellous .....
I end up with this photo because I saw that he was happy (a rare thing to see) carrying an offering. Shwedagon Paya, Ragoon