vaga#2/8 monks with only one meal

Part VIII

THIS CHAPTER IS COMPLEMENTED BY THE NARRATION AND IMAGES I SHARED EARLIER IN "VAGA #2 A POSSIBLE BUDDHA IS BORN AND PRINCES LIFE, PART IV," THIS IS THE SAME DAY, BUT WITH THE TEENAGERS NEAR MANDALAY AT THE MAHAGANDHAYON MONASTERY IN AMARAPUR. MYANMAR.

                   

At the same monastery that I described the children, I will now describe the adolescents who were between 17 to 19 years old they were in that huge double row, the children were first and dressed in white, the boys between 5 and 6 years go before the teenagers.  usually, the older ones go ahead first.  Remember that there were 2,600 monks in that monastery alone. I arrived with Fatty, he is great, taking me on his motorcycle for half an hour without me knowing where we were going and we arrived in time for the food ceremony, at 10:30 in the morning, in the monastery. I was able to appreciate one of the most impressive events that I have seen and to see the unique, silent spectacle, the walk of more than a thousand young people and children. The elderly eat elsewhere and I did not see them. This scene is very little known to foreigners, (it is not in any tourist guide) and it is fascinating, incomprehensible, admirable. I was thankful to be present, I was fortunate to participate in their daily life, to this day I have the images burned into my retina.

I was asked why I could not get my head around feeding so many monks every day, I have only three children and I know what that requires, it needs a little coordination and cash.   How do they manage to feed that many when they have to rely on donations, let alone, accommodation, water and electricity? Fatty seeing me so excited, so impressed while he was showing me more and answering my questions. This is what he said;  For example, they need 20 thousand dollars every day,    PLOP    20 thousand a day…   YES

The photos below show two different times in history, that of the child with the rice bowls that are carried to the elders, who eat in private (the poor thing carries a heavy load and looks quite sorry for himself, I wanted to give him a hand. If you have a look at the marble at the back, the names and amount of money contributed are chiselled into marble slabs. They are carved in marble and are in order of the largest contribution down to the smallest and the year it was donated. There must have been hundreds of these marble slabs, I emphasise that it was marble I don’t know what year this started, but there are many and the last photo is not great because I erased the original and this is one I took from the photo I had on my blog in the chapter with the kids. That blue “International Contributors” sign shows current and especially permanent donors. The pictures show a list of recognisable companies from the Western world. The few names I recall are IBM, Microsoft and some American banks. I was surprised that Western companies were involved, as I didn’t think that it was understood by them. They donate the money annually.

 I still feel the great emotion of participating at that moment. Fatty took me to the other side since the line had finally finished after about 50 minutes without stopping in the open, We arrived at their dining rooms, in several covered areas with no walls. The emotion was overwhelming, I was so excited that my hands were shaking while taking the photos, I did not dare to be too obvious, I did not want to interrupt their privacy, the truth is that I felt uncomfortable looking closely at them in their intimacy, (I can't find another word or synonym other than intimacy). There were some Indians who were the same ones who had given them offerings when passing in the ranks (they came exclusively from India only to pay tribute and contribute to that monastery) and I was with them. You will understand my feeling of hallucinating. Fatty, realising how overwhelmed I was by the scene, took the cell phone out of my hands without asking. He took the video. I wouldn't have had the guts to get so close. And all was wrapped in a noisy silence, only chewing could be heard (since they do not use cutlery) it was an intimidating scene, it made me feel awful for being there and invading their silent meal, despite there being hundreds and hundreds of them. The word overwhelming was too small for me to this day.

Fatty then, without saying anything to me took me to the kitchen, which is the great thing about him, it would never have occurred to me to go to the kitchen, but it turned out to be very entertaining to see the kitchen. And to see what happened in the background and how it works. A massive pot filled with rice, the huge basins of fried foods, the preparation of food in this case was for the next day. 

The videos below, like all of mine, was less than basic, but it doesn't matter anyway, because how to explain,  the pots were  massive, those fritters, the vapours, smells, and if they were outside it was 40 degrees. IMAGINE, UNBEATABLE the heat was suffocating. Everything is made with firewood and in various areas in the shed, there were about three stoves in turn. I arrived at the end of the lunch service, the tardy ones were given only rice.

The cook cooks exclusively with rice and this is done on a wood stove, they have the fire that boils the water and this creates the steam they use for cooking. After walking around the kitchen a bit, I caught him at the end, when he had finished and he finally sat down, also under the boiling hot shed with his well-deserved cigarette, I was witness to the extreme conditions, oppressive and unbreathable in the atmosphere of that kitchen.

The next photo was taken in the shed, Fatty explained to me that written on the whiteboard with one of those non-permanent markers, is the name of each particular contributor to that lunch, and the amount of money that was donated. The next day will be someone else’s contribution. All of this is surprising and I'm sorry to repeat it, but the feeling is almost inconceivable due to my scant knowledge of this culture or religion, or both. I, who comes from the Christian religion, have never seen this much money given daily. Perhaps it exists, I do not know, nor will I find out, but it does not leave me indifferent.

I FINISH WITH THIS PHOTO, THEY ARE OUTSIDE PREPARING THE ONLY MEAL FOR THE NEXT DAY, AMONG DOGS AND CROWS, BUT IT IS BETTER OUTSIDE THE SHED., DOUBTS STILL REMAINED WITH ME, BUDDHISTS DO NOT EAT LIVE ANIMALS, BUT THERE THEY WERE DISMEMBERING CHICKENS, AT THIS POINT I NO LONGER HAD THE ENERGY FOR ONE MORE QUESTION