The symbol of Buddha

Buddhism has become woven into the texture of social life of Buddhist countries. in Burma, for example, every Buddhist boy becomes a monk for numerous amount of time in his life ; it may be for a year or two, for a rainy season, for a few days or perhaps a lifetime. There are reckoned to be 60,000 monks in Burma, out of a population of nineteen million. the land is dotted with white pagodas ; in every huge village there is a monastery, and perhaps, still, a monastery school for the boys. You see the yellow robe everywhere.

The following is a bright description of the outstanding occasion when a son of a Burmese family enters the Sangha or Order of Buddhist Monks. It is taken from the Religion of Burma by Ananda Metteya (Allan Bennett 1872-1923), who was one of the introductory Englishmen to become a Buddhist monk. (Picture above – Bhikkhu Ananda Metteya on alms round)

In commemoration of the Great Renunciation, the entry of a boy into the Novitiate is oftentimes made the occasion of one of those public festivals which delight the play-loving, movement-loving and colour-loving Burmese heart. Even poor parents will often times save cash for numerous time (a very hard task for the generous and, indeed, thriftless Burman) in order to give their sons a lavish Shin-pyu (making a Holy One), as the festival is called; and the Shin-pyu of a rich man’s son is often times a very grand affair. Personifying the Prince Siddhattha, the boy is dressed in regal robes and crowned ; and, after receiving all his friends in state, the little Prince rides round the village, mounted, if possible, on a white horse, in memory of white Kanthaka, the Bodhisatta’s steed. a procession is formed, and amidst a great display of royal canopies and insignia, hired for the occasion from numerous theatrical company, it marches to the air of stirring music round the village to the Monastery walls. Here the Princeling ought to dismount and music will have to stop, for the little mystery-play has reached the point corresponding to the arrival of the Bodhisatta at the River Anoma, when he put off his royal robes and donned the ascetic’s garb. Entering the compound, the lad bathes and is clad in a temporary plain white robe ; and, so attired, makes his request, in the ancient Pali formula, that the ordaining Monk will, ‘ out of Compassion, and for the sake of the Attainment of Nibbana s Peace ‘, concede him the Yellow Robe. the Monk, assenting, gives him the parcel of three Robes, placed ready to his hand. the lad retires and robes himself in these, after having his head shaved ; he then returns to the Monastery, where the ceremony of Ordination is finished by his recitation of the vow to detect the ten Precepts of a Novice.

Every day the monks go out on their begging rounds, and devout housewives place their offerings of feed in the begging-bowls, while the monk looks straight ahead, giving no word of thanks, for is he not providing the laity with their finest prospect of profiting merit ? the most meritorious deeds are thought to be those connected with the support of the monks, the building of pagodas and monasteries. Theoretically, feeding the hungry comes a long way behind feeding the monks, but in exercise the poor are willingly invited to portion a meal in a Buddhist community which has not become too urbanized; and orphans are readily taken into a family.

The outstanding holidays in Burma are connected with a great deal of incident in the life of the Buddha or with the legend of a heap of pagoda. Best clothes will be worn—brightly coloured silk skirts for both sexes, little white jackets and silk scarves for the women, more sober jackets for the men and silken head-dresses of varying colours—and the pagoda will be crowded. Candles will be lit before the images of the Buddha and flowers offered, and even the most worldly will sit in quiet meditation and contemplate the peace of the Lord Buddha and think, perhaps with uneasy conscience, of the holy fife he taught. in these modern days a heap of of the younger generation will not have much religious conviction, but they will take their percentage in the outstanding festivals, rejoicing to give and receive the hospitality which is such a feature of their observance. As in Christian lands, the women are the chief supporters of the religion, but as men grow older they commence to think more badly of the lives ahead, and a great deal of a man who has raised a family and done his responsibility as a citizen will return to the monastery to prepare for the next round of existence.

Even the most enlightened Buddhist will be conscious of the good life taught by the Buddha. he will not question its rightness ; it stirs and educates his conscience. But the Burmese Buddhist is very humane and very conscious of his own failings. Burmese men find sex no less easy to discipline than men of other races, and when one’s wife begins to age it is easy to take what friends politely describe as ‘ a lesser wife’, somebody younger and more attractive. As interpreted in Burma, Buddhism lays great special and significant stress on self-effort: in theory the Buddhist would agree with the British monk Pelagius, who taught that men could find salvation through their own efforts, but in exercise he would be more akin to St Augustine, the outstanding contestant of Pelagius, who could look back on a youth in which he had prayed ” Lord, make me good, but not yet “. the Burman is quick-tempered and when he disobeys the Buddha and takes intoxicating liquor, he is touchy and apt to lose control, and as the villager almost always carries with him a knife-cum-chopper for cutting bamboo, wood, meat, it is dangerously easy to draw it from his belt and strike the one who has offended him. the result is one of the most eminent murder rates for any country. yet he is as quickly full of remorse for what he has done.

To set against these last thoughts of humane weakness, let me do not forget the occasional Buddhist monk, whose face and bearing speak of an other-worldly peace, a peace only won after years of discipline, mortification and meditation. let me do not forget again my two friends— so gentle, tolerant and kindly. let me recall some of the Burmese women I have met, charming and shrewd, with often a deeper strength of reputation than their fathers and brothers. I have the sentiment that when they meet our Lord, he will look on them with eyes of love and hope, and greet them with the words ‘* Thou are not far from the kingdom of God.”

The Buddhist religion, which has been the main influence molding the lovable, humane reputation which I have tried to describe.

this entry was posted on Sunday, March 13th, 2011 at 12:13 pm and is filed beneath Buddhism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.