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Myanmar's Custodian of the Buddhist
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Myanmar's Custodian Of the Buddhist Way
By THELMA MENEZES
Times of India, June 23, 2001
Some years ago, I made a trip to Yangon to visit members of my family.
It was April and the timing was perfect. Star flowers exuded fragrance;
the golden pa-dauk was in full bloom and Myanmar was about to celebrate
Thin-gyan, a Water Festival. According to legend, Tha-gyar-min, King of
the Celestials, comes down to the human world during this period to
grace the event.
As the story also goes, a hermit living in a forest saw a huge flower,
which he brought home. It gave birth to a beautiful girl Me-Lamu whom he
raised as his daughter. Tha-gyar-min saw her and knew that she was
destined to be the mother of a great king who would found the city of
Dagon (now Yangon) and that king would be sired by him. Disguised as a
handsome young man he asked for her hand and out of the union was born
King Okalapa, who later built Dagon. This city today has a satellite
town to commemorate his name while the memory of Me Lamu is enshrined in
a pagoda.
When I arrived in Yangon, preparations were already under way.
Celebration committees had been formed. Teenagers were raising funds,
selling picture postcards and souvenirs, servicing vehicles to transport
celebrants.
Festooned mandats (pandals) were coming up along the roads with
provision for storage of water for the revelry. Food stalls provided
traditional fare. Bu-thi-gyaw, white gourd crisps fried in sizzling hot
oil, to be eaten with lettuce and chilly sauce. Mo-hin-ga rice noodles
in a rich gravy of curried fish. Glutinous rice steamed in hollow bamboo
served with sesame seeds, peanuts and grated coconut. Light, unsweetened
tea in bowls, hot and refreshing.
For four days people thronged the streets, some in open trucks, everyone
dancing to the reverberating beat of drums, cymbals, bamboo clappers and
flutes, squirting, splashing water on each other, quelling the summer
heat. It was an explosion of gaiety overflowing with goodwill.
However, Tha-gyar-min's annual visit is not just to initiate a period of
merry making. He is regarded as the Custodian of Buddhist teachings,
responsible for ensuring that people live in accordance with the
Buddhist way.
Khin Myo Chit in her book, Colourful Burma, writes that children are
told by elders that they should not steal, hurt or kill anyone. Names of
the good would be inscribed by Tha-gya-min on a plate of gold while the
bad ones would be relegated to a parchment of doghide, which he would
carry with him to dispense justice. It was a blueprint for good
behaviour equally applicable to adults.
Emphasis is also laid on Dha-na, acts of giving through meritorious
works. The spirit of Dha-na is humility, selflessness, expecting no
reward, not even recognition. The quality or quantity of the gift does
not matter as much as the spirit in which it is given ? feeding monks,
giving alms, sharing food and sweets, fetching water for the aged,
washing their hair and bathing them with home-made concoctions of soap
nuts, acacia and bark of the linden tree.
Under the watchful eyes of Tha-gya-min, it is also time for novitiations
into the Buddha's Order of the Sangha when boys are sent to the kyaung
(monastery) for a week or more, where they have their head shaven, don
yellow robes, do their early morning rounds collecting their meals in
black lacquer bowls, all the while learning and adhering to the Buddhist
precepts imparted to them by phon-gyis (monks).
Parents consider it an act of omission if they fail to follow this
ritual. If they do not have sons, they help those with limited means
through mass novitiations. For the boys, it is a renunciation of worldly
pleasures of a life of austerity and discipline and to experience the
essence of Buddha's teachings even if it is for a short while.
Ceremonial processions to the monastery added colour, with the
novices-to-be in richly embellished princely costumes astride
caparisoned horses shaded by golden umbrellas, followed by family
members and damsels carrying offerings of robes, bowls and flowers. And
always, with the Burmese love for fun, the pageants were enlivened by
dancers and music troupes.
It was four days of an unforgettable blend of religion and revelry, with
water symbolically cleaning and purifying, and Tha-gyar-min reigning
supreme over the country as Custodian of the Buddhist Way.
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<center><b><font color="#000099"><font size=+2>Myanmar's Custodian Of the
Buddhist Way</font></font></b></center>
<p><i><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>By THELMA MENEZES</font></font></i>
<br><i><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>Times of India, June 23, 2001</font></font></i>
<p><font size=+1>Some years ago, I made a trip to Yangon to visit members
of my family. It was April and the timing was perfect. Star flowers exuded
fragrance; the golden <i>pa-dauk</i> was in full bloom and Myanmar was
about to celebrate <i>Thin-gyan</i>, a Water Festival. According to legend,
<i>Tha-gyar-min</i>,
King of the Celestials, comes down to the human world during this period
to grace the event.</font>
<p><font size=+1>As the story also goes, a hermit living in a forest saw
a huge flower, which he brought home. It gave birth to a beautiful girl
<i>Me-Lamu</i>
whom he raised as his daughter. <i>Tha-gyar-min</i> saw her and knew that
she was destined to be the mother of a great king who would found the city
of Dagon (now Yangon) and that king would be sired by him. Disguised as
a handsome young man he asked for her hand and out of the union was born
King Okalapa, who later built Dagon. This city today has a satellite town
to commemorate his name while the memory of Me Lamu is enshrined in a pagoda.</font>
<p><font size=+1>When I arrived in Yangon, preparations were already under
way. Celebration committees had been formed. Teenagers were raising funds,
selling picture postcards and souvenirs, servicing vehicles to transport
celebrants.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Festooned <i>mandats</i> (pandals) were coming up along
the roads with provision for storage of water for the revelry. Food stalls
provided traditional fare. <i>Bu-thi-gyaw</i>, white gourd crisps fried
in sizzling hot oil, to be eaten with lettuce and chilly sauce. <i>Mo-hin-ga</i>
rice noodles in a rich gravy of curried fish. Glutinous rice steamed in
hollow bamboo served with sesame seeds, peanuts and grated coconut. Light,
unsweetened tea in bowls, hot and refreshing.</font>
<p><font size=+1>For four days people thronged the streets, some in open
trucks, everyone dancing to the reverberating beat of drums, cymbals, bamboo
clappers and flutes, squirting, splashing water on each other, quelling
the summer heat. It was an explosion of gaiety overflowing with goodwill.</font>
<p><font size=+1>However, Tha-gyar-min's annual visit is not just to initiate
a period of merry making. He is regarded as the Custodian of Buddhist teachings,
responsible for ensuring that people live in accordance with the Buddhist
way.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Khin Myo Chit in her book, <i>Colourful Burma</i>, writes
that children are told by elders that they should not steal, hurt or kill
anyone. Names of the good would be inscribed by <i>Tha-gya-min</i> on a
plate of gold while the bad ones would be relegated to a parchment of doghide,
which he would carry with him to dispense justice. It was a blueprint for
good behaviour equally applicable to adults.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Emphasis is also laid on <i>Dha-na</i>, acts of giving
through meritorious works. The spirit of <i>Dha-na</i> is humility, selflessness,
expecting no reward, not even recognition. The quality or quantity of the
gift does not matter as much as the spirit in which it is given ? feeding
monks, giving alms, sharing food and sweets, fetching water for the aged,
washing their hair and bathing them with home-made concoctions of soap
nuts, acacia and bark of the linden tree.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Under the watchful eyes of <i>Tha-gya-min</i>, it is also
time for novitiations into the Buddha's Order of the Sangha when boys are
sent to the <i>kyaung</i> (monastery) for a week or more, where they have
their head shaven, don yellow robes, do their early morning rounds collecting
their meals in black lacquer bowls, all the while learning and adhering
to the Buddhist precepts imparted to them by <i>phon-gyis</i> (monks).</font>
<p><font size=+1>Parents consider it an act of omission if they fail to
follow this ritual. If they do not have sons, they help those with limited
means through mass novitiations. For the boys, it is a renunciation of
worldly pleasures of a life of austerity and discipline and to experience
the essence of Buddha's teachings even if it is for a short while.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Ceremonial processions to the monastery added colour,
with the novices-to-be in richly embellished princely costumes astride
caparisoned horses shaded by golden umbrellas, followed by family members
and damsels carrying offerings of robes, bowls and flowers. And always,
with the Burmese love for fun, the pageants were enlivened by dancers and
music troupes.</font>
<p><font size=+1>It was four days of an unforgettable blend of religion
and revelry, with water symbolically cleaning and purifying, and Tha-gyar-min
reigning supreme over the country as Custodian of the Buddhist Way.</font>
<br>
<br>
<p> </html>
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