In 2003/2004, the author spent a year studying at
ITBMU in
From the the brochure of ITBMU:
There is a proverb: “Do not look a gift horse in the
mouth”. It means that when given a present, you should just accept it and not
be critical. That is why I was reluctant at first to write about my experience.
After some time, however, with
encouragement from my friends who were often
concerned about my health and well-being while I was staying at ITBMU, I decided to write down some
reflections. When we give presents, it should be of good quality and when we
accept presents, we should also think of
who we receive it from. Having said this, I can conclude that I got given a
horse that was in a quite lamentable state and in future I would not accept
anything else from the same donor. You may ask why I accepted it in the first
place, therefore I would like to explain that as an Oriental studies student, I
have an interest in Buddhism and
What could possibly happen to one embarking on such an adventure?
In the begining you are very
confused, trying to figure out exactly what this place is where you happen to
find yourself. It seems to be a combination of primary school, kindergarten and
prison. Particularly a kind of mental prison.
Lodgings are relatively good when you consider the fact that you are in
These rules applying to women only is a peculiar
aspect of the
Your daily routine is strictly planned so that there is not much time to
go outside and really encounter
The daily schedule was as follows:
On Saturdays and Sundays we were generally free; but only in the second
semester. In the first semester the university authorities organized excursions
for us to go and ‘pay homage to pagodas’. It means you go to one pagoda, meet
the trustees and bow down, then you either go back or quickly go on to the next
one, not really having been given a chance to experience the place properly. If
there is no excursion planned for a particular weekend, you can be sure
that a ceremony of some kind will be
invented (usually to give an award (title or medal) to this or that monk or lay
person. I experienced this as a means to get the students to stay in the
compound during the day and thus not having any chance to plan and embark on
any private excursions. The information about an upcoming ceremony or excursion
usually appeared on the notice board in the hostel compound on a Friday
afternoon only. Participation is compulsory and you are warmly welcomed with ‘ATTENTION’
as the title of the notice.
In the university’s brochure it says that there is an immense collection
of volumes but in reality the library is
very poorly stocked, particularly if one considers the effort that goes into
promoting this institution. Books are in general disorder. Library and reading
room is open only until
Meditation rooms.
There are three little cottages in front of the womens
hostel that has been designated as meditation rooms, unfortunately you may use
them only till about
In the beginning they ask about
your dietary preferences, but do not be mislead by this. After two weeks you
begin to understand where you are. It seems very strange for ‘the model
university for foreigners’. The food is extremely poor. Nearly all the students
have stomach problems and there is no medical assistance at ITBMU. You should
come prepared and have enough money to take care of your health through your own means. The menu
is fixed, every day of the week you have the same food. It means also that you
should not expect any changes. It does cycle though, although no compliments or
complaints are supposed to be expressed. Even if you do work up enough courage
to complain you will not be listened to and
you will be the first to fail your exam. Generally, you should not criticise anything at all
because you will be considered a ‘difficult or troublesome’ student. The
same policy applies with regards to asking questions during formal lecturing
periods.
The University is being
laughingly referred to as the ‘
People who were
pro-actively involved in highlighting problems and grievances, left the
university under a cloud of mystery at the end of the first semester and were
not even allowed to write the exams.
Usually there are a few students each year that suffers from some
psychological disturbance. Those who do are quickly sent home without any
excuse. A lot of them suffer from depression due to the daily routine and
strange way of doing things at ITBMU.
In the beginning most people behave like rats in a labirynth; idly walking around, taking the bus downtown and nervously going round the
city just to get away from the university compound for a little while at least.
Later they adapt. Human beings are generally able to adapt to most
circumstances when forced to. People at the university spend most of their time
watching movies and television, betting on football games in a nearby
monastery, sleeping all day long, going to the shopping mall, which is
generally the highest attraction or sitting in the Burmese teashops.
Finally you realise that you
are allowed to do whatever you wish as long as you do not cause a disturbance
or complain about the university.
Lectures
These were by far the most disappointing aspect. First you realize that only a few people can speak English fluently. The level of English of more than 50% of the teachers is very poor. And the level of the students’ command is equally poor. So many of the students do not understand what the teacher is saying. But often the teacher also cannot express themselves clearly, so there arises a situation where everyone is in agreement about not understanding one another. Besides the problem of language and comunication, the level of academic studies is very low and particulary for educated people it is quite dissappointing.
Generally, the
program of studies is based on ‘The teachings of the Buddha’ (basic level)
edited by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. It contains the life of the
Buddha, The Four Noble Truths, The Ten Paramis,
charity - offering flowers, almsfood etc. You learn
mostly about how to be a good person, not to be a bad person and to respect
your parents, teachers and monks. Another area of study is the Abhidhamma (buddhist
psychological framework), where you must learn to enumerate all the different
mental states and mental factors and all these in their various combinations
and permutations. At first you have to learn the numbers by heart with little
or no explanation. The explanations may be had during subsequent years of
further studies.
From my
letter to a friend: Imagine, already one month they are teaching me that I should give to
my parents cold water when it is hot and hot water when it is cold”
My friend’s comment: ”That is
very good at least you have some knowledge of the temperature of drinks.”
Finally, after one month of complete confusion about
what this teaching is about, you start taking
your own books to read in class or you just sleep on your arm on the
desk.
The main point, it seemed to me, was that nobody was
supposed to really study anything. Only that lectures are given and you must
have at least 75% attendance in class. All the students are supposed to pass in
order to present good statistics.
The exams are a farce, you get all the questions one
month before and if you speak a little English it is enough for you to start
your preparation one day before the exam. The questions usually are asked in
such a way that you only need to enumerate a Pali or
English sentence on really basic teachings. Then even if you answer all
questions fully and clearly, it is enough to have 40 or 50% to pass. However,
the final decision is up to the board of the University and if you are
considered to be a difficult atudent, no matter how
well you answered, you will not pass.
Having said that, I would like to pay respect to some
of the senior and younger monks who are trying their best to improve the level
of academic standards. They may yet make some
headway over the next few years. It seems they are also frightened to be
fired from their jobs (as are all the
In
In the post office they charge a little bit more than
the actual cost of a stamp. I sent some papers and books home so as not to
carry them with me on the plane. For each stamp I payed
600 kyats. When I got home, I noticed that the stamps they did put on my parcel
was only for 30 kyats. The same applied to phone calls. I do not regret the
money because relatively speaking it is a small amount and I would have just
given it freely if anyone asked me, but this kind of thing should not happen in
the country where the ‘pristine dhamma’ has been
preserved unadulterated.
Why do the people stay there?
Generally, it is very rare for non-Asian people to stay for longer than
one year. The Asian students are mostly from
Holidays
There are three possible ways for an ITBMU student to spend their
holidays.
You can stay in a meditation center, you can leave for your country,
or you may travel ‘to visit pagodas in
There are some enjoyable aspects to travelling
though. People respect you for your
interest in Buddhism, they are more open and you can see the workings of their
daily life. You really meet wonderful people and see the real ‘
Finally, I would like to mention some words of
caution. If you have a serious interest in Buddhism, ITBMU is not the place
where you would be able to pursue serious academic inquiry. It would be a pity to lose interest after a stint at
ITBMU. People would be well-advised to go to
As for the ITBMU, the government department that set
it up have their own interest to show themselves in a better light. They need
the University and the foreign students to promote their own public relations
image abroad; taking pictures of all graduates to fill the pages of the newspapers, both local and foreign.
Missionary task of ITBMU
In conclusion, I should mention that the missionary task, if there is
any seriousness to that issue, is very confusing. It seems to be one big
misunderstanding and it does not meet with the needs of foreigners from
different cultural backgrounds. People arriving in
Winston L. King, in his book ‘A Thousand Lives Away:
Buddhism in Contemporary Burma’, expresses the sentiment accurately:
„Believing that the world is now in need of Buddhist teaching, and being
encouraged by present Western interest in the East, Theravada Buddhist leaders
tend to think that the West is waiting only to hear some simple words of the
Buddha to convert it to the dhamma. There is almost no real appreciation of the depth
of cultural and intellectual difference between Theravada East and
Christian-secular West, nor of the fact that Theravada tradition will need to
re-think and re-present its message in radically different fashion from that of the traditional past if it is to receive more than a polite and scholary hearing on the part of those it hopes to convert.
Burmese Buddhists, for the most part, fail to understand that on the lower
level, popular pagoda centred and nat-infected
Buddhism may seem like superstition to
the West, and on the higher level, Abhidhammic studies, their pride and joy, leave the
Westerner cold because they make no real contact with his philosophical or religious categories and
seem to him to be an infinititely exhaustive and
infinitely dry enumeration of unfamiliar and unimportant distinctions.”[1]
At ITBMU the missionary effort seems to be put partly
on Pagoda worship, especially at the
level of popular Buddhism and partly on the prestige of Abhidhamma
knowledge. There does not exist any kind
of preparation for or interest in inter-cultural dialogue.
[1] King, Winston L., A Thousand Lives Away,
Buddhism in Contemporary Burma, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachussets, 1964:79.