Tag Archives: monastery

Prague — the library at the Strahov Monastery

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Some people say it’s the most beautiful library in the world–but it’s not on our tourist maps. The maps focus on the central areas, but the Strahov Monastery is farther out of the center, outside the borders of the maps. But we manage to determine from a very small map in one of our books the approximate location–at least good enough to figure out which train to take. We have three-day unlimited train passes, so getting on and off trains is very easy for us. And after all, once you’re on the right train, a monastery of such significance should be easy to spot, right?

Wrong.

So somewhere near the end of the line, when the car is almost empty, an elderly gentleman asks if we are lost, and can he help us find something. We tell him we’re looking for the Strahov Monastery, and he tells us that we’ve gone too far, and exactly how many stops we have to go back (three). We do as told, and find the monastery, which from the outside is quite modest. Only the spires of the church are visible from the street below.

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We pay the fee to enter the library, which is on the second floor of one of the buildings. And indeed it is beautiful.

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This is the “Philosophical Hall,” built in the late 1700s. My pictures gives a good idea of the room, but you can find the Picture To End All Pictures here. Zoom in for close-ups of the ceiling or of the books. Somehow, these old volumes tied a knot in my throat that doesn’t seem to want to go away.

There was, it turned out, also a second library room, known as the “Theological Hall,” that was built a hundred years earlier. If not so gracefully proportioned, it was most wonderfully decorated.

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The monastery church, the Basilica of the Assumption, has been rebuilt a number of times and now looks to be of a similar Baroque vintage as the Theological Hall.

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After enjoying these sights, a nearby restaurant offers a view of a different kind.

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We had a dinner reservation elsewhere that evening, so we planned to go back for dinner the next evening. Alas, the weather turned cold and windy and rainy. But someday–who knows?–we may yet return. Especially now that we know where to get off the train.

 

Inle Lake – Ngape Chaung, the “jumping cat monastery”

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You have to admit, I’ve laid pretty low on the holy sites for the last several posts, a week now, maybe more. So… this is Myanmar, and it’s time for a monastery. And not just any monastery, but the famous home of the jumping cats.

As with all places around Inle Lake, arrival is by boat.

The monastery complex comprises a number of buildings arranged in an attractive tableau.

  

 

The pagoda contains many attractive Buddhas of different styles.

    

 

In addition, the place is inhabited by many contented cats.

   

 

Interestingly, the monks of this monastery have trained the cats to jump through hoops. We didn’t get to see this in person, though we would have loved to. We were told that there have been complaints that training cats is too trivial a pursuit, and not spiritual enough, for serious monks to pursue. And so now the monks no longer demonstrate their cats’ skills. They might still be training them, of course, but not so publicly.

You can watch a video on youtube by clicking here. This is fun. Enjoy!

 

Inle Lake – Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery

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The nearest airport to Inle Lake is at Heho, about an hour’s drive distant. And in between Heho Airport and the lake lies this charming teak monastery, over 150 years old.

It’s not covered by ornate carvings like the royal monasteries and pagodas we saw in Mandalay. This is a regional monastery, and one dedicated to housing poor boys from the countryside, boys who might consider the monastery as a way of life. For them, it provides an education and a predictable meal–more than they might get at home otherwise.

We arrived during wash time. Monks were washing themselves and their clothing together.

 

 

The monks live in a dormitory, where each has his own space: a sleeping mat and a place to store his possessions, including a trunk. With a lock. Not that the monks aren’t honest. Of course they are, but a lock, perhaps, helps them stay that way. Or maybe it’s us tourists that they’re worried about.

The dormitory occupies half of the monastery building. The other half is a temple with an ornately carved ceiling, containing some of the sweeter Buddhas we’ve seen on this trip.

   

 

Nearby–perhaps part of the same monastery complex–is another pagoda with an abundance of Buddhas and beautiful glass mosaics.

The main Buddhas seem about to go out for a stroll.

All around the central sanctuary is a walkway with niches. In every niche is a Buddha (and a sign indicating the Buddha’s donor). There is much merit here.

 

 

The arched ceiling of this walkway is covered with mosaic murals of Buddhist themes. The one I like best shows how the righteous (men) get to pluck the fruit of the tree of virgins. Er… I am not making this up.

I do have to point out the sleeping righteous (men) at the right and below the tree, so perhaps this image depicts only the kind of pleasant dreams such people may have. Or perhaps the image refers to some canonical tale. I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy on the right is a person with a name that any good Myanmar Buddhist would know.

 

Mandalay – Shwe Inbin Monastery (or: an orphan makes good)

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Shwe Inbin is a remarkably well preserved teak monastery structure. It was built in 1895 by a Chinese orphan who worked himself up from an poverty to become a rich and powerful merchant, married to one of the king’s daughters, if I recall the tale correctly. Long used as a monastery, it is now being preserved as an historically significant structure; monks from the still-active monastery buildings that surround Shwe Inbin still act as caretakers.

And perhaps the mango trees on the grounds, dropping their near-ripe fruit like cannonballs on the unwary visitor, are also doing their part as caretakers.

The carvings that adorn the teak building, in the traditional Burmese style, are gorgeous. So is the building as a whole.

    

Inside, the teak carvings are also lovely, and the sanctuary contains two gold Buddhas. I don’t know why, but I find these Buddhas tasteful and restrained, despite their being gold. Maybe I am developing gold-tolerance, needing higher and higher doses before it sets off my “excessive!” button.

As we were leaving, we came across the guardian monks, hard at work in their caretaking duties.

After seeing this monastery (and surviving the attack of the guardian mango trees once again), we had yet another delicious Burmese dinner and got ready for our early morning flight the next day to Inle Lake.

 

 

 

 

 

Mandalay – Lunch at the Mahagandhayan Monastery

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Lunch at the Mahagandhayan Monastery has definitely made it onto the tourist circuit. It’s tons of fun, but still, don’t you think it’s kind of odd that tourists gather every day to watch the monks eat lunch? I read that the monks do. I’m glad they find us amusing.

I think that part of the appeal for us tourists is just to watch the monks at all. There are so very many monks in Myanmar. They’re all around on the streets doing…er, whatever monks do when they’re out and about. And they’re very noticeable, with their bright garments and shaved heads. And so we learn that religious Burmese people, meaning… everyone… enters the monastery at least three times in their lives: once as a young child for a week or two; again as a young man setting out in life for a couple of weeks or a month, and a third time sometime in maturity, perhaps to stay. And women too may become nuns, though there are far fewer of them. And we tourists have little innate sense of what that life experience may be like. And so we gather to watch and learn.

Mahagandhayan Monastery is the first living monastery (that is, not in ruins) that we have seen. Since it is a popular destination, signs let us know what the monastic life is all about.

As we enter the monastery, the monks are starting to gather, and the crowd soon grows. Those wearing white are the very youngest monks, perhaps six years old. Many monks bring their towels along, and I am irreverently reminded of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

   

As if by magic, two neat lines form, and the monks enter the dining hall courtyard. Today we have benefactors, who have donated a sweet dessert.

    

The dining hall itself is large, and it appears that the monks sit, as they have entered, by rank and age. This is the last meal they will eat this day (and it’s still morning!) but they may save leftovers for later if they’re hungry.

 

 

Not everyone is as impressed with this lunchtime display as we tourists are.