Tag Archives: monks

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.