Please send me in your good wildlife/street/people photos. Thanks!
Today’s beautiful photos come from Joe Routon, who photographed at a Buddhist monastery. His captions are indented, and click on the photos to enlarge them.
Here are a few photos that I made on a trip to a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar a few years ago. The country has many monasteries and shrines, some of which are the most beautiful in Asia.
A growing number of children have been seeking refuge in monasteries as a result of conflict in Myanmar. Buddhist monks can be ordained as young as 8. Traditional guidelines state that a child must be “old enough to scare away crows.”
The Buddhist monastic school system in Myanmar dates back to the 11th century. All Buddhist boys in Myanmar are expected to spend some time, as little as a few weeks, in a monastery. In addition to reading, math, history, and other secular subjects, they learn the basics of the Buddhist faith and earn merit, a kind of spiritual credit that will benefit them and their families in this and future lives. Schooling in a monastery is the only education that many children in Myanmar ever get, especially rural and poor children. They also receive food, board, and health care.
While most young men remain at the monastery for only a short time before returning to the secular life, some become fully ordained monks. The 500,000 Buddhist monks in Myanmar wear saffron- or rust-colored robes.
Child and adult nuns, who live in convents, shave their heads and wear pink robes.
Monks wash themselves in the monastery pool before meditation.
Monks usually follow the traditional rule from the time of the Buddha and eat only one meal a day, before noon. Eating in silence is a necessity for monks. When you eat, your mouth is used for that purpose, and talking is a distraction and impractical. There is little or no snacking outside meals.
Over beaucoup of the centuries that there ‘ve been
since The Buddha, Mr Routon if you know, is it
within both the convents and within the monasteries and
to both genders of all of the children and all of the adults … …
is it taught to these people what, on page 102 of
her Women’s History of the World, Dr Miles teaches
… … from The Buddha, ” The body of a woman is filthy, and
.n o t. a vessel .f o r. The Law ” as of https://tinyurl.com/y42k69fc ?
… … If that is even cared … … to be known ?
Blue
Very nice photos Joe. Were you there for a retreat, or traveling through? (Some friends of mine have done silent retreats at Buddhist sites.)
Thank you! My wife and I were traveling through Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, and we spent part of a day at the monastery. It was truly fascinating!
Beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing these.
Thank you, Mark! Myanmar and India are my two favorite places for photos.
Clearly an age at which they’re fully capable of forming an opinion on the nature of the universe and man’s place in it.
Next thing you know, they’ll be of an age to marry and join the army and die for their Elder’s beliefs.
Beautiful and thought-provoking photos, Joe. They leave me wondering about the plight of those desperate families and their children.
Thank you. On our trip, we also went to the Killing Fields in Cambodia where more than a million were killed by the Khmer Rouge. It’s hard to imagine the terror and desperation that so many have experienced in that part of the world.
Beautiful – you can see some monks in Thailand also, similar system.
I’m glad you were there a few years ago -I think going these days is morally indefensible to visit given their active genocide and all. There is always an ethical aspect to travel – I’d have visited Burma a few years ago myself and intended one day but not at the moment. Nor Turkey, actually.
The prize winner has to be North Korea – the ethics of visiting I wrote an article about for Forbes once. Short summary – don’t.
I look forward to Burma being freer and less evil again one day to see it for myself.
Great photos, thank you.
D.A
NYC
https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2020/06/10/photos-of-readers-93/
Thank you, David! On our trip we also visited the Killing Fields in Cambodia. It’s hard to imagine what the people in that part of the world are going through. Is there a way to access the article you wrote for Forbes?
Beautiful – you can see some monks in Thailand also, similar system.
I’m glad you were there a few years ago -I think going these days is morally defensible to visit given their active genocide and all. There is always an ethical aspect to travel – I’d have visited Burma a few years ago myself and intended one day but not at the moment. Nor Turkey, actually.
The prize winner has to be North Korea – the ethics of visiting I wrote an article about for Forbes once. Short summary – don’t.
I look forward to Burma being freer and less evil again one day to see it for myself.
Great photos, thank you.
D.A
NYC
https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2020/06/10/photos-of-readers-93/