A message from Ashin Mandala
A message relayed to us by a local supporter:
Today, Ashin Mandala from Ingyinnin monastery of Webu Sayadaw's native land called and requested me to pass this message to you all. He said he was suffering from Omicron for 3 days recently and he is fine now. He cannot send a single email to you directly right now because the Internet connections are out of facility these days. He gladly wishes to inform you that the contributions from you all were quite helpfully sufficient for his young novices and monks for about 6 months. He has purchased and stored raw-rice at his monastery. He is happy to inform you all that your contributions could have helped them for their alms-food at this hard time. He requested me to inform you all for your delights.
Also, he informed me that the children in his village and neighbouring villages have no access to education and literacy now. Due to the financial hardship of the parents and for their children's safety, they want to enrol them at his monastery where their children can study the basics of Burmese language (how to write and read) and some basics of Mathematics as well as they can learn some basics of Buddhist literatures and meditation techniques. He has discussed and planned with some local disciples to novitiate them at this hard moment not only for their education but also for their merits (Paramī) as novices.
He is now planning to encourage the parents to novitiate their children as novices but sadly they cannot even afford to buy some basic requisites of a novice hood: which are simply novice robe (3 robes: for upper & lower parts of body and the uppermost coverage), a pillow, a mat, a mosquito net and a black alms-bowl. Although this is a small expense which costs only MMK-30,000 ($17 USD) at the cheapest, the parents cannot afford due to the current economic crises wherein they cannot grow or harvest their crops, or their crops are burned down, or their crops are to be sold at a very low price.
Hence, Ashin Mandala, the compassionate third generation of Webu Sayadaw, is planning to novitiate all of them: there are 100 children who and whose parents wish to get novitiated.
He also requests me to pass this message to you all: if anyone wishes to become a sponsor of a young child to become a novice not only for his opportunity to access education but also to be able to make efforts for his merits, learning how to practice moralities (Sīla), concentration (Samādhi) and wisdom (Panñā), he or she can become so, just by contributing MMK-30,000 for a novice, or by contributing the equivalent of $1,700 for the full class of 100 aspirants. Anyway, this can be assumed that this is not only a chance for the children to get access to education and get merits in these hard days of Myanmar but also a good and creatively helpful mean to enhance the Sāsanā, the Buddha's teachings, for these children and as well to grow the seeds for each individual's inner peace of new generation. This is also a good chance to prepare the new generation who will not harm himself and his society with his ego and greed. On top of that, this can lead to bringing up a new generation of the Great Webu Monks at this sacred land. As well, this is a chance for bringing up a child's insight which he himself purifies his mental defilements, greed (Lobha), hatred (Dosa), illusion (Moha), envy (Issā), stinginess (Maccariya), etc.
Sukhi Attanam Pari Harantu. Ciram Tihtatu Saddhammo Dhamme Hontu Sagāravo.