Feeding Bagan

On the donation ceremony day, our local team leader talked to some monks and nuns before we started our donation ceremony. He relays the following story to us:

“I witnessed the tragedies of two monks from two small monasteries of Old Bagan area, which are mostly unknown to the visitors and tourists. Hearing from their fellow monks, these aged monks were sick and couldn't come to attend the contribution event. These poor aged monks got sick from malnutrition, due to the lack of food (alms-rice) and since they could have been having only rice-soup for the breakfasts and they keep the slightly good quality rice for lunch for a couple of days not very long time ago. And, their fellow monks were happy because of our donation, and told me about them in the event that they will have a sufficient nutrition again soon. It tore my heart to shed my tears hearing these stories and having a joy to have helped this donation event of all your merits to happen.”

In addition, he quoted the saying of the Abbot of the monastery where  the second donation ceremony was organized:

“The contributions are really helpful to the monks in Old Bagan rather than those from the monasteries in Nyaung-U and New Bagan where their surroundings are residential areas. For the monks residing in the monasteries of Old Bagan, their lay attendants have to cook alms-food for their breakfast and lunch these years since they mainly relied on and used to collect alms-round from the local people who sell souvenirs and local products such as lacquer ware, near the temples and at the gateways of the famous temples and pagodas. Now, they feel compassionate to make no burden for these souvenir sellers and they are offered the alms-food cooked by their attendants on their own. This is why, they have already used up their own raw rice which they received the contributions from the locals in the pagoda festivals two years ago before the coup. Now, their raw rice almost ran out and our alms-rice would be a help for them for some more weeks.”

As for the Chair Monk who resides and administers the most populated Pariyatti Monastery, namely, Kyan Sit Thar U Min Pariyatti Monastery and which is the biggest one in Bagan area, he commented in rejoicing:

“Of course, we need the alms-food for this big number of resident monks in this monastery. When we are okay to go alms-round for lunch, we have to arrange breakfast for all the monks and novices by ourselves and we have to get concerned again, because quite honestly, we are running out of food. Unlike the lay people, we cannot simply go around telling anyone to donate to us or help us as we have monastic codes we must live by. Also, we don't want to cry for help at this much hard time to the local lay people who are also financially hard. As you see, the novices are young and we have to feed them a breakfast at least. Now, with this sudden generosity coming to us from foreign lands, no need to get concerned for some time! ”