Episode #90: Looking Within A Burmese Nunnery
Like so many other spiritual seekers from the West, Kim Shelton and her husband were attracted to Myanmar by the country’s many opportunities for developing a deeper Buddhist practice. They joined a pilgrimage offered by Tempel Smith, a disciple of both Sayadaw U Pandita and Pa Auk Sayadaw, and attended retreats led by Sayadaw U Tejaniya at Shwe Oo Min Monastery.
However, Kim’s involvement ended up far beyond that of the normal practitioner or pilgrim. She was inspired to combine her filmmaking skills with her deep interest in spiritual practice, and created a feature-length documentary about life in a Buddhist nunnery in the Sagaing Hills. “I just realized I should make a film, because nobody knows very much about the nuns,” she recalls. “People know about the monks, and a lot of what is given in that country in terms of the alms rounds. Certainly, nuns are second class citizens and people around the world don't really know about the nuns. So that that started a whole other odyssey of events.” The film’s title, One Thousand Mothers, refers to the great many caretakers supporting novice nuns throughout the time that they take robes. The process of making the film not only taught Kim about life in a Burmese nunnery, but also informed her own spiritual path.
She learned that many young girls became nuns in the first place due to poverty, conflict, or difficult family circumstances, so the presumption of ordaining to fulfill a deep spiritual yearning cannot be assumed. The nuns interviewed in the film, some of whom are quite young, are startlingly honest and insightful in their discussion of both the value of the renunciate’s life, and the tensions inherent in the myriad, alluring attractions of the mundane world. Some of the nuns reference the stellar, ethical example of the elder monastics at their nunnery, and their own aspiration to live as nobly, while others openly wonder about what they are missing out on by wearing robes. One scene depicts a girl who has left the nunnery, and who returns for a dialog with her nun friends, wearing make-up, earrings, etc. The camera captures the fascinating conversation that ensues about the relative merits of lay versus worldly life. Kim’s hiring of an all-female film crew certainly supported the open conversations the nuns were willing to have on-camera.
The film also does not shy away from the more challenging life that Myanmar’s nuns have in contrast to monks. One scene about alms round shows monks receiving hot spoonsful of cooked rice, in contrast to nuns getting only small pinches of dry rice. We then hear from a nun who laments being born a woman in this life, when the circumstances for spiritual transcendence are so much more difficult, and fervently hoping that in her future lives she may be reborn as a man.
Kim was delighted when the Abbess, herself, accepted the invitation to be interviewed. She had never been on camera before, and the experience was memorable for everyone involved. “She would answer the question and then close her eyes and just sort of go into like this deep samadhi or something,” Kim noted, referring to the deep absorption states of bliss that are the result of intensive meditation practice. “The first time she did that, the camera woman and the sound women just like looked at me like, ‘What's going on? Is she okay?’ She just sort of got really quiet, and I said, ‘I think she's fine.’ We asked the next question. She just slowly opened her eyes answered the question. And then just closed the eyes again and went back. And that's how the interview went.”
In one of the more memorable scenes, the Abbess admitted that the presence of the film crew was a disruption to the discipline and education they try to instill in the nuns, yet affirmed that it would all be worthwhile in the end if the film enabled foreigners to learn more about the Buddha’s teachings.
“I just really appreciated her honesty,” Kim says, noting that it all relates back to “her dedication to her practice. If somebody shows up and wants to learn about the practice of Buddhism, it's her job to tell them, and it's her job to do whatever she can. So we never felt unwelcome or in any way, and we never got a sense that they were unhappy that we were there. They got to do their job, which was to teach the world through the film. So that was something that they could offer, and we're happy to do so.”
One Thousand Mothers provides viewers with a unique opportunity to see the inner workings of a living Buddhist nunnery. “It was so open and friendly,” Kim remembers. “It was such a great crew, and it just was the way we all came together. I did not have to really work to do anything, it just sort of happened naturally. The openness, it just felt like this is the way these nuns are.” The end result is that the nun’s life in Myanmar is authentically portrayed, without falling into the trap of Western exotification, and the nuns interviewed on screen are extremely forthcoming, providing a glimpse into the very minds of these renunciates.
One Thousand Mothers can be streamed freely at the Burma Spring Benefit Film Festival, which runs through February 13th.