In Bagan we had a special opportunity to meet and speak with a senior Buddhist monk – U Thi La – the deputy head monk at the Kyan Sit Thar Umin monastery.
As with all Buddhist temples and monasteries, we leave our shoes and socks outside the door to the large meeting room. We sit on the floor with our feet pointing away from the front of the room and wait until U Thi La arrives.
As he enters the room, he brings with him a commanding presence and an aura of ease and contentment. We have an hour to listen and ask questions.
As is often the case for Buddhist boys, U Thi La entered a monastery as a student at the age of 12. He was assigned to a monastery for his study of Buddhism that continued until he reached age 26. At that point, he was allowed to choose the monastery he wanted to join. His face is ageless (he bears a strong resemblance to President Obama), but given his station in the monastery, he is mostly likely in his 50s.
U Thi La explained to us his daily routine. He is up at 4 am and oversees the process of preparing breakfast. Monks eat only breakfast and lunch – so both are important meals. Breakfast is at 5 am, followed by some time for cleaning.
Early morning is time for group prayer and chanting and also time for private meditation. In temples and monasteries, the prayers and chants may be made over a public address system – and in cities can be heard throughout the neighboring area around temples.
All of the food for monks (and nuns) is donated. In the later mornings, groups of monks and nuns leave the monasteries and can be seen walking the streets often in lines with small bowls in their hands, going from establishment to establishment seeking alms and receiving donations of food or money or both: monks receive cooked rice and nuns receive uncooked rice and have to prepare it themselves.
In a well-established monastery, the donations of food and money coming to the monastery are usually sufficient to provide food. In any event, U Thi La in his role administering the monastery would not be out seeking alms.
From 9 to 11 am, U Thi La has responsibilities for teaching. The young monks get education in Buddhism and in languages — he teaches Pali (the old Indian language the Tripitaka (Buddhist Scripture) is written in) – his colleague – the head monk – teaches English.
Midday is time to oversee preparation of lunch, eat, and meet with visitors. Lunch is the last meal of the day.
From 1 to 4 pm, teaching resumes. Between 4 and 6 pm there is free time, which may include time for meditation. Since there is no evening meal there is no time needed for preparing food.
At 6 pm, there is time again for group worship, which in some temples and monasteries may again involve prayers and chants over a public address system.
After 7 pm, there is more time for cleaning, and for students to study independently. U Thi La supervises the student study period. At 10 pm, he and the other monks retire to their own chambers to sleep.
Buddhism does not have a specific day of the week for prayer or have a tradition of organized group prayer in the temples — and Buddhists pray and meditate at shrines in their homes. There are occasions, though, when Buddhists come together for group prayer. Some Buddhist monks have a public role, not unlike priests – and senior and well-known monks will preach and lead prayer in public. Some of these events are announced through posters and draw a crowd in the evening for group prayer.
At the end of our conversation, U Thi La offers a prayer for our leader’s family and for us, we show our appreciation for his time with a donation to the monastery, and he graciously agrees to a photo with our group.
