Joe Louis feeds monks at the Mahagandayon Monastery
Even without much education on the topic, the concept of monks is intriguing. Most of what I knew before traveling was from 1970’s kung fu movie stereotypes. Monks, shaven-head and loosely robed men of varying ages, live austere lives. Some are celibate, some are silent. Some document holy transcripts, others brew beer. They are representatives of the holy aspect of life, a people of sanctity.
I was excited to visit the Mahagandayon Monastery in Amarapura near Mandalay. The monastery is a major place of learning for young Buddhist monks – like an excellent boarding school. While the inside of the school’s building are private, much of the outside campus area is open to visitors. Going to view the monks at the monastery has become a popular tourist destination.
The monks can be seen in orderly lines waiting to get food before their afternoon meditation. Hundreds of monks, all wearing the signature red robe, stand solemnly with pots as the line slowly moves. You get a sense of the disciplined lifestyle just from watching the orderly process. Some though, especially the younger ones, run around a bit, probably happy to get a break and some fresh air.
The most salient aspect of my lunchtime visit to the Mahagandayon Monastery though wasn’t the patient demeanor of the resident monks. Instead it was the brazen, disrespectful behavior of the many tourists lining the sides of the small street, forcing their ways to snap a close up shot of a monk. The crowd of foreigners at the monastery seemed to far outnumber the monks. Even worse, the tourists were aggressive, transgressing the calm sanctity of the location. I also wanted to take a picture of course and slinked along the sideline trying to find a spot not overrun by amateur #selfie takers. I took a few quick surreptitious shots, but felt badly doing it. I tried my best to act respectively, but couldn’t help shake the shameful feeling that I was just like the rest of the crowd, turning this holy school into just another attraction.
See what other blogs are saying about the Mahagandayon Monastery:
“Mahagandayon Monastery, founded in 1914, is one of the largest teaching monasteries in Myanmar. Each year, thousands of men from different parts of Myanmar go there for monastic study and to be ordained as monks. In a way, the monastery is much like an all-male boarding school to me, except that its ‘students’ have their hair shaved off and are uniformly dressed in burgundy robes.”
–Ice Princess Diaries
“Being a ‘tourist attraction’ is a dilemma for monastic institutions: while having visitors contributes to their financial well-being, and promotes cultural understanding, it can be disruptive. ‘Boundaries’ are different between cultures, and many tourists seem to be unaware (or to deliberately ignore) local expectations of behaviour within sacred grounds.”
–Weekly Wanders
