N 93  The Arakan – Bengali crisis  : in the eye of a Myanmar citizen

Myanmar is a small country in south east Asia with an area of 261228 sq miles and 52 million population. It borders China in the east and Bengaladesh in the west ( not to mention other countries that it is not having problems with ) Over 130 ethnic groups are living in Myanmar. And so because we are not one and the same race there are problems naturally.

Beside having its own internal problems during these few years a problem that would shake the whole country arise. Bengaladesh that borders Myanmar is a country so densely populated with 156 million , that some overflow its border to spill over into our country.

There is history that over a hundred years ago Bengalis were brought into Myanmar to work in the fields and as thay have been living for many generations that they were recognized by the government as its citizens. But as population boomed in Bengaladesh to make lives hard , people from Bengaladesh poured into Myanmar by waves. They called themselves Rohingyas  and demand that they were given citizenship by Myanmar government. Some obtained identity  cards by bribing the corrupt immigration department and some were given by power holding parties in exchange to vote for them in the election.

But many remain unrecognized and are  trying to become Myanmar citizens . Sometimes conflicts break out between the Arakanese and Bengalis . There are much differences between the native Arakanese and the Bengalis.  The most distinct characteristic is that the Arakans are devout Buddhists and the Bengalis  are mostly Muslims. A few years ago a spark was ignited by the Bengalis  when a group of Bengalis raped and kill an Arakan girl. This incident led to killings on both sides and brought in organizations like UNHCR to investigate in the case.

But whoever came they insist that Myanmar recognize the Bengalis as its citizens , which the government is  denying , as they are not our citizens rightfully, but unlawful immigrants. If a consensus is to be made among the citizens of Myanmar nobody will want to receive them as one of our nationalities.

But with their traditions and beliefs their population is growing fast with many families having over 10 members, that their population surpassed the Rakhines  or other ethnic groups and Hindus like in Maungdaw.

The latest incident that happened on 25^th August was started by the so called Rohingya. They have formed an extremist insurgent group and on 25^th August held coordinated attacks on several police posts where 12 members of security forces  and at least 77 rohingyas were reportedly killed. Later some Rakhine , Hindus , and members of small ethnic groups were also found to be killed by Muslims.

So Myanmar military forces had to come in to do clearance operation.Who will stay calm and immobile when our security forces were being attacked and our people being killed . So counter attack and clearing territories were made.There may be killings and burning of villages , where insurgents had been hiding , which usually happen in wars. But in the Muslim world including the UNHCR high commissioner  condemned the army’s action. They accused the army of burning villages , rape, ethnic cleansing,. Some said 3000 Muslims were killed.

 I don’t believe what they said. 3000 is ridiculous and it cannot be said ethnic cleansing. How can the military wipe out the Rohingyas whose population is over one million in Myanmar. Over 40000 fled to Bengaladesh is right. Reports that Bengalis burned their own houses were also heard , and that is to put the blame on Myanmar military and to get sympathy and funds from outside.

To flee to Bengaladesh is a right thing to do in my opinion. They had come from that country and it is the right place they should be. Why would they want to come and live in Myanmar. As I have said the Myanmar (Arakan ) people are very different from them , by race, by religion, language, customs, beliefs, and everything. These two races cannot live together for sure.

If we permit them to come and live in our land  , the first thing that will happen is that they will overwhelm our population in a few decades, by their quickly multiplying population because their religion allow men to have multiple wives with unlimited children.. And there is a threat to our country , a threat of Islamisation.

We have seen whole countries changed it’s religion from Buddhism to Islam. The countries along the Silk Road such as Western China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekhistan, Afghanistan, to Syria and Turkey were Buddhists or Christian Countries at first. But when they were  conquered They were turned into Islamic countries, by Islamic leaders and merchants who traded along the Silk Road.

So every country has to be careful to retain its land and religion, and not to become victims of Islamisation. They have plans to overwhelm the world with every means they can use.

These days countries have to face the refugee problems. These refugees are mostly muslims. On grounds of human rights countries are receiving refugees. Looking at violent incidents around the world  like bomb exploding, stabbing with knives, drive motor vehicles into crowds and such like are mostly perpetrated by Islamist extremists. The attack of the WTC  New York in 2009 which killed 3000 people was the biggest deed they had done. And they are warning the world that more are to come.

I didn’t mean that all muslim people are extremists. Maybe only a handful is a threat to mankind. But this handful like the IS is dangerous enough and the fast multiplying population is also one thing countries should think about.

At present we are facing criticism and condemnation from outside. The latest incident was not incited by the Rakhine people but by the Rohingyas who surely have military background behind them. Some said that they have plans to establish their own territory in Rakhine. To let them encroach into our country is impossible . It would be violating our sovereignty.

All foreign organizations including the UN or UNHCR have no right to put pressure on Myanmar, to let Bengalis come and settle here. This is not their country. They came from Bengaladesh and Bengaladesh should take them in or go to other Muslim countries.

This is my view concerning the Bengalis and I believe all Myanmar people believe like this. We don’t have any desire to receive any people from outside far more who can be a threat to our race our religion, our culture and our lives.

N    92   Bell’s Palsy   

I usually write blogs after I returned from a trip. There are much to write and also easy as I have to relate what I have experienced  only. But as I said in my last blog, for some reasons I did not post the blog about my trip to Gawranji Island. It was not actually that I had not written about it , but I did wrote it on some sleepless nights and only shoved  it somewhere because I felt hurt and resentful just to think about it. After I returned from Gawranji Island , on the 2^nd morning I got Bell Palsy. Some may  know about this disease and some may not.  So I will relate about this disease in this blog.

On the 2^nd morning I returned from Gawranji Island I was stricken by this disease. I did not know something was wrong with me as I did not feel sick. Only when I was drinking coffee and later mohnhinga I felt that I could not take in the food well, but some came out from the corner of my mouth. Then somebody told me that my mouth was not in the right position, but drooping down. Actually the left side of my face was like that, like it was being pulled down , the eye brow, the eye, the mouth and even the nose. I had seen some people who had this disease ,but had not dreamt I would become a victim of this disease.

So as usual , when something is wrong with your body you have to find the cure. On the first day I saw a doctor and a specialist who told me I had Bell’s Palsy , that it could be cured and gave me some medicines.

The next day I was also taken to YGH, but by the urging of my eldest daughter who happened to be in Bangkok we flew to Bangkok and to Praram 9 Hospital where I was hospitalized immediately. Every examination that need to be done was done on me including the MRI. I was given intravenous medicine without a break, and nurses came and gave me medicine regularly. If there was a special medicine to take like steroid (Prednisalone ) the doctor informed me beforehand. Bell’s Palsy cannot be cured in a few days.. So after 2 nights and 1 day I was discharged from hospital with a follow up to be done after 3 days.

So when I went for the checkup on  the appointed day the doctor explained to me about my condition, that I would have to do exercises when I got home , The exercises I had to do were shown to me by a physiotherapist.

So when I got home I took treatment from 2 physiotherapists who guided me to do facial exercises and also with the stimulating machine.

Gradually my face became nearly normal again, but cannot say I fully recovered. The signs of Bell’s Palsy still remain on my face and I can feel the strain in my mouth and cheek and also the eye which seems to get narrower than it used to be .

How much trouble had this disease caused me; time ,money, and feelings of pain,distress, and resentfulness. There is a saying in Myanmar ; A thwar ma taw ta hlan which means a single step can be critical. Did my journey to Gawranji Island brought this unfortunate fate to me.Myanmar people think that exposing the face to wind cause this disease, and that was exactly what I had done. But western medicine does not say like that.This is how they define the meaning of Bell’s Palsy…..

Bell’s Palsy is a condition in which the muscles on one side of the face become weak or paralyzed. It affects only one side of the face at a time, causing it to droop or become stiff on that side.

Its caused by some kind of trauma to the 7^th cranial nerve. This is also called facial nerve. Bell’s Palsy can happen to anyone*. But it seems to occur more often in people who have Diabetes or are recovering from viral infections.Most  of the times symtoms are only temporily

*B P can happen to anyone old or young, male or female. The famous actress  Angelina Jolie also suffered from this disease. She said that she was cured by means of acupuncture.

N  91   Gawranji Island   (   part 2   )

The motor cycle carriers suggested we should take a boat to cruise around and go to a place called Crocodile Head . So we got on our motor cycle and went to a fishing village where we can hire a boat. Some got a fishing trawler for us and we got on it to go and see the sea. We were taken to Croccodile head which really lives up to its name but we didn’t get down onto the sandy beach. We just cruise around the turquoise green water taking in the beautiful scenery. We also saw palm leaves huts among palm trees along the shore. 

So this is the lives  of people living near the sea and making their livelihood from the sea, I thought. Quite different from our highlander people ‘s lives. But everywhere the lives of the grassroot people are not easy. As our people struggle with land , these people have  to struggle with the sea which make their lives more dangerous than ours.I also thought about the lives of American farmers which I often see on TV, who do all their farmwork by machine, and work on vast lands. When will our country be developed and lives of people become easier? Its unthinkable until now….

As we were going back that day we paid for the boat and started for town  in our cars with the motorists trailing behind. We were going to have lunch at a motorist house.It was about 1 when we really sat down for lunch. How astonished we were when we saw the table laid for us.It was so full that some dishes had to be laid aside. We tasted all kinds of seafood which can be bought in Nga Yoke Kaung. I remembered I ate some goung which I hadn’t eaten before but the kamar ( mother of pearl ) was more delicious. Though we had paid for the food we noticed that they had done the best to cook for us and with much sincerity, that we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

Our return journey was delayed at one place where repairing of the road was being done . They were covering the road with stones and was not still pressed by a bulldozer. So when a car tried to go up the ascending road the wheels slipped and cannot go up. Only after trying many times  and a delay of nearly one hour did we succeed in crossing that part.

  Nga Yoke Kaung is still much in need of good roads. And it will need time to become a developed resort. At present it is lacking all kinds of facilities and infrastructures. But with money and energy it can become a resort town like Ngwe Saung or Ngapali…..

N 90       The Gawranji Island

It is going to be 2 years this coming January that I had travelled to the Gawranji Island. I had written a travelogue about it but for some reasons I did not  post  it . But now I want to write about something and  as nothing will come to my mind that I come to think about posting it on my blogpost. I looked for the blog I had written but could not find it anywhere . Maybe I had discarded it as rubbish. So I decided to write it again all over.

It was in January 2016. We saw some posts about Gawranji Island in facebook and as it can be reached by car via Pathein we called some friends ( Ko Aung and Aye Aye Thi as usual ) and decided to go and visit there. So our 2 cars started for Pathein early in the morning but it took more than an hour to get out of the city.

After passing some delta towns and Pathein we reached Nga Yoke Kaung township  where Gawranji Island is. After that the smooth and wide road becomes narrower with rough surface and more ups and downs . The journey from Yangon  to  Nga Yoke Kaung is 200 miles and with the not so good road it took us nearly the whole day and we reached Nga Yoke Kaung at about  5pm. What  people said that it took 8 hours is really true.

 Nga Yoke Kaung is a small unattractive town. We lodged at a guesthouse which they said  is the only one in town. As it was still  daylight  we were taken by some folks to see the beach and sunset which is not far away. We saw palm groves lining the shore but a little distant from the water edge. The sand is not white , so it is not very attractive.

Electricity is available only till 10 pm there. As I can’t sleep without light we paid the guest house owner for the petrol he had to use to run the generator the whole night.

The next morning we were taken to the main attraction places by motor cycle carriers.Each had to ride at the back of the motorist holding tight to him.Thanks that I had brought a pair of pants and sneakers with me. A short ride took us to the water edge where all people and motor cycles had to go onto a boat which would take us to the place where we would continue by motor cycles.

The road over which the motor cycles were driven was rough and narrow as it goes over rice fields and rough terrains. Sometimes passed over sand when the motorist told me not to put my feet down while he steered the vehicle skillfully.

The place we were taken is  a beautiful place, which looks like an island with a wide sandy beach. But  the sand here also is  not white. From the sandy beach,  in the inner part of the island is a rocky island on which stood a gold gilded pagoda. Somebody said we have to climb over 300 steps to get to the top and that we can get a good view  around from there. I cannot climb that high and some were not so energetic that we decided not to go up.

We saw some photographers and some models doing photo shooting with a group of local children  using an old boat as a background. It seemed that they would not finish quickly , so we took some advantage with them. Asking their permission we all took some pictures with the children and the old boat, and so we got some nice photos to take home.

to be continued…..

N   89    The Age Old Buddha Statues and Pagodas of Wan

                        Sing (Shan State )                                                       

I came to know about this place not long ago.On the new year day of our Burmese calendar (17/5/17 ) we went to the Shan State Buddhist University with offerings for the monastery as is our custom. It was a rainy day and there were only a few devotees at the monastery. So we had a leisurely talk with the monk who received the offerings and gave blessings. While talking about my late travel to Merng Nawng , Merng Hsu and Hai Par waterfall he mentioned that there is an unknown place in Wan Sing which has many old Buddha statues and some pagodas. These were built by Sawti Shans some centuries ago and as they did not reside there anymore there are no one to take care of the place and with some evil persons who tried to rob and destroy the Buddha statues this place had gone to ruins. So it is needing some donors and some restoration.

I became interested in this place and asked a friend who have some connections to Wan Sing to get me some photos of the place. Before long I received the photos and I saw that they really looks old and very much needed  to be restored. On the advice to go and see it myself  and offering to drive the car by SHT the 4 of us drove to Wan Sing on the 29^th of May.

Wan Sing is 20 miles from Kholam which is 105 miles from Taunggyi. USTS who is a native of Wan Sing and a benefactor of the pagodas joined us at Namsang and we all went together.

We reached Wan Sing before noon, after having lunch at Kholam. The elders of WanSing village and some villagers who had heard that donors who will help restore the place and  were pleased with the news had gathered at a place to take us to the religious ground.

The distance to the pagodas is about 5/6 miles and it is not a paved road road but a dusty one and very narrow but on flat land.That 5/6 miles took us more than half an hour.

The first glance at the place made us perceive that the place is really old and decrepit and urgently in need of renovation. After alighting from our cars and climbing a few steps we came to a place built by UTS for paying homage to the statues. And then the monks whom the Abbot of Kholam had brought, led us to paying homage to the Buddha.

After the monks had left we took a look around. We heard that there are about 540 statues and actually it looks like there really are. But most are not complete figures but are ruined without heads or limbs. The people there said only about a hundred figures are in complete state.

The  figures are stucked so closely to each other with no uniformity in size, some big some small, some in sitting posture , and  a few  reclining. I didn’t notice any standing Buddha. The faces look antique enough and what we heard that they were built 2 or 3 centuries ago seems correct. The builders were Sawti Shans who worship only the Buddha and his teachings , and so they don’t have Sanghas. They also have strict rules of life and lives accordingly to them. But they had left this place to live anywhere else  and so there is no one to take care of this place, that they had gone to ruins.Evil people had also ransacked and looted the place in search of valuables.

But what I heard that there is no roof over the statues was wrong. Actually the statues are under 2 halls with steep roofing , but the tin roofs are so old and rusty. Some of the wooden poles had been covered with gold leaves but even these were not free from the hands of the looters. Only traces of gold can be seen now over their black lacquer foundation. Some elders said that out of the 540 statues only about a hundred are in good condition. And to our amazement the robes of some of the statues are intrically adorned with pieces of coloured glass to make them more attractive.

Outside these 2 halls , scattered over the not so big compound  are some medium sized pagodas. Altogether 22 of them. Not one is complete with umbrella. Naturally all look age old and covered with moss and dirt. Some with bricks loosened at their foot. As the pagodas were opened on one side the looters entered from the entrance and dug the centre part of the

pagoda in search of valuables.

After seeing what have to be seen we gathered at a zayat of Wan Sing’s biggest monastery and had a talk about renovating  the place. I promised to raise 5 million kyats and with donations from friends and relatives and donors, I told them we would  be able to do some really needy repair work. The villagers were glad that some one appeared to help with repairing the decrepit place of worship. They said that they would form a committee and start work at once. Firstly to widen the narrow road to the place . And then a barb wire fence around it and later other repair works.

Until now I had received some funds for these works. But if more donations will come in this place can become a neat and attractive place of worship and visit. It will be nice if a big donor come out so that the 2 very old  halls can be replaced by new ones. But any amount is going to be a help to renovate the hidden Wan Sing Buddhas and Pagodas, So I invite friends and relatives and donors to join me in this merit making work to add a place of attraction to our Shanland.

31/5/17

N 88    World Water Day

March 22 is World Water day.It had been officially designated in 1993 by the United nations General Assembly and each year World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater such as Water and  Sustainable Development for 2015, Water and Jobs for 2016. The theme for 2017 is Waste Water.

Why is water taken so seriously by the World’s most important association….It is because water is the most crucial thing in human’s life. Without water and some other matters such as air , trees and plants no human and other beings can survive. That is why we humans cannot go and live on other planets even when our own is over populated and already crowded.

 But even if we can live on this Earth planet because there is water,the quantity and quality of water in places of the world are not the same. They are different in everything according to their location. As for water, when some places have abundant water some have little or no water at all. And then there are 2 different kinds of water , the salt water and the fresh water. The salt water which covers about 70 % of the world’s area is the water of the oceans and seas and cannot be used for human’s daily needs. We can use only  the fresh water from inland rivers and streams and lakes and ponds for our daily needs.

Like the world which is full of inequalities our country is also like that. When some states and divisions have sufficient rainfall, some don’t. The Rakhine and Taninthayi States have the most rainfall, and many states and divisions have efficient rainfall , but the Central part of our country has only a little rainfall and thus they are called the Dry Zone where water is scarce.

I remember an episode of my younger days when I took my students on an excursion. After visiting Bagan, on an invitation of some of the teachers who were natives of a village in Kyaukpadaung Township , we  went and stayed one night in their village. On reaching the house we were to put in we saw a line of large glazed earthern pots which were full of water. So we thought that water was plentiful in that village. But upon enquiring we found out that it was not as we thought. They had to go and fetch water from a faraway place by bullock carts and filled them in those sint ohs for our use. Oh… how hospitable were those Burmese people of the Anyar. Their’s was one of the places that have to use bathing or washing water  for watering plants if not for feeding cattle. I am still thankful to them when I come to think of their hospitality.

But these people from the dry zone of our country are more fortunate than some women of India. I once watched a TV documentary which showed the plight of Indian women. They were from the North Western State like Punjab or Sind district. In India it is the duty of women to carry water for household use. And in these said states women have to go a long way to fetch water, about 8 klms it said. And it is not only once a day that they had to go on foot for the water , but 7 or 8 times. This water is used also for animals they reared beside household use. I thought ….why didn’t the men go and fetch water using  some kind of vehicles with  wheels to carry water to lessen the burden of women. And there are states in India where people never taste pure clean water but only bitter contaminated water their whole life. It said in the internet that there are 1.8 billion people around the world who use a source of water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting  cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. And then there are 663 million people in the world living without clean water.

About Waste Water which is the theme for 2017…..Globally the vast majority of the waste water from our homes, cities, industries, and agriculture flows back to nature without being treated or reused , polluting the environment and losing valuable nutrients and other recoverable materials.

Instead of wasting wastewater we need to reduce and reuse it . In our homes we can use greywater on our gardens and plots. In our cities we can treat and reuse wastewater for green spaces. In industry and agriculture we can treat and recycle discharge for things like cooling system and irrigation.

There is not plenty of water on earth. As I have said earlier only about 30% of earth’s  water is fresh water and a greater quantity of it is in earth’s interior or in the form of ice. The fresh water in rivers and lakes are less than .3 % of the world’s water.

Our town Taunggyi is not a town rich in water resources. Some decades ago the town depended on lakes and reservoirs around the town for its water.  But because of lack of conservations of trees and forests these lakes and reservoirs dried up. Our  Taunggyaung Gyi lake and Nyaung Shwe Lake is drying up now even it is only March. The town people depend mostly on artesian wells which draws up underground water . And people do not have knowledge that it is not proper to cover up the space in their plots , so that rain water can seep into the ground to fill the place of water that was drawn up for use. Digging many artesian wells is not good as this also can deplete the underground water.

Water is essential building block of life. But it is more than just essential to quench thirst or protect health. It is also vital for creating jobs and supporting economical, social and human development.We should bear in mind that there are 663 milliion people living without  safe water supply close to home, spending countless hours     queueing or trekking to distant sources and coping with the health impacts of using contaminated water.

So we should value the water we have and not waste it, collect rainwater in the rainy season , and use it effectively, mend a tap or a broken pipe when we see one, and educate  people to use   water properly.

 N 87      A Meaningful Donation

My sister in law had asked me some time ago to donate solar plates to give light to a Palaung monastery in a village called Hsai Moun. It is 14 miles before reaching Kunhing and I had promised to do so.

As I was going to Kunhing for the opening ceremony of the Sukhitarone Dhammaryone I decided to fulfil my promise during the trip. So I went to buy the solar plate and the electrical things that will be needed to light the monastery with the help of the electrical engineer of our company.

The next day we all went to Kunhing and on the day after that , while we were busy with the opening ceremony the engineer with his helper went back to Hsai Moun and did the installing of the solar plate and did the wiring needed.

The 8^th of February was the day of entertainment guests and as I had some free time I was taken to Hsai Moun by my sister in law and her political party  friends to see how the solar was done and to do the offering personally to the monks of the monastery.

Only then did  I came to know  why they had asked me to donate solar at this particular monastery . It was during the campaign period of 2015 that they had come to this monastery to do some campaigning and as night was fallen, and there was no source of light it was very dark. That was the reason they asked me to donate light at this place.

As for me to light a dark place, to feed hungry people, to donate where it is needed are great things to do, because these donations will make the recipient benefit instantly . So even if the number of monks at this monastery is small and they seems not learned much , I felt that one gap was filled and it made me satisfied and pleased to make this small donation.

Some village elders and some children came to see the light and they told us that they were very pleased to have light for the monastery. After some time I asked them to take us to see one of their houses which I heard many times that they are long with many families living together and  with a fireplace for each family.

So one village elder took us to a house which was not far from the monastery. When we got off from our car and entered the compound we first saw a long stilted house built with wood and  tin  roofing.Then I noticed a car and a trawler in a shed and some wood planks which were left in the sun to dry. They have some plans to build a new house I thought . And I also saw a lavatory in one corner of the compound. Hmmn….some kind of progress.

Then we climbed up the ladder and I walked to the far end of the house where the light was coming in, looking around the house. I noticed that there were 4 fireplaces and also 4 altars . So there are 4 families living in this house which is dark and black with smoke and soot which were trapped in this house for a long time.

Then we sat down at the nearest fireplace with some elders . We enquired about their livelihood and was sorry to hear that the price of corn , that they are growing had fallen and so life was not so good. But were pleased when we heard that they are sending some of their children to school.

The Palaungs in our district are so ignorant with little or no development at all. They are living in their own style of one century or more ago with only a little progress. They are not up to the standard of today in housing, food, clothing, hygiene, etc;

But I don’t mean all Palaungs. Palaungs of Northern Shan State are well off and developed. I wish there will be volunteers who will educate them and open their eyes that their lives will become better.

8^th March 2017

 N  86   Continuation of  The Water Dripping Ceremony 

                              in Kunhing   Shan State

The next day the 8^th was for entertaining guests who came from far and near to make some donation. The Shans take this custom so seriously. If they are invited they would try to come and donate some money as much as they can whether it be a small sum or a big one. The donors take care of the food and guests are treated the whole day. The cooking and serving groups are specially organized, and everybody do their tasks unitedly.  They stay leisurely as long as they can listening to Sar Haw before going back.

     

The 9^th was the most important day because the purpose of the occasion will be fulfilled and completed that day. When we reached the new Dammaryone it was already full with people who were taking part in this water dripping ceremony .At the top of the hall, in front of the altar the Abbot  and invited Sanghas had already taken place with offertories lining in front of them.Donors each held a small jug filled with water and a cup to catch the water when it is dripped from the jug. It means that we the donors had donated for the sake of merit to enjoy this life and in after lives. We have donated with a clear cut mind and without any attachments. And we want to share the merit to all beings. So let all beings hear of this good deed and receive the sharing we are making.

        

Saya U Tun kyaw  made  explanations about the building of the Dhammaryone and read out the names of the major donors ( a board showing all the names of the donors was also erected outside the building )After that Lung Saray Aw read out a long lanka in Shan language which he had composed. Compliments to him for so nice a lanka (poem )and I felt proud that we have a culture like this and afraid that this culture will disappear in the coming generations.

        

Then the paying of homage to the Sanghas, and well wishes  by Sanghas were given . Lastly with  the water dripping and merit sharing the ceremony came to an end. I don’t know when we can be a donors  and be able to participate in this kind of event again . But I prayed that the merit gained from this donation will enable us to get to a high plane of existence , and we also share the merit to all beings far and near.

A hmya….A hmya…..A hmya

N 85      The Water Dripping Ceremony in Kunhing… Shan State

Our family had to participate in a big and special occasion this February. That occasion was the water dripping ceremony for the Sukhitaron Dammaryone ( Prayer Hall  ) which was donated by our family along with other donors.It is Buddhists custom to hold this ceremony after making some donations, to make all beings hear of the good deed and receive the merit shared to them. According to  the  agenda of the ceremony   the opening of the Dhammaryone  is  to be  held on the 7^th. The 8^th is  for receiving guests far and near who come to make donations,  and  the water dripping  ceremony on the 9^th. So we got to  Kunhing  on the  evening    of the  6^th.

       

We were reminded that the opening ceremony   would be at 8;00 am . I got there at that time hoping to get into the Dhammaryone which is inside the compound of  Kan Oo monastery, but was amazed to see the short lane to the monastery lined with groups of people, young and old, men and women in their traditional Shan dress. The colour of men’s dresses did not vary much, but each group of women wore  the same colour , and as there were many groups the place looked like a colourful flower garden. The lane was also decorated with flags and  long tungs (  long pieces of cloth with decorated panels  which people offered to get merit ),so that the scenery was so colourful and fascinating that nobody could resist taking photos.There will be the opening of the entrance gate here.

         

  Before  long the cutting of the ceremonial ribbon took place. The cutting was performed by the venerable Sayadaw Aggacina, abbot of Aung Mingalar Monastery and air balloons were released into the air. After that the Sayadaw was escorted into the monastery where the Sukhitaron Dhammaryone  is situated. After some preparations were made the ribbon cutting for the opening of the Dhammaryone  itself  took place.

      

  After the ribbon cuttings were done the people who had lined the lane earlier got into their concerned groups and walked around the Dhammaryone. Sounds of Shan Ouzi and gongs and linguin filled the air and seeing them singing and dancing our hearts were filled with happiness and joy. Women and girls who were not in the dance group carried offertories at chest level and the Padetha pin which Shans called  Toun (tree … tree where offerings are hung )was carried by men and boys. They didn’t carry it quietly , but also played  with it , pulling it to one side and then the other,sometimes nearly crashing into people watching at the side of the passing line of people. I don’t know the meaning of why they do like this but it may be just for fun or to make them forget the tiredness.

       

In this way they circled the prayer Hall 3 times and then went to rest. There was Sar Haw ( recitation of Bhudda’s teaching  and life stories of Buddha ) and people who came to donate money for the Prayer Hall and also for the 3 stories  Hsoon Sar hsaung ( Mess Hall for Sanghas ) that is not fininished yet, listened to that. Everybody who came was offered food the whole day which was donated by some devotees.

To be continued….