Myanmar Monks

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Burma is a buddhist nation, with monks everywhere. Here's what we discovered about monks: Every Myanmar Buddhist man must become a monk sometime before he is 20. Most men are monks three times--when they are young, when they are 17 or 18, and again once they are in their mid-30's. One can be a monk for as short as one week, and those who really take to it, I suppose, become monks for life.

When you are a monk, you shave your head and wear the robe. In addition, one wakes up early, walks around for his or her offerings (they go to markets, peoples' homes, etc and get food for the day), and are supposed to be finished eating each day by noon. They spend much of the rest of the day in the monastery (where they live) meditating. I'm sure there are a lot of complexities around it, but that is the basic gyst of what we learned.

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Photos

Nuns
Girls are nuns by choice, unlike the boys who 'have to' become monks during their lives if their buddhists.

Comments

[Mom]

Hi Jenn and Phil---Wonderful blogs--Burma sounds idyllic! Love all the pictures, and all the info--I wish I could taste the fresh seafood! Looking forward to hearing about your next stops, but what could beat Burma--no wonder Didisaid that it was one of her favorite places----XXXXXXXXXXX. Mommer