Novice Ordination Ceremony in Arakan State, West of Burma
Ven. Suriya
B.A (Final Year)
MCU, Chiang Mai Campus, Thailand
Introduction
Novice ordination ceremony in Arakan is special; it is splendid and integral part in life of a Buddhist Arakanese male as the Arakanese are devoted to Buddhism. So, it is very important to be a novice for a certain period in his life. It will help him as well as his parents to gain merit and to eventually attain Nirvana, the ultimate goal of Buddhism. It is believed that making a novice ordination is the ceremony of giving back parents ‘gratitude and also it is regarded that this ceremony is the best event. Family members or relatives happily meet again. Some family members are far away from home perhaps on business, but nevertheless they try to come to this special event that makes most family and relatives very pleased.
Arakanese make a novice ordination ceremony according to their culture. Asking a permission of the particular boy initially is very important. Without the boy’s desire, the parents cannot force their son to accept their idea. He, however, is likely to accept parents’ idea. Being a novice is the best chance to study higher education. Selecting an auspicious day is also crucial part in making novice ordination ceremony. Writing an invitation letter and inviting the relatives and people from neighboring village one month ahead is an important part in making this ceremony. After having invited, the boys’ parents will collect the necessities for the occasion. It is also important to send the boy to the temple to study the basic principles of the teaching of the lord Buddha. If the day of ceremony is coming closer, the boy’s parents will give the village community the duties of arranging foods to eat, the places to stay and the pavilion. Some guests who are from far away come the day before the ceremony is held. Resident junior monks, novices and temple boys are very busy with their serving guest senior monks, novices and temple monks. These are the busiest days for them. Arranging a huge parade to go to the temple must be according to Arakan culture or tradition. All these are important steps on the way to the boy becoming a novice.
Obtaining the boy’s consent / selecting a day for novice ordination ceremony
First of all, it is important to ask the boy (who will soon be novice) if he wants to be novice or not. It is impossible to make a novice ordination ceremony with only desire of parents and also parents cannot make their son a novice without his desire. The young Buddhist boys value and admire being novices for many reasons. As novices, they have chances to study higher education or philosophy of Buddha living in the city and gain more knowledge rather than the boys living in the village. Novices also get respects and love rather than an ordinary boy. If boy’s desire is “Yes” the boy’s parents are very happy and will go to the village temple monk with some of their village chiefs to discuss about upcoming novice ordination and to select an auspicious day. The temple monk who is supposed to be the wisest in village community is highly respected and knows about “astrology” which is included in Buddhism. The parents of boys, the chiefs of village and the temple monk will all together calculate in accordance with the astrology and select the good day to make a novice ordination ceremony. Sometimes it takes two days or three days to know a blessing or auspicious day. It is believed that if the selection of the day is wrong, it will rain or some problems will occur on the ceremony day.
Writing the invitation letter and inviting lay people and monk from neighboring village
There are different processes that are appropriate for inviting monks and lay people. There is a different procedure for each. Inviting their elders personally is more polite than sending letters. After they have selected right or auspicious day, the parents of the boy will consult one who is capable of writing an invitation letter or will they will go to city to make invitation letters laypeople. There are different styles of writing invitation letter. Mostly the letters are started with the boys’ grandparents’ names and the names of boy’s parents, elder sisters and brothers and the boy. At least, 300 or 400 invitation letters are necessary to invite all their relatives as well as people from neighboring villages. The invitation letters must be sent to their relatives or people in their neighboring villages at least one month ahead. The boy’s parents will personally go to their elders, bow down and invite them very humbly. This custom in Arakan state has been practicing since the reign of King Chandra Surira in the 6th century BC.
Inviting personally is more polite than letters. Inviting one month ahead is that people who get an invitation letter from their relatives before one month or less than one month, they will work hard joyfully and save some money or other necessities which can use in novice ordination ceremony and they will offer parents of boy money or other necessities for ceremony. They are very happy that they can also take part in the meritorious day as much as they can.
The process of inviting monks from neighboring villages is different from inviting laypeople. It is necessary to know how to speak with monks respectfully so that two or three villagers who are supposed to know about Buddhism and know the way to speak with monks are usually sent to invite one month before. The reason is that Many people usually make a novice ordination ceremony in March or April. As majority of people in Arakan state are farmers, they have already harvested their rice paddy and are relaxing in March or April. Moreover, there is hardly any rain so these months are very suitable and best time of a year to make a novice ordination ceremony. At least twenty abbots who are dwelling at other temples or same Nikaya (different sects or monk community within dwelling places) are invited to receive donations they can afford.
Collecting necessities for ceremony
Since the parents of boy have invited their relatives, they will start to collect some dry fishes, rice and fire woods. As electricity is not available in village for cooking, it is important to collect firewood and make them dry before the ceremony otherwise it is sure that chefs will get into trouble for cooking. After they have harvested, they keep enough rice in their house. There are some villagers in village who want to offer their trees or branches of trees for the ceremony. So also some intend to become volunteers for cutting trees or branches in the forest, making them into logs and make drying them.
Then, they bring them to the boys’ house where the women will cook rice and vegetables. It takes some weeks to finish the job. During the time of cutting trees or brushes, the boy’s parents will serve them tea with sticky rice, as well as cigarettes. Serving with green tea and cigarettes are very customs any for the Arakanese and it is seen on every occasion.
Sending the boy to study basic principles of the Buddha’s teaching
It is also very important to send the boy to the temple to study the basic principles of the teaching of the lord Buddha. Novice monk practices 10 moral conducts, while lay Buddhist practices five moral conducts. The boy who will soon be a novice is always sent to the temple monk to stay at the temple with resident temple boys studying basic moral principles of novice and 38 blessings taught in Mingala sutra. No matter whether they are poor or rich, when they get to the temple, they become students of temple monk. They study, eat and sleep together as if the water from various places becomes same in the ocean. The boys’ parents are very pleased to see their son studying at the temple.
As a result, the boy becomes very clever. He will also be a very clever boy even if he disrobes. He will able to speak to his elders very politely and humbly. It also is very crucial for a novice to learn and practice how to say in Pali “I take refuge in the Buddha,” I take refuge in the Dharma,” I take refuges in the Sangha”. If the particular boy cannot recite these words correctly, he is not supposed to be a novice. That’s why it is forbidden in the Vinaya, the collection of rules of monks for a dumb boy to enter the Sangha as a novice or monk. Therefore it is very important in Arakan culture or tradition. In addition to that, he will have to practice meditation, and have no chance to swim or play during meditation training.
At that moment this boy becomes very special because he is going to be a novice soon. In Arakan, it is forbidden to hit boys with a mop as the boy is regarded as higher than girls. To my knowledge, the boys have chances to ordain and are capable of becoming the Buddha if they put special efforts like the Buddha did, but girls cannot because there is not a female Buddha in the history of Buddhism. Many people will treat him as a special boy due to his training to be a novice soon.
Giving the village community the duties of arranging foods for guests
If the ceremony day is getting closer, the parents of the boy will give the village community the duties of arranging foods to eat, places to stay and the pavilion. There are three groups in village community the elder group at the age of 60 or 70, middle aged group and the younger group who are generally under 25. First the elders will take the duties to build the pavilion in front of the boy’s house, and serve the monks and elder guests from other villages. Building the pavilion is very important and specific. It will be a huge pavilion where there are four gates which are covered by the branches of coconut trees. There will be one huge chair decorated with beautiful flowers for the preacher monk beside the image of the lord Buddha as a representative of the real Buddha in the east of the pavilion. In addition to this, behind preacher monk, there is the place made up with for guest monks. They can take a rest while a preacher monk is giving Dharma talk to the people. People have to take off their slippers and shoes before they enter the pavilion. The second elder will also be responsible for cooking rice and foods such as meat and vegetables and so on. On that night, they are sleepless the whole night cooking many meals for thousands people. At first they cook for monks and then they cook for laypeople. Women who are supposed to be the best chiefs have to cook for monks in benevolence to the boy’s parents. Great chance is that they offer monks breakfast in the early morning and lunch before 12 am. (Theravada Buddhist monk eats twice a day: breakfast in the early morning and lunch before 12 am. Then, necessarily only juice is acceptable)
The youths have many responsibilities. They will collect the dining tables and mats from each house in the afternoon, and wash rice, bring water to the cooking place in the evening in the full Moon day and serve the guests in the morning. The younger people will take a responsility to wash rice, going to the lake singing songs and bringing water from lake to the cooking places. These younger people are in the same age. Thus, this is the best time for boys to make conversation and joke with girls. Sometimes this could lead to a marriage proposal to girls. Moreover, this group is divided into many small groups. There are one girl and one boy in each group who are going to serve the guests. Each group takes a responsible one table where there are four guests. These one girl and one boy have the most responsible to make a satisfaction for their necessities when taking foods.
Guests joining in the ceremony
Some close relatives who live far away, come one day ahead. Most of guests who live in nearest villages, participate the ceremony in the early morning, and go back in the evening after saying “Hello” to the boy’s parents. Temporary accommodations for guests who are far away are arranged by the village community. These villagers become just like only one family within a few days due to the best even for Buddhists. They are very happy talking one another. It is unusual that people do not pay a visit to one another without reasons. Thus, this is good chance to see and talk each other.
Busy resident junior monks, novices and temple boys
At that moment, the junior monks, novices and temple boys at the village temple are very busy with serving the invited guest monks. They (invited monks) usually arrive at the ceremony one day ahead with their two temple boys or novices carrying the abbot’s bag and umbrella. They usually come on feet through the farms. So, their feet become dirty. A village temple monk’s life is not really bed of roses. It is very hard to go from place to place especially during the raining season. No transportation is available at the village. As I mentioned above, Village resident junior monks, novice or temple boys are very busy with their duties and they have to welcome guest monks (invited monks) to take their bags and umbrella, wash their feet, take them to the village resident monk and serve them with tea or soft drinks. This is the one of resident monks or novice’s principles which junior monks or novices must do for their elders when returning from trips or other occasion. The foods and sleeping beds for them are neatly arranged at the village temple. Guest novices are taken to the novice’s room and resident novices will serve them with green tea or soft drink as well. Guest temple boys are taken to the parents of the boy (who will soon be a novice) by the resident temple boy and eat dinner together.
Arranging a huge queue to go to the temple
At least it takes two days to complete this novice ordination ceremony. On the first day, at around 5 pm, a speaker will announce for the people to assemble and parade. In this moment, it is very important that people have to queue in accordance with Arakan culture or tradition. As always, at first an elder man stands in the front carrying a religious flag on the top of a long stick and a young girl with a blessing pot on her head, who was born on the same day as the boy (To be a novice soon) also stands behind an elder man. She must be a young and signal in the same age of the boy. If the boy was born on Friday, she also must be a Friday born girl; otherwise she cannot carry a blessing pot. Then, the boy with his two bodyguards who were born in the same week stands by riding a horse. The boy is dressed in princely outfits of silk and wears a gold headdress. When Siddhartha renounced the worldly life, He rode on a white horse. Likewise, the boy is ridden around the town on a white horse or in a car. If the boy is Friday born, his first bodyguard must be a Thursday born while second bodyguard is a Saturday born. The father stands behind of his son carrying an alms bowl on his shoulder and holding a religious fan. The mother stands carrying a robe on her head. There is the boy’s family or relatives behind of the mother. There are village folks behind of the parade that are carrying traditional musical instruments, dancing and singing traditional songs. It is a long parade.
The ceremony at the temple
When they get to the temple, they will go around it three times in to order to pay a special respect to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Then, they will go to the hall where the resident monk usually gives a dharma talk. One or two village chiefs will respectfully invite the resident monk to the hall, and he will give five precepts to the listeners or audience. The certain preacher monk will talk about the Dharma which is linked to the novice ordination ceremony. The village community will serve all listeners with tea and sticky rice. This part of the initiation ceremony will finish at around 10 pm. The next day in the early morning they will come again, and take five precepts. The boy has to ask temple monk for becoming a novice. In this event, the temple monk is just the representative on behalf of the Buddha.
The temple monk will give him a robe along with eight requirements used in both novice and monk ordination ceremonies. Then, the boy will bow down to his parents. The junior monk or novice will help shave the boy’s hair. At that time, the parents will receive their son’s hair with a white piece of cloth and keep it on the holy place. This refers to the time when Siddhartha got to the Anoma river, cut his hair off, and threw it to the sky and the king of angels (skakya) received the hair, kept it in Sulamuni pagoda, according to the Buddha’s teaching. After he has shaved his hair, he will be given a bath with perfumed water from a blessing pot. Someone then will polish him with good powder as symbol of leaving bad actions as an ordinary boy and starting a new holy life as a novice in the order of Sangha. Next he will be taken to the temple monk again to take ten precepts as well as other necessary rules of temple which he must follow as long as he is a novice. He becomes a pure fresh novice.
Receiving a holy life
After becoming a novice, he is supposed to get special higher respect than every lay Buddhist who is in the ceremony. Therefore, his parents pay a special respect to him at first and give him a promise to provide every necessity for further education as a novice. Then, everyone in the ceremony will pay respect to him and offer some necessities including money. At the end of this ceremony, the novice with family and relatives will take photos. This ceremony always finishes before 11 am. The family of novice will offer monks a lunch personally. Boys and girls who take responsibility to serve guests will make a lunch table for guests. After this ceremony is finished, invited monks and guests will go back in the evening when the sun is cool at around 5 or 5:30 pm.
Village community will take a responsibility again to clean all necessities within two or three days. They will return plates, cups, mats, tables, pillows and blankets to temple and the parents of novice will perhaps offer some money for using equipments. Finally the guests will come and say the novice’s parents “Good bye” and go back home.
Conclusion
Therefore, a novice ordination ceremony is a very essential and important part in life of Buddhist Arakanese males. This is the ceremony of creating wholesome actions all together and of meeting family members in spite of living far away from home. Every villager becomes just like a part of the family and helps one another, cooks foods, offer monks breakfast in the early morning and lunch before 12: am, including robes, money as well as they serves guests. This event is very auspicious and best ceremony of all. That’s why the novice ordination ceremony is very special and essential in Arakan.
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