When I was five, there was no school in our village. To study reading and writing, we all had to go to the temple. Our village had a temple where we studied our primary education. A Buddhist monk taught us how to read and write. Let us see how daily lives of students in a Buddhist temple were.
Students (all boys and girls) were the ages ranged 5 to 14. Most boys stayed and slept in the temple; girls went back home after the class time was over. What I am going to talk here is about daily lives of boys who stayed at the temple.
Around 5:00 A.M., all students had to wake up because the food donators for the monks’ breakfast came between 5:00 and 6:00 A.M. There were about one hundred households in our village and every household had its turn to make breakfast. About three or four households were in their turn daily. Approximately, every household had a turn once per month. When the donators came, we had to help them to prepare food for monks and novices. At about six, the monks had the breakfast and the donators went back their homes. While the monks and novices were eating, we all had to be silent. Afterwards, we had our breakfast, which was the rest food of monks.
At 7 A.M., we all would gather in the main hall of the temple and began our worshipping. We put our palms together like a lotus bud and raised them to our foreheads. Then directing our gaze to the images of the Buddha and everybody recited (the three gems or the three refuges):
To the Buddha I go for Refuge.
To the Dhamma I go for Refuge.
To the Sangha I go for Refuge.
After we made obedience to the three Refuges, we had to vow to keep the five precepts:
I undertake the rule of training to refrain from destroying living creatures.
I undertake the rule of training to refrain from taking what is not given.
I undertake the rule of training to refrain from wrong conduct in sexual pleasures.
I undertake the rule of training to refrain from false speech.
I undertake the rule of training to refrain from distilled and fermented intoxicants which are the occasion for carelessness.
Then we had to recite Pali prayer texts, which could drive away the evil spirits and bring in good spirits as we believed. After every time we worshipped, we had to wish – ‘may you all be blessed, may you have the best of everything, may you share the deed of merit we have done.’ The wish was for everybody, every alive, every animal who are either near or far, familiar or stranger, dark or light, rich or poor.
At 7:30, the class began. The classroom was under the temple and there was no wall. We could see the class from any where around the temple and could hear the noises of the class, such as teaching, reading, yelling, (sometimes crying), etc. The monk taught us the primary education - how to read, write and calculate.
At about 9:30, the morning class had finished. The boys played in the yard of the temple and girls went back home to have lunch. We (the boys) could run and play around in the wide yard of our temple. There are many trees in the yard of the temple – mangoes, guavas, jack fruits, limes, lemons, coconuts, bananas and many others. Sometimes, we had to gather all fruits, which were rape enough to eat in this free time if the abbot ordered us. We usually picked the mangoes up in the summer, especially right before the raining season’s beginning. The storms typically came in this season and a moment after it was stormy; there were many fruits under the trees. Sometimes, we also swam in the river as the temple was situated on the bank of the river.
At ten in every morning, we began our trip for receiving food from the donators of the village. We had to initiate the expedition at ten, because it took time about one hour and the Buddhist monks could not eat lunch (any kind of food) after twelve or noon.
I will let you see the view of the team. In front of the procession, a boy who hit the brass triangular gong led the team. The sound of hitting brass made the villagers to notice that it was time to be ready to donate food for the monks. At the back of the boy, a yellow robed monk or a novice who cradled his black alms bowls in his arms walked silently with downcast eyes. After the monk, two boys or two men carried the big plate which had many little bowls to receive foods, especially other kinds of food except rice. At the back of them, another one or two persons followed with the baskets. The baskets were to take rice from the monk whenever the alms bowl was full. When the alms bowl of monk was full, the monk stopped his walking and waited for the person who had the basket. When the person with the basket reach for him, the monk would put all rice from his alms bowl into the basket and he continued the trip, along the roads and streets of the village. If the village was too big, which was established with complicated road and street system, we had to go two or three teams to receive the donations.
Lives in our villages were quiet, peaceful and leisurely, being far from the busy streets of the cities. Every house had own yard and each yard had many trees, especially the coconut, mango, jackfruit, guava trees. The houses were old fashioned rambling affair built of teak and bamboo. The roof was constructed by leaves of coconut tree and thatch, which gave a cool air-conditioned effect. Some people said that the iron roofing was unsuitable for the hot season of Burma’s climate, but I thought they said that because they were unavailable to buy the iron roof, which was very expensive for ordinary people.
People from almost every household were waiting for the monk from his or her gate, to donate food or anything what they wanted to donate. The quantity and quality did not matter, but it just needed to be clear in their high spirit to donate or give things away. Mostly, food donators had two little bowls; rice in one bowl and curry (meat, fish, vegetable, etc) in another. During the sunny days, while people were waiting for the monk, they had to be by the side of sunward because people could not step over the shadow of the monk. If someone stepped over the shadow of the monk, he or she had to get trouble or evils, as they believed.
When the monk stood in front of the gate of the house, each householder could sit and put his palms together and raised them to his forehead as he prayed for. Then he stood up and came to donate food. The monk opened his alms bowl and received food (rice) in silence and went his way. The donator could put the curry into one of little bowls from the big plate, which was carried by two persons.
After we arrived back the temple from receiving donations, we had to separate foods into monks’ table and novice’s table, since monks and novices could not eat food together in the same table. While monks and novices were eating lunch, we (the students) had to sit silently and waited for, till they finished eating, with hungry stomach indeed. When monks and novices finished eating, they all worshipped to the Buddha’s image and blessed to all donators.
As soon as the monks’ praying was done, we took all food to the place where the students usually eat. We ate our lunch at about 12:15 P.M.
Our afternoon class began at 1:00 P.M. and this time, we could learn till 4 P.M. After four, our daily learning process was done and we went back home to meet our parents and eat dinner. Some students (boys) did not go back home if their homes were far. They stayed at the temple. They had rest food of lunch that could be for dinner. The boys who went back home (like me) to have dinner had to get back the temple around 6:30 because worshipping and reading time at night had begun at 7:00.
From 7:00 to 7:30, directing our gaze to the images of the Buddha and everybody recited (the five refuges):
To the Buddha I go for Refuge.
To the Dhamma I go for Refuge.
To the Sangha I go for Refuge.
To the Mada Pida (parents) I go for refuge.
To the Arsaria (teachers) I go for refuge.
From 7:30 to 9:00 P.M., we had to reread all lessons those we learned at day-time. Sometimes, we nodded sleepily because of tired. Sometimes, we fall asleep. Whenever we nodded or fall asleep, we had to be punished by the monk. If someone did it, the punishment for him could be to be beaten by the monk, to run round and round the temple, to read till 10 P.M., (one hour longer than others), etc. Usually, we all slept at 9:00.
On weekends, we had the opportunity to go back home and stayed with the family happily and peacefully. At night, grandpa and grandma told the stories about the rich people, beautiful people, strong and healthy people, long-life people, which they got those good things as the result of deed of merit, feat of having good mind and good heart, sharing good things with others.
The student’s lives in the Buddhist temple of the villages could effect in both good and bad ways. For the positive thoughts, we were part of religious life, which made us to be tolerant, to know how to adjust and share with others, how to stay and work under pressure with such tight disciplines, how to be obedient and so on. For the negative thought, we know only one way – to be obedient to all elders, teachers, and parents without any complaint, any criticism or any protest. We all learned to read books only what the monk (or teacher) taught, to go the place where the teacher and parents allowed, to speak, act (everything) softly and gently. I felt that in our young lives, we learned only to be passive. Probably, this tradition could make Burma and Burmese to be under military and dictatorship for decades, without any complaint, criticism on the authorities as we always learned; Silence is golden, Patience is the greatest power!
In the early morning, we had to practice again;
I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the Dhamma.
I take refuge in the Sangha.
Afterwards, we have to perform what the elders wanted us to do obediently, patiently and peacefully.
