Beloved princes: Boys become Buddhist novices in Thailand

[webfact]

Beloved princes: Boys become Buddhist novices in Thailand

By Jorge Silva

 

Danusorn Sdisaithaworn, 10, poses for a portrait during an annual Poy Sang Long celebration, a traditional rite of passage for boys to be initiated as Buddhist novices, while he visits a relative's house outside Mae Hong Son, Thailand, April 4, 2018. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

 

MAE HONG SON, Thailand (Reuters) - Golden umbrellas draped in beads and flowers provide shade for boys as young as seven riding on their fathers' shoulders in a procession through the mountain town of Mae Hong Son on Thailand's northern border.

 

Dressed in clothes dominated by neon pinks and greens with elaborate headgear, their lips and cheeks brightly rouged for the most important day of their short lives, about 50 boys advance to the lively beat of drums, cymbals and gongs.

 

The event is a rite of passage to initiate the boys as Buddhist novices, the highlight of an annual celebration by the Shan ethnic group that lives mainly in neighbouring Myanmar, but is also spread through China, Laos and Thailand.

 

(Click https://reut.rs/2FgiZ1Q to see a picture package of this Buddhist celebration.)

 

"I was overwhelmed with happiness and excited about the ceremony," said Kasen Kongtui, 58, a Thai trader who sponsored the participation of a 12-year-old family friend, Poo Sit, from Myanmar.

 

"He told me: 'Grandfather, I want to become a novice!' So we helped him," Kasen told Reuters. "I did it to make merit."

 

Boys stay inside a temple during an annual Poy Sang Long procession, part of the traditional rite of passage for boys to be initiated as Buddhist novices, in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

 

To fulfil the dream of a son's participation in the prestigious event, parents willingly scrimp for a long time, others accept relatives' donations to defray costs, and the poorest may even send offspring to live with wealthier families.

 

The rite of Poy Sang Long, as the celebration is known, represents the early childhood of the founder of Buddhism, Siddharta Gautama, who was born a prince about 2,600 years ago.

 

He is said to have given up a life of royal splendour to live as a holy man after witnessing sickness and death outside the palace.

 

The boys' ordination is thought to bring honour to their families, and the event runs for a week during the dry season before the traditional Thai New Year, when most villagers are home for the holiday and children are on a school break.

 

August, 8, is dressed up for an annual Poy Sang Long procession, part of the traditional rite of passage for boys to be initiated as Buddhist novices, in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

 

For these 'beloved princes' of the Shan families, the ceremony runs through several stages, from the shaving of their heads, with the shorn locks wrapped in lotus leaves by their mothers to be saved as a keepsake, to a bath in scented water.

 

They dress in white and have dazzling patterns drawn on their faces and heads with a yellow cosmetic paste made from ground-up thanaka bark thought to have protective properties.

 

From now until the end of the festival, the boys are believed to have acquired semi-divine status, and are not allowed to touch the ground or walk by themselves.

 

The parade takes place the next day, preceding a more contemplative period on the third day, when the boys visit relatives' homes to pray for their families.

 

After the week is up, the boy novices live at a temple for one or two months during school holidays, studying Buddhist scripture.

 

"I like having my head shaved," said August, a smiling 8-year-old clad in red and gold, with an ornate hat that featured pink flowers and diamante trim, as he described his favourite part of the rite.

 

"When I saw my friends doing this, I decided to become a novice. I want to be the Buddha's representative. I want to be a good person."

 

(Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Karishma Singh and Clarence Fernandez)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-26

[Samui Bodoh]

49 minutes ago, webfact said:

"He told me: 'Grandfather, I want to become a novice!' So we helped him," Kasen told Reuters. "I did it to make merit."... 

(Snip)

...To fulfil the dream of a son's participation in the prestigious event, parents willingly scrimp for a long time, others accept relatives' donations to defray costs, and the poorest may even send offspring to live with wealthier families.

It looks like a beautiful and interesting rite for the people there, but two things leap out at me...

 

The first sentence quoted above, "I did it to make merit". Not for the benefit of the religion, not for the benefit of the child, but so that he could make merit. Do religions not practice the concept of doing things for others? Making merit for yourself doesn't seem very... religious to me.

 

Any well-versed religious people/scholars out there to explain? It would be welcome; I am genuinely interested in learning how 'merit' is achieved this way.

 

The second thing that leaps out at me is the cost. There isn't a price mentioned but it does note that poor families (especially) need to "scrimp" for a long time to pay for it. Wouldn't a religious rite be better served by having worthy people undergo it? Why does this need to entail financial suffering on families? Is it a rite mainly for the wealthy? If so, anyone know why?

 

Again, any well-versed religious people/scholars out there to explain? It would be welcome; I am genuinely curious as to the reasoning of having cost as a determining factor rather than worthiness. 

 

Edited April 25, 2018 by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

[ubonjoe]

Some troll posts and the replies to them have been removed. A repeat of them will result in formal warning.

[Anak Nakal]

How much it cost?

Why poor people pay? What they get?

[owl sees all]

Let's hope all this sees him grow into a fine Thai adult.

[CMBob]

7 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

The first sentence quoted above, "I did it to make merit". Not for the benefit of the religion, not for the benefit of the child, but so that he could make merit. Do religions not practice the concept of doing things for others? Making merit for yourself doesn't seem very... religious to me.

The main reason is for the boys to make merit....for their parents and elders (not for themselves).  

 

As partially noted in the lead article, the whole "little princes" thing is to have them mimic the life of the Buddha himself (who originally was the son of a King and had all the riches and finery anyone  could imagine).  On last day of the Poy Sang Long ceremony, the boys are stripped of all their finery and don the saffron novice robes to enter the temple as novices.  Most stay only a week or two whereas a few become permanent monks. 

 

Here in Chiangmai, two Shan temples hold the same ceremony.  Wat Guu Tao had about 70 boys involved the last week of March and Wat Paa Pao had about 7 boys the first week of April.  Very colorful ceremonies (although, for the public, it's pretty much over by 9AM the first couple days of the 3-4 day deal).  After the boys have their heads shaved and they're dressed up in all that fancy stuff, they're not allowed to touch the ground until the last day (ordination day).  The most colorful part of the ceremony is when they are paraded around the temple grounds early in the morning on the shoulders of their male relatives (or, occasionally, on a pony).  Here are a couple of photos of the Wat Guu Tao ceremony this year.....

[DM07]

Sorry to urinate on the parade, but..."Religion poisons everything" ( C. Hitchens)

[bheard]

Not only are the boys dressed up in girly outfits and colours, their faces are made up, lipstick included.
Young, fresh and nubile.
Set free amongst a bunch of older celibate monks.
Wonder what happens next?


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