Welcomed as a VIP
Trip Start
Dec 22, 2006
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Trip End
Jul 16, 2007
No-Name-village, Myanmar
Sunday, May 6, 2007
instead of travel by public bus, passing check-points on our way to the
No-Name village: Hometown of M. (name not to be mentioned with reason).
I was received as a royalty, with people gathered in the local public
building to see me and ask me questions. Even after many special
treatments with food etc. I still have difficulty with this special
attention as if I am some kind of celebrity person. For a monk this is
normal life, being treated with lots of respect, different from
ordinary people. For many reasons I do not wish to live my life as a
nun. This being one of them. Let me live amongst the people, not
'above' them.
M. told me I should say something about the importance of education for
the teenagers, who have little faith in the future at the moment
because of the political situation. I try to tell them as good as I
can, but also feel like the foreigner telling them how to learn english
etc. when some families not even have enough money to eat.
Later that day we visit M. old home, meeting his father and rest of family. It strikes me as odd that although he has not seen his family for over a year, the reunion feels cold to me. No hug (even between men, which is allowed) or special kind words. M. explains me the relation between a monk and his family is not tight. Because they live away from home from a young age and the fact that a monk should not be attached to anything or anyone. This also includes family. His brother, also monk, has been living in Thailand and not been home for over 20 years now. For me this is would be unacceptable. Although I travel and be away from home for long times, I still love my parents (but also friends) dearly and think they are very important in my life. Another big reason why I could never be a nun.
