Maggie Holderer, Junior
During the pandemic, Buddhist monks across Lao PDR were a big help in the fight against Covid-19. Monks engage with villages and villagers every day and people turn to them if they feel frightened, sad, etc. On the 23rd and 24th of July of 2020, Chief monks who led temples in Vientiane Capital met with health officials to discuss action against COVID on a community level. There were two back-to-back orientation meetings, with each one being attended by 100 monks.
Though involved in the Covid-19 pandemic, monks largely live a very disciplined, yet still peaceful life. Though there is not much leisure in a monk’s life, they remain very happy individuals. Many monks are orphans or were sent to a monastery because their parents could not afford to take care of them or give them an education. Monastic life varies between different groups and countries, but this article will focus on monks in Myanmar.
Monks follow a rather fixed schedule and it does not fluctuate among different age groups. Their day starts at 4:30 A.M., including on weekends. After they wake up, they gather for an hour in the temple to recite mantras. Mantras are sacred sounds or utterances that are thought by those who practice a religion, in this case, Buddhism, to have religious, spiritual, or magical powers.
After reciting mantras, they clean themselves up and at 6:30 A.M., all of the monks gather in a row and stand in front of the gate of the monastery.
They will then go barefoot into the neighboring villages and ask for food and money. They have to go barefoot because according to Buddhist teachings, monks cannot wear footwear that covers the toes and the heels. They can wear shoes that have been donated to them but many of the villagers need to keep their shoes, and the climate in Myanmar is warm, so going barefoot isn’t a health risk.
At 7:30, they will return to the monastery and have breakfast with whatever the villagers gave them. The food is distributed so that those who received less get more from those who were given more. They finish eating at 8:30 A.M. and then they go to school.
The young monks go to school until 11:30 A.M., which is when the second meal of the day is served. After that, they can’t eat until the next morning.
At 1:30, school will resume and the other monks will go until 5:30 P.M.
After school, all of the monks will meet again in the temple and offer prayers to Buddha, and then by 7:00 P.M. all of the monks should be in bed.
Sources:
https://ugoceiphotography.com/b/monks-life-day-life-buddhist-monks-myanmar/#:~:text=The%20typical%20day%20of%20a,no%20showers%20but%20they%20 wash
https://www.thetravel.com/a-monks-life-in-a-buddhist-monastery/
https://www.who.int/laos/news/detail/24-07-2020-monks-and-health-officials-work-together-to-keep-communities-safe-from-covid-19
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