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“You must become a monk, before you can become a man.”This is a very famous saying in Myanmar which reflects the significance of this day in the lives of the Burmese people.  The boy is trained to become a novice for a certain period of time with an ultimate goal to obtain Enlightenment which is known as Nirvana in the Buddhist religion.Buddhists in Myanmar believed that if their sons have been initiated into novice-hood at least in this life the parents will not suffer in hell in next existence and they regard the son who is in novice-hood like men who are in more noble life and pay respect while they are in novice-hood.

Shinbyu is the Burmese term for a novitiation ceremony (pabbajja) in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism, referring to the celebrations marking the samanera ordination of a boy under the age of 20.

Almost two thousand years ago, the tradition of Theravada Buddhism was started with the inheritance ceremony of Rahula, who was the son of Buddha. Nowadays, in Myanmar every boy under the age of 20 goes through the samanera ordination in order to embrace the legacy of the Buddha. The Burmese families celebrate the ordination of their young son into the Buddhist order of the Sangha in a traditional way. This occasion is an essential rite in the life of every Buddhist male in Burma which is called Shinbyu, the Shangha making ceremony. The families without having a male child normally seek for an orphan boy or a boy from very poor families in order to receive this special dispensation by the Buddha as this act provide them great blessings and comfort in their lives.

According to the beliefs, by entering the order of The Sangha in this life, a novice is become able to increase his Karma (Merit) in gaining Nirvana in his upcoming life.Normally the period consists of at least seven days during which the novice learns the basic principles that are essential in becoming a good Buddhist.

One of the noblest ceremonies for Buddhists in Myanmar is the ceremony of ordination and novitiation.

The ceremony is very interesting and unique which starts in the early morning with a procession to the monastery. The young boy is dressed up in bright colored and silks embroidered with gold and he looks like a prince. The young boy is riding on a horse back or carried in palanquins with lots of drum beats and traditional dancing. To provide the shelter from sunburn, the young boy keeps a golden umbrella with him. This ritual reminds the Prince Siddhartha Gautama’s departure from the royal palace who left his comfortable and luxurious life and family at the age of 29 in search of the Four Noble Truths.

The big day starts early with a procession called the shinlaung hlè pwe to the monastery, the young boy dressed in resplendent silks embroidered with gold as a royal prince or king, shielded from the sun by a gold umbrella and led on horseback by an orchestral band headed by a clown with a moustache called U Shwe Yoe dancing merrily. This ritual symbolises Prince Siddhartha Gautama's departure from the royal palace with its sensuous pleasures and luxuries at the age of twenty nine, leaving his wife and newborn son in search of the Four Noble Truths.

The first shinbyu in history is believed to have taken place in the Buddha's lifetime two and a half millennia ago. It was his own son Rahula who approached the prodigal father, at his mother Yasodhara's bidding, to ask for his inheritance. "Very well", said the Buddha, "here then is my legacy for you", beckoning one of his disciples to shave the head of the young prince and adorn him with the robe of an ascetic in exchange for his princely dress, and Rahula was then bidden to follow the Buddha to his forest monastery.

The path to becoming a monk (Bhikkhu) or nun starts with being a novice (Samanera) at tender age. The whole community took part in the parade to the local monastery. Ladies and maidens in the same villages join the procession in traditional longyi and silk clothes. The initial ordination may last for week(s) for the children. One can always repeat the ordination for several times in a lifetime.

Behind the young boy follows the family, his proud parents carrying the monastic robes and other eight requisites, called pareihkara shippa and his sisters or young village maidens carrying ceremonial boxes of paan (preparation of betel leaf combined with areca nut and/or cured tobacco) and lotus blossoms or flowers all in their best silks with the rest of the joyous party completing the procession. The novice-to-be (shinlaung) may be the centre of attention, but his sister may at the same ceremony have an ear-piercing with a gold needle, dressed up as a royal princess herself.

Following them all was a gigantic 'boom box' of speakers, playing the music.

Text: Internet

Pictures: Sanda Foişoreanu & Internet

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Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

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