Spreading Compassion Along To Burmese Nuns
We share the following information from our local team leader who oversaw a project to support monastic schools, applying donations funds that were earmarked by those donors who wished to see their contribution go towards supporting monks, nuns, and novices. As the situation in Myanmar continues to be challenging, this support has been so greatly appreciated by those on the ground who are continuing to struggle to get by. For those supporters who have a particular cause that they would like to contribute to relating to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, please get in touch with us regarding your volition and we will do our best to make sure the funds get to their intended target.
“In previous years, there were sponsors for the meals for nuns. However, this year, just a few of the local donors that she knows were able to offer meals.”
May you all be healthy, happy and insightful. I send my Metta to you all.
This report is about those monastics who were traveling to Yangon, Bago and Hlegu and taking the monastic examinations called Samane-kyaw and Alinkāra exams. It is truly important for most of the monastics in Myanmar who study the Myanmar traditional Buddhist monastic education. Although it does not look like a big burden for the small monasteries or nunneries where there are only a few monastic candidates that travel to the cities away and take the exams, it is truly a big duty for the abbots or head nuns, so much so that it sometimes makes them forget to breathe because they have to take considerations about their travel expenses, living expenses in the host monasteries or nunneries in the cities and food for all the time during their stay in the city.
I want to tell you about one abbess from a beneficiary nunnery that we reached with regarding your donation, for she explained to us how she had to make the arrangements 1 or 2 months before the exams period. First of all, she had to check with the monasteries or nunneries that she knows in Yangon and ask if they could host and accommodate her 100 nun candidates. In the earliest years after she founded the nunnery and sent the candidates for the exam in Yangon, she sent the candidates to another monastery in North Dagon township where she studied in her studentship. This nunnery annually produces the most outstanding candidates who achieved the nation-wide first, second or third prize in different national monastic examinations, and many outstanding candidates who passed those exams with distinctions.
However, it was a real hassle to arrange the travel for the candidates to go from the staying monastery to the exam center which is annually held in Samane-kyaw Dharma Hall in Shwedagon Pagoda. Also, it was very costly in those early years to do so. This year, she could find a monastery just near Shwedgaon Pagoda and her candidates could stay and travel to the exam center in convenience. For the transport of her candidate nuns from Mandalay to Yangon, she could arrange to hire two coaches through the donations from some wealthy families in Mandalay, even though it was actually quite expensive. Although she could solve the accommodation and travel issues for the 100 candidates, another challenge prior to the exam period is the food for the candidate nuns.
Since one or two months before the exam period, she was supposed to inform her known local donors in Yangon, Bago and Hlegu that the nun candidates would come there, when and where they would come and stay, how many candidates would take the exams, etc. During the exam days in the previous years, most of the local donors in Yangon that she knows offered meals for the candidate nuns and most of the exam days were fully scheduled with the sponsors of meals: either of breakfast and lunch, or both.
In the previous years, some local donors in Yangon also spread the news about the candidate nuns and there were also new sponsors for the meals. However, this year, just a few of the local donors that she knows, offered meals. She sadly said to me that even her best-known sponsors who used to offer both breakfast and lunch, and sometimes, offered meals for 2 – 3 days, could offer just one meal: either breakfast or lunch.
This is why, she was unable to breathe, being stressed, and she was just planning and working harder to collect local alms-rice in Mandalay so that she could send the raw rice to the candidate nuns during their exam period.
She could just manage for the candidate nuns to only take a few sacks of rice along with them when they left for Yangon. It was just enough only for 4-5 days! Therefore, the head nun was planning to send more sacks of rice after collecting the alms-round in Mandalay on the next Pre-Sabbath Day. Fortunately, our local donation team finally could reach out the donations to her nunnery and her assistant nuns could arrange the rice, cooking oil, onion and potatoes.
We also noticed the shortage and need of rice for the 172 nuns who remained in the nunnery, though the food issue for the 100 traveling candidate nuns was somehow solved. In order to help both the traveling candidate nuns in Yangon and the remaining nuns in the nunnery, we donated 10 more sacks of rice proportionally with the total population of the nuns in the nunnery which is 272 nuns. Also, we heard from the head nun that the villagers from her native village fled just before their houses were burned down by the military, so she was accommodating and feeding them in her compassion. The nunnery’s kitchen had to cook for 300 people per day (before the candidate nuns left for Yangon). It was also blissful to know that our donation could somehow help the head nun to feed these vulnerable people who were internally displaced.
On our visit to the nunnery, she told us, pointing to a woman nearby who was helping her, about her tragedy that her house was burned down two times: she went back to the village after her house was burned down for the first time, and her family built a house again with the thought they could stay safe but it was sadly burned down again during the raid by the military troops one month later.
We donated 14 large sacks of rice, in total, and some other food items to this nunnery. The importance of these sacks cannot be overstated. In times of such hardship, where even the basic necessities are hard to come by, this generous contribution was more than just food—it was a lifeline. For the 100 nun candidates traveling for their exams, and the 172 who remained, these sacks of rice symbolized stability and sustenance amidst the turmoil. The head nun, overwhelmed by the complexities of providing for both the nunnery’s residents and the internally displaced villagers seeking refuge, found some relief in this timely support. The rice helped ensure that no one went hungry, allowing the nuns to focus on their spiritual and academic duties without the burden of an empty stomach.
We are profoundly grateful to the donors who stepped forward to provide these critical resources. Your generosity has touched the lives of many, offering not only physical nourishment but also a profound sense of community and care in these trying times. However, the needs continue, and we humbly encourage others to join in supporting these brave souls. Whether through contributions of food, funds, or other essentials, your help can make a significant difference. As we strive to support these dedicated nuns and their commendable efforts, let us come together to foster a spirit of giving and compassion. Your support not only aids in their immediate needs but also uplifts their spirits, empowering them to continue their important work in the community.