Shinbyu
Encyclopedia
Shinbyu is the Burmese term for a novitiation ceremony (pabbajja
Pabbajja
Pabbajja literally means "to go forth" and refers to when a layperson leaves home to live the life of a Buddhist renunciate among a community of monks . This generally involves preliminary ordination as a novice...
) in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism, referring to the celebrations marking the samanera
Samanera
A samanera ) may be translated as novice monk in a Buddhist context. The literal meaning is 'small samana', that is, small renunciate where 'small' has the meaning of boy or girl. In the Vinaya monastic discipline, a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a bhikkhu, but can ordain as a samanera...
ordination of a boy under the age of 20.
It is deemed the most important duty that parents owe to their son by letting him go forth and embrace the legacy of the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, join the Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
and become immersed in the teachings of the Buddha, the Dhamma, at least for a short while, perhaps longer if not for the rest of his life. A boy may become a novice on more than one occasion, but by the age of twenty there will be another great occasion, the upasampada
Upasampada
Upasampadā literally means "approaching or nearing the ascetic tradition." In more common parlance it specifically refers to the rite of ordination by which one undertakes the Buddhist monastic life....
ordination, in which the boy becomes a fully ordained bazin
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
. Those who are not blessed with a male child will seek for an orphan boy or a boy from very poor families in order to receive this special dispensation by the Buddha and hence gain great merit by the act. Shinbyu may well be regarded as a rite of passage
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
or coming of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
ceremony as in other religions. Allowing a son to spend some time however short it may be, in a Buddhist Vihara
Vihara
Vihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a Buddhist monastery. It originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season....
(monastery) is regarded by most Buddhists as the best religious gift that his parents can give him and it is believed to have a lasting effect on his life.
History
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 RahulaRahula
Rāhula was the only son of Siddhartha Gautama , later known as the Buddha, and his wife Princess Yasodharā.Accounts of his life differ in certain points. The following is that given in the Pāli Canon.- Life :...
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.
Prelude
The abbot ( Sayadaw, lit. royal teacher) of the village monastery will choose an auspicious day for the novitiation; the New Year festival period, ThingyanThingyan
Thingyan is the Burmese New Year Water Festival and usually falls around mid-April . It is a Buddhist festival celebrated over a period of four to five days culminating in the new year...
or a-hka dwin , is a favourite time of the year. There may be boys from an extended family or families from the same neighbourhood or village being prepared for it. This usually includes learning how to recite the request for robes called thingan daung and the Ten Precepts (( seba thila) - they are already familiar with the basic Five Precepts ( ngaba thila) - as well as some monastic rules. Parents will chide them if they are caught climbing trees or swimming in the river for fear of accidents or catching a bad cold in the run-up to this great event. Their sisters and older members of the family will call at every house in the village with a lacquerware
Lacquerware
Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. The lacquer is sometimes inlaid or carved. Lacquerware includes boxes, tableware, buttons and even coffins painted with lacquer in cultures mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere.-History:...
dish of pickled tea leaves called lahpet
Lahpet
Lahpet, also spelt laphet :"Of all the fruit, the mango's the best; Of all the meat, pork's the best; Of all the leaves, lahpets the best".-Etymology:...
and invite entire households to the shinbyu a-hlu . And acceptance is indicated by the partaking of the lahpet. Printed invitations however are more common in towns and cities today.
Ceremony
Festivities start on the eve of shinbyu called a-hlu win with a pwè an orchestra and dance/drama/comedy ensemble) and tea for the guests. In the middle of a street, a pandal or mandat constructed from bamboo and papier mache with ornately painted gold and silver columns, pediments and finials has sprung up overnight. Sweets such as jaggeryJaggery
Jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
or cane sugar bars and a-hlu lahpet
Lahpet
Lahpet, also spelt laphet :"Of all the fruit, the mango's the best; Of all the meat, pork's the best; Of all the leaves, lahpets the best".-Etymology:...
, pickled tea laced with sesame oil encircled by small heaps of fried peas, peanuts and garlic, toasted sesame, crushed dried shrimps and shredded preserved ginger) are served with green tea. In towns and cities, assorted cakes, ice cream and coffee have superseded the traditional sweets but lahpet
Lahpet
Lahpet, also spelt laphet :"Of all the fruit, the mango's the best; Of all the meat, pork's the best; Of all the leaves, lahpets the best".-Etymology:...
still holds centre stage.
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 holding a parasol and 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
Four Noble Truths
The Four Noble Truths are an important principle in Buddhism, classically taught by the Buddha in the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra....
. Behind his horse 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
Paan
Paan, from the word pān is an Indian, Pakistani, Uttarvarshi and Southeast Asian tradition of chewing betel leaf with areca nut and slaked lime paste, and katha brown powder paste, with many regional and local variations...
( kundaung gaing) and lotus blossoms ( pandaung gaing) all in their best silks with the rest of the joyous party completing the procession. The Shwedagon Pagoda is invariably a shinbyu procession's first port of call in Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
. The novice-to-be ( shinlaung) may be the centre of attention, but his sister may at the same ceremony have an ear-piercing ( na thwin) with a gold needle, dressed up as a royal princess herself.
At the monastery, the monks are assembled to preside over the ceremony and to receive their young charge as well as various alms and offerings. A feast has been prepared for all with low round tables set on fine bamboo mats and rugs or in a marquee with long bamboo tables and benches. It will have been declared a "smokeless day" ( migo deik) for the village as no cooking fires will be lit and everyone including their dogs are welcome to the feast which includes meat and poultry dishes, soup or broth, curried salted fish with vegetables on the side, fermented green mango or bean sprouts followed by dessert, again with lahpet.
A brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
may be specially hired to act as master of ceremonies especially for a na htwin, but it is the monks who will supervise and perform the shaving of the head, called hsan cha . The hair is received in a white cloth by the parents who kneeling together with the young shinlaung , while the boy recites reflects on bodily defilements in Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
, to increase self-detachment from his hair. The boy, now having exchanged his princely garb with white robes, kneels before the Sayadaw and recites the Ten Precepts followed by the thingan daung . He receives the saffron robe and is helped into this by a monk. Next he is given his alms bowl ( thabeik) and palm-leaf fan ( yat) from his parents with smiles of joy and tears of sorrow, his mother at the thought of parting with her dear son for the first time.
New novice
Even the mightiest of Buddhist kings in history would kneel before a young noviceSamanera
A samanera ) may be translated as novice monk in a Buddhist context. The literal meaning is 'small samana', that is, small renunciate where 'small' has the meaning of boy or girl. In the Vinaya monastic discipline, a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a bhikkhu, but can ordain as a samanera...
for he wore the Buddha's mantle. So the parents pay obeisance ( shihko) to their young son, now held on a higher echelon, as well as to the venerable monks. No physical display of affection can now be considered appropriate until he leaves the monastery. He gains a new Dharma name
Dharma name
A Dharma name is a new name acquired during a Buddhist initiation ritual in Mahayana Buddhism and monk ordination in Theravada Buddhism. The name is traditionally given by a Buddhist monastic, but is also given to newly ordained monks, nuns and laity....
( bwe) in Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
, traditionally based on an astrology-based naming system
Burmese name
Burmese names lack the serial quality of most modern names. The Burmese people have no customary patronymic or matronymic system and thus there is no surname at all. In Burmese culture, people can change their name at will, often with no government oversight, to reflect a change in the course of...
, such as Shin Ponnya if Thursday-born or Shin Tayza for a Saturday-born.A special form of language for monks will be used by the layfolk when they talk to him. He will be addressed as koyin by everyone including his parents and they in turn addressed by him as daga gyi and dagama gyi . Back in the village, celebrations can resume with the promise of a good pwè for the evening, another free show for the entire neighbourhood or village called aung bwè (a show to celebrate success).
External links
- Nibanna
- Myanmar Monk and Monastery
- A Grandscale Shinbyu in Yangon inc. video
- Rakhine Shinbyu and Nahtwin inc. video
- Old Shinbyu photo,Burmese not Shan
- U Shwe Yoe with his parasol
- Shan Shinbyu in Northern Thailand Sai Silp, The IrrawaddyThe IrrawaddyThis article is about a newsmagazine. For other uses of the term, please see Irrawaddy.For the Second World War battle honour, see Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations...
, April 2007