I cried this morning

Set the alarm for 6:00, got up at 6:30, out the door at 6:43 the time the sun was rising today and the time I thought I was going to see the Alms Ceremony.  Too late by about an hour.  

BUT I found the most amazing local food market where the locals were buying their meat and veg.  Ihave  never, ever seen a food market like it.  Not so big, everything mostly on the ground but beatifully presented, beautifully fresh and so much variety.  Fresh fish still swimming, lovely cuts of meat with no flies anywhere.  So many varieties of vegetables, all colourful and shiny.  Vendors cooking coconut cakes, soups and stews. Othes making noodles.  Rices of different varieties piled high.  Stalls with sealed bags of nuts, sauces, spices.  You name it, they had it.

                          

                          

                                       

                            

                                    

                                     

                           

                                  

                                 

I was on a high and then started to think of all the things I could be cooking if I was home in my kitchen with these ingredients.  I so miss my cooking and my dinner parties and as I thought about it a tear slowly dropped down my cheek.  Not homesick, not lonely, not over it - just want my kitchen and some home cooked food.

Oh well, get over it girl.  I was feeling a little sqeamish, probably lack of sleep or hunger so indulged in a bowl of Khao Soy soup, a lovely spicy broth with noodles, veg, some round balls (that tasted and felt like rubber) and a mincy like ingredient.  It came with mint leaves, vietnamese mint, lime and parsley on the side and as I added a bit of each the taste began to change and by the time I got to the end I was wishing for more. The noodles were conjoined, like twins, stuck together in a big way so i ignored them and the balls and just enjoyed the broth and yumm.  Yes! I do like this.

                                        

I watched as a lady packed up the leftovers of last nights cakes.  Note to self.  Dont buy from the cake stall unless it is late in the day and yesterday's food has been sold.

Back to the hotel who tell me I need to get up earlier to see the Alms.  Maybe not I say.  I'd rather go to the food market, but lets see what tomorrow will bring.

I'm not sure about this business of young children being sent to beocme a Monk for a duration.  In some cases families cannot afford to feed their children so sending them to be a Monk relieves them of that worry.  A few of the children do stay on but many return to a lay lifestyle after a short time.  One thing however, is that being a Monk they get an education and many are learning English, they get three squares a day, basic food but at least food, they learn discipline, they learn artisan skills and they learn that life isnt about material possessions and themsleves.  Some lessons that many of our youth would be better off learning sooner rather that later.

I was curious about the different colour (ranging from muddy yellow to deep orange and I beleive through to maroon) and style (some more ornate and providing more covering than others) of robes they wear.  The following buddanet page provides some answers:

According to the Buddhist Scriptures and the Commentaries, in the early monastic days, the monks would go out on their alms-round dressed only in their waistcloth which was neatly worn, and carrying their upper robe and bowl in their hands. When the monks were in the vicinity of houses, they would put on their upper robe before going to collect alms.

The waistcloth is about the size of a sarong, both the other robes measure about 2m by 7m (about 6 feet by 9 feet). The Vibhanga says that "A monk should wear the waistcloth even all around, covering the area of the navel and the area of the knees." It is secured to the waist with a flat waistband.

The third robe, the outer robe (sanghati), is not often mentioned in the Scriptures but was permitted by the Buddha for additional use during the cold season. These robes measure about 2m by 3m (about 6 feet by 9 feet). Unlike the upper robe which is only of one layer, the outer robe has two. This is the real meaning of the term, "the triple robe".

According to the Pali tradition, six kinds of cloth are allowed for making the upper and outer robes: plant fibres, cotton, silk, animal hair (e.g. wool, but not human), hemp, and a mixture of some or all of them. The Buddha recommended that the robe design should be cut in the pattern of the Magadha padi-fields.

Burmese Nuns Robes

The robe dye is allowed to be obtained from six kinds of substances: roots and tubers, plants, bark, leaves, flowers and fruits. They should be boiled in water for a long time to get the dun dye. Saffron and ochre (from the jackfruit's heartwood) are the most prevalent colours today. Though there is a tendency amongst forest monks to wear ochre and city monks to wear saffron, but this is not always the rule.

There are a number of ways the monks wear their robes (depending usually on their sect and country). The most universal one is that which is worn for the alms-round when the robe is covering both the shoulders. The two top corners are held together and the edges rolled tightly together. The roll is then pushed over the left shoulder, down the back, under the armpit and is pressed down with the left arm. The roll is parted in front through which protrudes the right arm.

Within the monastery or residence and when having an audience with a more senior monk, a simpler style is adopted (as a gesture of respect and to facilitate work). The right side of the robe is pushed under the armpit and over the robe on the left leaving the right shoulder bare.

The Buddhist monastic robe is so versatile that it can be used, besides what is already mentioned, as a blanket, a seat-spread, a groundsheet, a head-cover, a windbreak, etc. It is easy to clean and repair. It is perhaps the oldest style of dress still in fashion after 2,500 years.

The robes serve not just as a kind of uniform to remind the wearer that he or she is a member of a larger universal community, but is itself an object of reflection to be worn "properly considering them: only to ward off cold, to ward off heat, to ward off the touch of insects, wind, sun and reptiles; only for keeping myself decent" (M 1:10). Above all, they remind the wearer that he or she has committed him or herself to high spiritual ideals — to master the Dharma, liberate oneself and show others the Way.

                            

So maybe enough for this blog.  My day continues on the next one..............