The “real” life begins.
Every small Buddhist boy goes through novitiation, it is the first very important event for the kids and is taken real serious by the parents who spend quite some money to show the others what they have.
Some particular richly decorated dresses are bought usually shown in a lavish. A Buddhist ritual somehow similar to the first day they go to the school in “the west”. After that the small one is sent to a monastery for a couple of days to get some ideas of Buddhism and how to behave.
Almost every boy go through this novitiation ceremony in Burma.
Going through novitiation is tradition, it has its roots in Buddhism. When Buddha's son, Rahula, asked for his inheritance, he was guided into the Order of the Sangha as a novice by his father.
Following this, every Buddhist boy in Burma between 7 and 13 years of age go through this novitiation ceremony and enter a monastery for a couple of day’s or longer. The parents spend quite some money to support this as you can see in the clip. From the perspective of the parents it is the most important day in the boy's life, he maybe has another idea.
Since this is a one time event in life it has a high value for the whole family the next similar Buddhist procedure is only if he maybe become a monk when a similar celebration will run through.
They dress the kid as a lookalike Prince Siddhartha.
Who afterwards become Gautama Buddha. The small guy is paraded through the village or as here the Shwedagon Pagoda Platform in a walking procession or elsewhere on a horse cart, boat or just on the shoulders of some family members. The procession usually ends up in the local monastery where he will spend a few days.
Before all this the head of the children is shaved and he gets a robe like a monk which includes the alms bowl and after enters the monastery to begin his novitiate turn. Now he is a “son of Buddha” and must observe the ten basic rules of the religion. If for some reasons he like to become a monk he can only do so after being 20 years old.
In Myanmar Buddhism women cant be ordinated although many are visible in the typical dresses but they are not living in a real Buddhist monastery.
Myanmar (Burma) boys novitiation is a important part of every Buddhist boy.
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| Shrines and monasteries in Sagaing |
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| Thambuddhei Paya in Monywa |
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