Shinbyu
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Shinbyu (Burmese: 
; MLCTS: hrang pru.; IPA: [ʃìnbjṵ]) is the Burmese term for a novitiation ceremony in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism.
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, join the Sangha and become immersed in the teachings of the Buddha, the Dharma, 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 ordination.[1] Those who are not blessed with a male child will seek for an orphan boy in order to receive this special dispensation by the Buddha and hence gain great merit by the act. To the Burmese the importance of having a son rests almost solely on this premise and is linked to the belief that one has to be born a man before one can attain Buddha-hood. Shinbyu may well be regarded as a rite of passage or coming of age ceremony as in other religions.
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[edit] History
The first shinbyu in history took 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 Yasodra'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.[1] [2]
[edit] Prelude
The abbot (Sayadaw, lit. royal teacher) of the village monastery will choose an auspicious day for the novitiation; the New Year festival period, Thingyan or a hka dwin, is a favourite time of the year and there may be boys from an extended family or families from the same neighbourhood or village being prepared for it. This usually includes learning the thingan daung (request for robes) and seba thila (the ten precepts)[3] - 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 lacquer box of lahpet (pickled tea) and invite entire households to the shinbyu or a hlu (alms).[4] And the acceptance is indicated by the partaking of the lahpet. Printed invitations however are more common in towns and cities today.
[edit] 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 jaggery (palm sugar lumps, hta nyet) or cane sugar bars (kyan tha ga) and a hlu lahpet (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 (yei nway gyan). In towns and cities, assorted cakes, ice cream and coffee have superseded the traditional sweets but lahpet still holds centre stage.
The big day starts early with a procession (shin laung 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 Siddartha 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. Behind his horse follows the family, his proud parents carrying the monastic robes and paraphernalia called pareihkra shippa[4]and his sisters or young village maidens carrying ceremonial boxes of betel (kun daung gaing) and lotus blossoms (pan daung gaing) all in their best silks with the rest of the joyous party completing the procession. The Shwedagon Paya is invariably a shinbyu procession's first port of call in Yangon. The novice to-be (shin laung) may be the centre of attention, but his sister may at the same ceremony have an ear-piercing (na htwin) 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 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, the hair being received in a white cloth by the parents kneeling together with the young shin laung. The boy, now having exchanged his princely garb with white robes, kneels before the Sayadaw and recites the Seba Thila 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 (tha beik) 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.
[edit] New Novice
Even the mightiest of Buddhist kings in history would kneel before a young novice for he wore the Buddha's mantle. So the parents pay obeisance (shih hko) 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 the time he leaves the monastery. He gains a new name, say Shin Ponnya if Thursday-born or Shin Tayza for a Saturday-born.[4]A special form of language for monks will be used by the layfolk when they talk to him.[4] He will be addressed as ko yin by everyone including his parents and they in turn addressed by him as daga gyi and daga ma 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).
[edit] References
- ^ a b Shinpyu - a fulfilment of parenthood.
- ^ Lin Htain (1983). Rahula, the first samanera in history. Department of Religious Affairs, Rangoon.
- ^ The Ten Precepts.
- ^ a b c d Shway Yoe (Sir James George Scott)1882. The Burman - His Life and Notions. New York: The Norton Library 1963, 23,112,22,407-408.
