Thursday, May 07, 2009

Nimal:  Monk in training

In this photo, soon-to-be-monk Nimal is using a stone to teach me how to write my name in Sinhala.  We are high above the jungle on one of two giant rocky outcrops in the valley near Anuradhapura.  The one we are on contains me and Nimal. The other (visible in the background) is Sigiriya, a massive stone on the top of which are the ruins of an ancient palace.  Nimal led the way up the stone, announcing that when he turned 13 he was due to begin his training as a monk. He was excited, he said, but felt that he might suffer in his training as he wasn’t sure if he would get enough food as a monk.

This is similar to the attitude held by Ruwanga, who, seeing a statue of the meditating Buddha when he was ten, told me, “I would like to become a Buddha, but my legs would hurt.”