The online culture reigning supreme in Myanmar today, there is little material better than capturing a foreigner seeming to behave just below the standards they are deemed to be held to. This includes anything from hand-holding to less than modest dress to picture-taking at various Buddhist sites. Unfortunately, the mirror is rarely if ever held back to careless behavior in the local community. Take this example (https://bit.ly/2Qrzq38), created by the company "Perfect Date For You", in which a Mandalay dating service is charging 5,000 kyat to pair college-aged Burmese singles with one another. The backdrop for this flirtatious fun? Kuthodaw Pagoda in Mandalay, whose 729 marble slabs were meticulously carved in the 19th century under King Mindon, and house the entire of the Tipitaka, the whole of the Pali Canon, thus protecting and enshrining the liberating words of the Buddha. Where the color of one's skin or the flag on one's passport gives or denies license to follow or degrade the Buddha's teachings, there is a fundamental problem. That this dating service is flaunted and promoted so freely online with no criticism to speak, and where a photograph or dress by a foreigner is enough to (literally) threaten their safety and demand their removal from the country, such a double standard is harmful for all followers of the Buddha.
The Meditator's Guide to Burma, Part 2, is due out soon! Nearly four times as big as Part 1 and the result of nearly five years of intensive work by a team of volunteers, it will function as a kind of Lonely Planet's guide to the Golden Land... but specifically for those spiritual practitioners who wish to develop in Dhamma. Following is a draft from the Sagaing Hills chapter, which would be included in a potential Part 3-- but unfortunately, no work is happening currently as there is not sufficient financial support to sustain the project. This section introduces the Sagaing Hills before describing some specific site history.
"The monks of 150-200 years ago were especially attracted to the ravines and hilltops of this remote region of the Sagging Hills, in sharp contrast to the congested, flat lowlands around Mandalay Hill they were leaving behind. Some took to criticizing some Mandalay monastics for their laziness or laxness in adherence to Vinaya, and saw in the promise of a simple life in the Hills the perfect antidote to the adverse pull of modern civilization, and privilege.
Given the wild nature of Sagaing in those days, forest monks were left to their own devices in finding a place to reside and practice. Caves were the shelter of choice for many. However, because there are few natural cave systems in the Sagaing Hills, forest monks had to hew many hundreds of make-shift enclosures out of hillsides or cliffs. Enough fresh water to sustain them was available either from collecting rainwater or a walk to the river, depending on how far away the monastic decided to set up camp.
Ironically, civilization followed these seekers of solitude. Over time, small settlements of lay communities slowly grew around these pioneering monks, which themselves turned into villages. Monks intent on complete solitude could, of course, venture deeper into the hills, where the dense forest and hilly terrain made it possible to live in near-total seclusion even in fairly close proximity to lay supporters. Indeed, the many winding, narrow hill paths throughout the Sagaing Hills have likely been used by countless monks on alms round."
