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Shin-Pyu: Becoming A Dignified Human Being

The most important moment in the life of a young Myanmar boy is that of his shin-pyu, his initiation as a novice in the order of monks.

Until a Buddhist has gone through the shin-pyu ceremony, he is regarded as no better than an animal. To become “human,” he must for a time withdraw from secular life, following the example set forth by the Buddha when he left his family to seek enlightenment, and later by the Buddha’s own young son, Rahula.

Unlike his illustrious predecessors, the novice monk probably will carry his alms bowl only a short time – may be a few weeks or less, perhaps as long as several moths – then return to his normal lifestyle. But his time spent as a monk, studying Buddhist scriptures and strictly following the code of discipline, makes him a dignified human being.

Some time between his ninth and twelfth birthdays, a boy is deemed ready to don the saffron-colored robes of the Sangha and become a “son of the Buddha.” If his parents are very pious, they may arrange to have the shin-pyu staged on the full moon day of Waso (June / July), the beginning of the Buddhist Lent, so that the novice can remain in the monastery throughout the entire rainy season, until Lent ends with the Festival of Light in October.

Once the ceremony has been arranged, the boy’s sisters announce it to the whole village or neighborhood. Everyone is invited, and contributions are collected for a festival which will dig deep into the savings of the boy’s parents.

Traditionally, a shin-pyu is a time of generosity. The boy is dressed in princely garments of silk, wears a gold headdress, and has a white horse. Musicians are hired to entertain guests. These objects are meant to symbolize the worldly goods that the novice monk must renounce in accepting the rules of the Sangha. Not all families can afford this, however, and many shin-pyus are more modest.

The night before a shin-pyu is a busy one. A feast is prepared for all the monks whose company the young boy will join, and they are elaborately fed early on the morning of the ceremony. Next, all men invited to the festivities are fed, and finally women can eat.

Later in the morning, the novitiate monk’s head is shaved in preparation for his initiation. The boy’s mother and elder sister hold a white cloth to receive the falling hair, and later bury it near a pagoda. This head-shaving is a solemn moment; when completed, the boy already looks like a “son of the Buddha”.

In the weeks before the ceremony, the lad has been familiarized with the language and behavior befitting a monk. He has learned how to address a superior; how to walk with decorum, keeping his eyes fixed on a point six feet in front of him; and how to respond to the questions put to him at the novitiation ceremony. He has also learned the Pali language words he must use in asking to be admitted to the Sangha.

His instruction serves him well when the time for the ceremony arrives. His request to enter the monkhood is approved, and he prostrates himself three times. Then he is robed. Now he is ready to walk the path of perfection first trodden by the Buddha. If he is steadfast enough, he might even reach nirvana.

At the moment that the sayadaw – the abbot who has presided over the ceremony – hangs the novitiate’s thabeit (alms bowl) over his shoulder, innocent childhood is behind the boy. He has now been accepted as a monk.

During the time he spends in the monastery, the boy’s parents must address him in honorific terms. He will call them “lay sister” and “lay brother,” the same names he calls others who are not in the monkhood.