Village Life - A (Buddhist) Priest Photo and Text by Siri
To the parents of a Buddhist family, just like the family of a Christian, Hindu, Muslim or any other major religion, to have a son become a priest is a great honor, and brings one a step closer to "nirvana", the ultimate object of all Buddhists. Children even as young as nine or ten years old are first ordained as "samanera", a (student priest). They start learning the "Dhamma" (teachings of Lord Buddha), at a "pirivena" (an institute of Buddhist learning) and also attend to the needs of the older fully ordained priests as part of the discipline. They maintain the temple complex, keeping the grounds spotless, most times with the help of village devotees, cook the meals for the older priests, and generally do all the chores.
For three months during the rainy season of the year, the priests must go begging for their daily meal which must be consumed before mid day. It is always the duty of the younger ‘samaneras" to make sure that the food is collected, and the older priests are fed before noon. During these times it is not uncommon to see lines of young, yellow clad "samaneras" walking form house to house and collecting offerings of food from the villagers.

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