With the Rainy Season ended and a cooler, less humid feel to
the air, mornings are now very refreshing.
And, I have been starting a new routine of getting up and out before
dawn.
Tuk's mom has started to go out early again to give food
alms to the passing monks, and I escort her out to the corner and watch that
she doesn't fall down or wander off. Her
Alzheimer's condition and general old-age have made her unpredictable and frail.
There are a couple of chairs on the corner where a food
vendor has a cart, and Mother sits there.
On weekday mornings, the corner is busy with folks going to work at the
electric company headquarters next door.
On weekends and holidays, it is deserted, with no food vendors,
motorcycle-taxi drivers, or pedestrians.
But the monks always come by every day.
Barefoot, with orange robes and begging bowls, they reach
every neighborhood. The Theravada/Hinayana
school of Buddhism upholds the tradition laid down by Gautama himself: monks must be "homeless" (i.e.,
owning nothing; living communally at a temple) and they rely on the lay
community for all food and support. The
lay community members get, in return, a blessing chanted in Pali by the monk,
as well as having "made merit" (i.e., added to their lifetime record
of good deeds so that they may get a good rebirth, aka, better karma).
After leading Mother out to her chair, I usually retreat back
to our courtyard where I can be out of sight but still keep an eye on her. (I use this time to loosen up with Tai Chi
and calisthenics.) When the monk is
finished and leaves, I go out and escort her back to the house.
The Loy Krathong festival was on this last Monday's Full Moon, although food vendors and music have been active in the evenings for the last week on the main street nearby. I didn't mingle with the festive crowds as in other years; I just went out to see the Moon in our now-clear skies.
-Zenwind.
.
