Rotten Ears

U Kyaw Tun. The story of Ah Hpawa Ma Nyein - a story of my mother's childhood days in Moulmein. Written in Deep River, 960101.

"hsum: daw byo. /" (Meaning: "I've come for alms - cooked rice or curry.")

Ah Hpwa Ma Nyein (Grandma Madam Nyein) didn't recognized the voice. It must be a new kyaung: tha: (monastery boy).

Ah Hpwa Ma Nyein was quite old by then. She was one of the sisters of Maung Ngan. Pure in Mon blood, fair in judgment, quick in dealing out punishments. She was well loved and feared, not only by her relatives, but by her neighbours and friends as well.

She was always ready with donations to Buddhist monks and nuns. In fact, the Abbot of Kyaik-than-lan monastery was her nephew.

Many years ago, she had been the "mother" at the noviciation of this nephew. Then, when he came of age, she had him ordained as a full fledged monk. She was his pyit. sin: a. ma. ("mother" of monk). Now, he was abbot, very well learned and very well respected. Yet to Ah Hpwa Ma Nyein, he had never grown up and she continued addressing him as ko yin (novice).

"hsum: daw byo. /" . The boy set the basket down and squatted on the floor. His manner and voice were quite irritating. The monastery-boys were never known to have proper manners, yet this boy exceeded them all.

Ah Hpwa slowly stood up from the reed mat she was sitting on and came out as much as her gout would allow her. In the mean time one of Ah Hpwa's grandnieces had come out, and had filled the containers in the basket with cooked rice, curries, and sweet snacks for the monks.

Standing over the sitting boy, Ah Hpwa curtly asked:

"Has ko yin sent any messages to me?"

The boy not knowing that Ah Hpwa referred to the abbot, her nephew, as the "novice" or ko yin was taken aback. With a puzzled look, he blurted: bya ? (Yes?)

Ah Hpwa's hand shot out and grabbing an ear lobe of the boy twisted it. The boy's head turned, and he yelled out. Ah Hpwa turned the ear lobe more. The boy cried out in pain and horror.

Ah Hpwa let the boy go, and went inside. The boy with tears rolling down his cheeks took up the basket, and went back to the monastery.

When the next sabbath day came along, Ah Hpwa as was her custom, went up the Kyaik-than-lan hill to the monastery of her nephew the abbot. After, the la. (precepts) giving and the usual sermon, the abbot mustered up his courage and addressed his aunt.

"da. ga ma. gyi: (great female disciple) don't you think at your age, you should be doing things with a little less gusto?"

"Reverend ko yin , whatever do you mean?"

"I mean everything. We human beings are subject to doak. kha. (suffering), and realizing it we should be hoping to achieve a way to nais. ban (freedom from suffering) especially when one gets old."

"tin ba. pa ra:" (I heard what was said).

So far the opening gambit went well, and the abbot went on:

"The other day, you must have exceeded your exertion a little bit. Do you know that the boy's ear lobe got torn at the edge?"

"It can't be. I just give a little twitch. If that ear lobe got torn, why, surely it must be that it had rotted (like a piece of wood exposed to the weather)."

The abbot dared not go any further, knowing that only the aunt's respect of his monk's robes, had saved him from a whack on the head from her cane.