Page 52 - Inside Sec 1_มาตลังกา.indd

PILGRIMAGE TO LANKA 61

Looking forward to receive permissions for the journey, the monks went to
Muong Yong Suay where the governor put at their disposal a rowboat to go and pay
1
homage to the Buddha images of Fung To U (Phaung Daw Oo) pagoda . They spent
the night at Wat Chao Fa, “ The Prince’s monastery ”. Back in Tong Gyi, they obtained
the necessary documents for the journey to Lanka. They took the car to Hay Wua and
continued on their way by train to Hongsa, then to Rangoon, the city with the great
golden Pagoda, where they waited patiently for the departure day. The guide made this
remark to them :

« If you are determined, the merits will support you.
If you lack courage and want to give up, I do not force you. »
Thiem Khek clasped his hands to salute the monks and added :

« Those who do not desire to go can stay and wait here. » (Verse 60)

The travel expenses stood at 1248 Rupees and the departure was set for the tenth
day of the Waxing moon of the third month, the date corresponding to January 9, 1930,
in the European calendar. After a medical examination, the thirteen members of the
group were declared fit for the trip, « thanks to the support of their merits ». They took
a rowboat to join the ship.

“ Stamford ” was the name given to the vessel
And its home port was in Netherlands.
People told that it took one month to go to this country.
They said to us and I noted it down. (Verse 70)

At six o’ clock in the evening we went on board.
The boat was as large as the reception hall of the throne.

Everything was magnificent. There were many doors and windows,
Like a house or a palace. ( Verse 71)

The ship was vast.
It kept still and we chatted at our ease.
However, we were afraid, since if a big wave beat down,
The ship may break and sink. (Verse 72)

The fact of leaving the city where the monks had lived since their birth plunged
them into a kind of nostalgia. They wondered what awaited them as the conditions of the
journey were not the most comfortable.

3
The Virtues, or Gu◊a, are generally three, or nine for the Buddha.
1
It is Phaung Daw Oo ( ePåc\eta\U^;), the main pagoda in the Inle lake. There are five Buddha images
all covered with gold and difficult to make out the figures.