There were 18 of us when we set out from Changi Airport on 23 November 2002 to Yangon, Myanmar. Besides our own baggage, we were accompanied by 30 large boxes of medicines, soft toys, stationery and sweets that are kindly donated by members of Buddhist Fellowship, their family and friends. Although most of us did not know each other before we set off, everyone chipped in efforts in counting and labeling the boxes that we were going to send to Myanmar.



The first five days of our trip was focusing on the humanitarian project. We visited 3 schools and 1 medical centre in Bilin, 1 school, 2 orphanages and Zamburatana Buddhist Cultural Centre in Yangon. I was very impressed with the changes that Song of Apsaras 2001 had made to the schools in Bilin, thus it was worth mentioning here. With the funds that were donated, most of the schools are now equipped with basic furniture and classrooms to occupy the growing number of students. According to Venerable, the building of the primary and secondary schools in Bilin had benefited more than one thousand children in that area. We were very glad to hear that. However, there is an increasing need for the building of secondary school for the primary school leavers. Thus, most of the funds donated this year are for the extension of secondary school in Bilin.



The children in the schools were very happy when they saw us there. Till now, I can still remember vividly of their sweet innocent smile. The students were very well mannered and behaved. They queued up in an orderly manner with their arm folded while waiting for their turn to receive the gifts given and bounce politely to us as a sign of gratitude after receiving the gifts. Although we could see that most of them were very excited. Their teachers did not need to shout or give further instructions to make sure that they behaved themselves. This phenomenon could be very rare in primary schools in Singapore.

Besides schools, as mentioned we visited 2 orphanages. Most of us can’t hold our tears when we visited the Nunnery Orphanage (Vithakar Nunnery Teaching Women School). We were moved by the great work that the nun has done. The nun, who is an orphan herself, has aspired to help the homeless children when she was young. With this compassionate and selfless vow, she has set up an orphanage that provides shelter and basic education to more than one hundred homeless children. Once again, it proved to me that if one has strong determination and perseverance nothing would stop us from realizing our dream.

 

We have also visited Zamburatana Buddhist Cultural Centre, which conducts different courses on the knowledge of Buddhist Culture, Moral Lessons, Computer Lessons and the learning of English, Chinese and Japanese languages. The center has been conducting free courses since the time it was founded by Sayadaw (Venerable) Ashin Awbasa in 1985, and the texts for the courses are distributed for free. With the contribution of the Song of Apsaras 2001, a small library and a computer room were established. However, I reckon that more computers, storybooks and other basic furniture and fittings are still urgently needed to facilitate the growing number of students. In fact, the existing center is really small and not conducive for learning.



We had spent a wonderful and meaningful afternoon there and I really enjoyed talking to the students. Most of them could converse with us with fluent English and Mandarin! They were very polite, friendly and eager to learn. The performance that they presented to us was fantastic and entertaining too. Though it seems that we were there to help them, in fact I found that they were the one who had taught us valuable lesson - TO BE CONTENTED. Most of the people in Myanmar are very poor (materially); nevertheless they looked very happy and work in a smiling face. I think most people would agree with me that Myanmar is a very beautiful country. Besides its beautiful scenery, majestic pagodas and temples, its kind and friendly nations had left me with very good impression. In Myanmar you would not have to worry about pickpockets or thieves. I reckon, it is quite safe to travel there.

I felt so lucky and so much at peace and spiritually uplifted after this trip. Although it was all about SUFFERRING – seeing suffering, experiencing suffering (e.g. some of us fell sick) and understanding suffering; it opened up my eyes, heart and mind to those people who suffer. It urged me to put in more efforts in helping the needy in the future and not forgetting to strive harder in my own spiritual path.

Many people would say that, there are so many needy out there, how many could we save? Let’s just save ourselves first because our efforts might be too little to make any difference to others.

But, in <<Desaka Sutra>>, Buddha said:

“Attanam Rakkhanto Param Rakkhati,
(Helping myself I help others)
Attanam Rakkhanto Attanam Rakkhati,
(Helping others I help myself)
Khanti Avimhimsa Mettata Anuguhata.”
(Patience, Helpfulness, Friendliness, Concern)

In fact, when we are helping others we are actually helping ourselves. Buddha said that, “Every one of us has Buddha nature.” This means that every one of us is powerful enough to make a difference to our and other people’s life. I am very glad that I am able to participate in such meaningful trip and would really hope that more people will be able to join in such trip. Just like meditation, you would not understand what it is all about until you experience and try yourself.

Let us all grab every opportunity to do good and let what we have done benefit ourselves and others.  

Tan Bee-Bee
December 2002