Chapter 2 - (Part 1 – The British Lion) -  Continued)

    It was dark when Maung Ba arrived home at the village. The rain stopped, but there was a chilly, monsoonal wind blowing, signaling a promise of yet another shower.

    Ma Hla was delighted to receive him, beckoning him not to make any sound, lest he might awaken his father.

    She asked if he had succeeded in his interview and inquired about the events in the city, as well as the experiences that he might have encountered.

     He told her that his efforts were good, but wasn’t sanguine about any success, and that there was really nothing new in the city that could interest him.  He could have kept talking, but it was getting late and he was tired.  By now, it was ominously dark outside, and, as he gazed at the flickering lights at the distance, beneath the gloom of dense, heavy clouds, he felt drowsy and thought of nothing better than sleep.

     The next morning, Maung Ba’s friends paid him a visit when they asked him if he could join them in a game of chilon. It is a game played by at least four men kicking the ball, woven with strips of bamboo, tightly held together, keeping it in flight. He was glad to join them.  It was Sunday.  They left at sunrise for a playground on the other side of the village, by the river.

      The weather was damp and cloudy.   They played for an hour.  When they finished playing, a couple of his friends requested if they could spend some time in his house before running a couple of errands in the city.  Their request was actually an excuse to see Ma Hla whom they liked.  Maung Ba knew that such was their intention but pretended to be unaware of their motive.

      Ma Hla wasn’t at all enthused about the idea. She spoke to them sparingly and showed no interest in their conversation.

       After a while, U Tin Maung and Ma Hla decided to visit the monastery and asked Maung Ba if he wanted to join them.

        There was a little pagoda where they first went to pay homage to the Buddha, after which they proceeded to the adjacent monastery. They sat on a mat a few feet away from the head monk who was seated cross-legged, in deep meditation.  He appeared totally detached from everything around.   Nothing seemed to interrupt his meditation.  For a while, they meditated along with the monk.  A mystical aura seemed to surround them, as the monk played the leading role.  When it was over, they drew closer to the monk who began giving a sermon on the subject of virtue and the richness of life, emphasizing the necessity of strengthening oneself spiritually for the eventual attainment of nirvana.

         When the serrmon ended, U Tin Maung, Ma Hla and Maung Ba touched their heads to the floor, generally done as a symbol of respect for those, acknowledged and particularly revered.

(Chapter 2 – To be continued)