Barefoot Buddhist monks walked by carrying alms bowls

When I entered the street near the hotel where I was staying in Yangon, I found it to be a street market. The street vendors were lined up at both ends of the street, and many people were coming to shop. The street market was bustling with people. I walked leisurely, watching the people working. After a while, I saw a group of barefoot Buddhist monks coming from the other side. It seemed that not only shoppers were coming to this street market.

The line of monks was led by an elderly monk who was probably the highest-ranking monk in the line. Each of them was carrying a large alms bowl. The monks had come to the crowded street market to receive alms.

Unlike Japan, the mainstream of Buddhism in Myanmar is Theravada Buddhism. In Theravada Buddhism, only those who follow the Buddha's teachings and practice asceticism can attain Buddhahood, so many people are ordained. It is not uncommon to see monks wearing robes in Yangon. Since ordained monks do not engage in productive activities, they must receive charity from people in order to survive, which is why you often see monks begging for alms in Southeast Asia, where Theravada Buddhism is the mainstream.

I also saw monks begging for alms in Laos, where Theravada Buddhism is also the mainstream, but I felt that the monks in Yangon be much stoutly built.

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