Charity --- Burmese Way

Burma being a Buddhist country, the Burmese society is very closely intertwined with the Buddhists monks and their monasteries. The people rely on the monks to provide religious functions at social occasions (e.g. marriages, weddings, house warmings, deaths, etc.) and the monks in turn rely entire on the lay people to provide for the needs of the monks, such as daily meal, personal effects, transport, and the upkeep of the monasteries.

Whenever a new monastery is to be built or a new building erected, donations would pour in from the local people. One would think that such selfless act of giving to a worthy cause should go unnoticed, but not in Burma. Here, the names of the donors are chiselled in the stone walls surrounding the monastery for posterity.

(The inscription says "From the generosity of Mr and Mrs XXX from England)

And if you are fortunate enough to be able to donate the entire building (e.g. monks’ residence, dining hall, meditation hall, etc.) or a water storage tank then your good deeds are etched in bright colours on the main façade of the structure for all to see.

You know you've been a generous giver, but you also want everyone else to know how generous you are! This is the Burmese way of doing charity with a large dose of ego massaging thrown in for good measure.