Interview with Venerable Kaw Wnta

The top-floor of the Temple

On 21st September, Kristian, Marie and I went on a little field trip to the Maha Sasana Ramsi Burmese Buddhist Temple located at 14 Tai Gin Road to see if we could speak with any Burmese monks or Temple personnel to learn more about the spiritual space of Burmese migrants here in Singapore. Sure enough, we were lucky to encounter a friendly Burmese monk who was willing to answer our questions and speak with us.

We had to leave our shoes at the temple's door and we were being seated on one of these mats while the Reverend sat on a chair to speak with us.

He is Reverend Kaw Wnta, a 39 year old resident monk of the Burmese Buddhist Temple. He was 14 years old when he became a novice and at 20 years old, he became a monk. Prior to his arrival in Singapore in 2007 for his permanent stay, Reverend has visited Singapore a few times as a visitor. He was studying in a Buddhist University in Sri Lanka, learning the teachings of Gandhi before going back to Myanmar. He shared with us that it was because of his teacher, who has been living in Singapore for almost thirty years, that he decided to come to Singapore after his studies to follow in his teacher's footsteps.

Below is a snippet of the interview we had with him about his daily life as a monk in Singapore:

Q: So what is your position now in this temple?

A: Me? I am a lecturer.

Q: How is your day like everyday? A: (laughs) Is a long story. 6 o'clock I bathe with the Buddha, do the chanting, and around 7 o clock, I have breakfast. After breakfast, we clean the whole temple. Inside, outside and then, how to say, I take a rest and then I read some books.

Q: Are they Buddhist teachings? A: Yes, correct. Every Friday, I have a meditation class from 7-8pm. I teach a class how to take meditation. How to keep our mind where is it.

Q: Is is open to public? A: Yes, anyone can come join us. You also join us. Every Wednesday we have a chanting class. 8-9pm.

Q: How many monks are in this temple? A: How to say... resident monks, four monks. Q: Are they all Burmese? Do they come from the same area? A: No no, all different areas.

Some are from Upper Myanmar. We come from middle Myanmar.

Q: Was it difficult when you first came to Singapore? How did you adapt?

A: I didn't feel like that. Because I like Singapore. And food, how to say, mmm, weather and everything la. Because a monk must be patient. Patient, patient. I don't have any difficulty.

Q: So now, do you still go back to Myanmar to visit your family? A: Eh, maybe next year I will go back to my country. Just a few days because I miss my mama and my papa.

Q: Do you talk to them from here? Call them or video them?

A: Yes, sometimes I call the on video, sometimes I call them on telephone, my mama and papa. Sometimes, older brother. Sometimes I ask them "你好吗?" ("How are you" in Mandarin).

As we speak to the Reverend, we can hear very clearly his rather 'Singaporean' accent and his attempt to add in Mandarin where possible. You could say he has really assimilated to the Singaporean culture in terms of the language and accent. Next, he went on to speak with us about the Temple and enthusiastically showed us around the four-storey building.

Q: When you came here in 2007, did you straightaway come to this temple? Or did you go to other temples before you stayed here? A: No la. I did not stay in other temples la. I only stay this temple. Q: So this is the temple you have stayed since the first day. A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Q: Are there many other temples (Burmese) here?

A: Yeah, there are 14 or 16 temples in Singapore. This is the biggest one.

From a small notice board outside the Temple, it was stated that Maha Sasana Ramsi Burmese Buddhist Temple was "founded in 1878" and "was originally located at Kinta Road off Serangoon" before moving "to its present site in 1991." What is more interesting is that we found out from Reverend Kaw Wnta that the main Buddha statue situated in the main praying hall was brought all the way from Mandalay, Upper Myanmar, to Singapore in 1925. There are illustrations on the third storey of the Temple showing the history and process of this move. It was no doubt an amazing feat!

Notice board outside the Temple

Illustration showing the move of Buddha Statue from Mandalay to Singapore

Buddha Statue in the Main Prayer Hall

Devotee seeking blessings from Reverend Kaw Wnta

Devotee seeking blessings from Reverend Kaw Wnta

Reverend Kaw Wnta showing the prayer room for Higher Ordinance Monks

The Higher Ordination Room

As we look beyond the grandeur architecture of the temple, what is more crucial is how monks such as Reverend Kaw Wnta helped to serve as a support system for the Burmese migrants in Singapore. Below is a short account of his advice to some of the problems that these migrants faced:

Don't worry anything. Live at the present moment. Don't think about the past and future. If you think about these two, past and future, you are not being peaceful. If you want to live a peaceful [life], try to think about present moment. Sometime, they come to tell me - "I have a lot of worry and problems. A lot of trouble. I don't know how to do it." Because sometimes they cry mah, the Burmese maid. They come and say/ask for something, "please help me", something like that. They cry, because they have problems... Sometime, they explain to me, "I didn't get some food. I'm not enough."

It was heart wrenching hearing such accounts as they bring us into a world that is so commonly faced by the migrants, but largely unknown to the locals. It is never easy traversing across lands, to start a new life in a foreign land with hopes for a better living for their families and themselves. Whether as a way to stay rooted to their identity from home, or seek help through spiritual guidance, such religious spaces play an important role in helping these migrants get over the difficulties faced in Singapore.

Photos by Clara

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