Varying Needs of Space

Buddha's image here is in the temple of Manuha Pagoda in Bagan,Myanmar. King Manuha, Emperor of Mon, was brought to Bagan after he lost the war with Myanmar Emperor. He was provided with a small palace in Bagan with a few people to serve him. One day, with the permission of Myanmar Emperor, he built a temple called "Manuha Temple''. Inside the temple, there were full of Buddha images confined by walls in all sides. When finished, Myanmar Emperor visited the temple and felt offended and very angry with Manuha, who was in fact his prisoner of war. Myanmar Emperor considered himself as a very lenient Buddhist King who was generous and kind to his prisoner. But he overlooked the fact that Manuha himself was also once an Emperor who ruled a big land with absolute power. He failed to understand that the small palace he provided Manuha as a very confined space for an Emperor.

People have varying needs of space, physical, intellectual and emotional. I am sometimes surprised by how people have very little control over their life. We are all confined in small little space either by our own choice or other people in our life or other external factors. Most of the time, we think we have no choice - 'oh that's just life'.

All my life, I have been fighting for the space and control over my life that I need. My mom said even when I was a little bit over one year old, I was always waiting for the time the door will open. Once the door was open to receive the guest, she said I sneaked in and ran outside like crazy fast. When I was 17, I brought up the idea of pursuing education in the U.S to my dad. He was so against the idea and couldn't even imagine letting the young little daughter go to the other side of the world where she had no one she knew. We fought and we argued for several days. He was finally convinced by my arguments, and not only that he was very supportive in the end.

Although I love my family, I have been so happy with all the freedom and space I have got with my life since I left home. My parents asked me to come back home several times and promised that they would give me all the freedom I need. But even if that's the case, I still think that Burmese people are prisoners in our own country. I love the fact that life here has so many options. Even if I don't get a chance to try all those options, knowing that there are lots of options and having control over my destiny is just enough to make me a happier person.