John, a meditator from New Zealand, spends extended periods in Ingyinbin each year, the home of the revered Webu Sayadaw and with his friend Ashin Mandala. This winter, he has decided to keep a journal, which he has kindly offered to share with us. His journal alternates between observation and poetry, between meditation practice and commentary about Burmese Buddhist society, from his learnings and his questions. The full collection of his musings can be found here.
From the traditional music emanating from nearby loudspeakers at 4am we know it is to be another donor meal day. Bhante arrives soon after 4:30 and we sit with the music still sounding over the grounds. The breakfast is lavish, satisfying, a hindrance to meditation. Lunch more so: beans, mint, salad, bamboo and other roots, ground nuts, white rice and biryani (including a few sultanas), grapes, apples, little oranges, banana cake with nuts in it. 35 Kin-U teachers from their association have banded together to give this dana: and the benefit to them is clear in their faces, the way they serve the monks and then us, waiting on us with care and pleasure. The retired headmaster, wearing a black leather jacket over a rough sweater and other layers, and with his black hair swept over the bald part of his head, not unlike Krishnamurti color = excepted, enquires regarding our comfort, chats with us a few minutes about family and origins, and tells us something of his own history.
10 January
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