The Birth of Ledi Sayadaw and the Birth of Insight

After over four years of continuous effort by dozens of volunteers, Part 2 of the meditator's guide to Burma is almost out! Here is a sneak preview introducing the birthplace of the great Ledi Sayadaw:

On the surface, Sain Pyin seems pretty much like any other nondescript, rural, Dry Zone village. But for Burmese followers of the Buddha’s teachings, it is anything but! This is where the future Ledi Sayadaw was born, novitiated and ordained as a full bhikkhu in the mid-19th century. 

U Sarana translates Sain Pyin as “plain with wild oxen.” But it was not only oxen roaming these plains in the lower Chindwin Valley, as many kinds of wild animals called this the once-vast wilderness home. While far from developed today, the land has mostly been tamed, and the much tinier village of Ledi’s time has become a modest town of around 1,000 homes.

Given the lay name of Maung Tet Khaung, a miraculous event accompanied his birth in December 1846. After turning ten, the boy was sent to study at Kyaung Ma Monastery, becoming a novice at age fifteen and being given the name Shin Nyanadhaza, or in Pāḷi, Ñāṇadhaja, this means “banner of wisdom.” He learned Pāḷi and the scriptures under Sayadaw U Nanda, as was common in pre-colonial Burma, when monasteries were charged with looking after the educational needs of the community’s young men. Shin Nyanadhaza continued his monastic studies in nearby Ye Thwet Village. By the time of his full ordination, he had read all the books to be found in the two towns near his home.

Soon after becoming a bhikkhu, Shin Nyanadhaza went to Mandalay with another monk to continue his formal studies at the royal capital. Erik Braun notes that this journey would mark “a radical change in his life, for during his time there he was exposed to the ongoing encounter with the West. Before he left the city, he would find himself an active participant in that encounter.” But Sain Pyin Gyi is where that boy became a young man before that adventure ever started.

Ledi Sayadaw: The Abhidhamma "Gives Delight to the Scientific Men of other Religions"

Eric Braun's stunning biography of Ledi Sayadaw shows how the great Burmese monk empowered lay people to practice in ways that led directly to the patipatti post-WWII explosion and today's Mindfulness Movement. In the following passage, Braun discusses the Manual of Insight Meditation, and how it written not for Burmese Buddhists, but with the foreigner explicitly in mind, and how it stresses Ledi's belief that study of Abhidhammic concepts was vital to anyone interested in the Dhamma. It is a powerful reminder of how adept and innovative Ledi was in reaching Westerners long before there was an interest in the Dhamma there. Today, all foreign meditators may feel gratitude at this forward-thinking Burmese monk.

"As I noted above, the book was written for Europeans. It was printed in English translation in Burma in 1915, the same year it was written. It is not clear to me how extensively, if at all, it was distributed in Europe, but it gained notice in Burma and came to be published in Burmese numerous times. Certainly, the intended Western audience did not cause Ledi to change his presentation of meditation in any fundamental way. On the contrary, based on his conception of Westerners, he only sharpens his preexisting approach to it as a plausible part of Buddhist lay life, rooted in study. In the decade prior to writing this work, Ledi had corresponded regularly with Westerners, mostly about matters of Buddhist doctrine and philosophy. The Westerner with whom Ledi corresponded most frequently and at the most sophisticated level was Caroline Rhys-Davids—he called her 'the London Pali Devī.' He discussed with her a wide range of complex Abhidhamma topics, involving such matters as epistemology and the mind’s role in causality. His answers to her questions about the Yamaka, the second book of the Abhidhamma, were printed in the 1913–14 volume of the Journal of the Pali Text Society. In addition to his communications with Rhys-Davids, he also corresponded at some length with Edmund J. Mills, a chemistry professor in London who was chairman of the Buddhist Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the organization which distributed Ledi’s texts in Europe. The questions Ledi received from these interlocutors and others likely impressed upon him the idea of a Western inclination toward analytical analysis that prompted him to say... that the Abhidhamma 'gives delight to the scientific men of other religions.'"

"The Birth of Insight," by Erik Braun

A previous post shared the interview that Ledi Sayadaw biographer Erik Braun gave on Buddhist Geeks. In the oddly-named podcast Secular Buddhist, Ted Meissner interviews Dr. Braun. Mr. Meissner is the Executive Director of the Secular Buddhist Association. The entire interview can be heard here. Additionally, William B. Noseworthy of the University of Wisconsin at Madison has written a review of Dr. Braun's new book, The Birth of Insight.

"The Making of the Mass Meditation Movement"

The podcasts Buddhist Geeks interviewed Professor Erik Braun on his new book The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw.

In the first episode, the site describes: "Erik joins host Vincent Horn to discuss his book and the legacy of Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw. By connecting the dots between changes in Burmese Buddhism with the political disruption caused by the British takeover of Burma in the late 19th Century, Erik describes Ledi’s role in bringing insight meditation practice to the modern world."

In the second part, "Erik and host Vincent Horn continue a discussion on Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw and his role in bringing insight meditation to the world. The conversation digs deeper into the connections between Burmese political disruption and changes to Buddhist practice in Burma, how meditation became more accepted in Burmese Buddhism, and how this all led to the export of insight meditation to the rest of the world."

The Caretaker monk of Ledi #1 cave in Monywa

Shwe Taung Oo Pagoda features two caves. One is where Ledi Sayadaw spent much of the period from 1900-1902 in meditation at night, after studying and teaching throughout the day. It was to this more secluded pagoda that he retreated from the increasingly busy Maha Ledi Monastery. In those days, carnivorous animals and poisonous snakes were common, and if the villagers were to be believed, ghosts and other hideous creatures as well. Still, the venerable monk was not entirely separated from human contact, as he continued his teaching duties and went on to write and publish several more books that were composed while he dwelt in these caves. Biographer Erik Braun also writes, “It is during this time that he began to formulate through his texts a vision of meditation that would be appropriate on a mass scale…his presentation of meditation to lay people… [was] a practice that did not require any jhāna cultivation at all.” 

Past the main pagoda stupa, keep walking towards the field beyond, where you will soon see a red sign indicating the two Ledi caves, one to the right and one to the left. The more relevant cave is to the left, being the one where Ledi spent most of his time. An elder monk acts as the caretaker, and he has been here for twenty years. The cave is well ventilated and filled with natural light, and is a comfortable place for meditation. It can fit perhaps six to eight people comfortably. Several golden Buddha statues are inside, as well as an image of Ledi in sitting mediation to the left. Due to the high pilgrimage traffic, it’s not recommended to plan to sit here for longer than an hour or two, as there may be a fair amount of comings and goings and accompanying chatter.

Ledi Sayadaw Biography

Ledi Sayadaw was one of the great monks of Burma and believed by many to be the father of the modern mass meditation movement. Two years ago Burmese documentarians created a 28-part series exploring the life of this great member of the Buddhist Sangha, all of which are available now on YouTube.

Recent Obituaries for S.N. Goenka in Mainstream News

Writing in Tricycle, Erik Braun contextualizes how S.N. Goenka brought Burmese Buddhist practice to a wider Western audience in this article. Braun is the author of the forthcoming book, The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw.

Jay Michealson wrote an article for The Huffington Post crediting S.N. Goenka with jumpstarting the entire mindfulness movement and interest in meditation that is so common in the West today.