The Inaugural episode for Insight Myanmar!

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We are proud to present the inaugural episode of the Insight Myanmar podcast! Our host, Joah McGee, will first give a brief introduction about the podcast’s mission and background, followed by short previews of each of the first six interviews we’ve conducted so far. The full-length podcasts will be aired once weekly and feature (in order of appearance on the trailer):

Alan Clements, an American yogi, activist, and author, describes his time as a monk during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Myanmar. Sayalay Piyadassi, a Lithuanian nun, discusses her early years as a nun in Myanmar and her joy in simplicity. Thabarwa Sayadaw, a leading Burmese abbot, shares the stressful early years of trying to establish his monastery and the crises they faced. Ashin Chanda, a Bangladeshi monk, tells how the early heartbreak of losing his mother set him on a path in search of inner peace that ultimately led to his ordination. Sebestien Le Normand, a French meditator, reflects on a special visit to International Meditation Center (IMC) in Yangon. Ashin Sarana, a Czech monk, describes why he is so concerned with the problem of Burmese monks touching money. We invite you to rate, review, and share our podcasts, as every little bit helps.

You can subscribe to the Insight Myanmar podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or however you get your podcasts; or, you can listen and download right off the web at https://insightmyanmar.captivate.fm/. If you cannot find our feed on your podcast player, please let us know and we will ensure it can be offered there. We would also like to take this time to thank everyone who made this podcast possible, especially our two sound engineers, Martijn Comes and Thar Nge; Zach Hessler, content collaborator and part time co-host; Michael Alahouzos, who assisted in our fund-raising efforts; and Ken Pransky, who helped with editing. Finally, we are immensely grateful for the donors who made this entire thing possible. We also remind our listeners that the opinions expressed by our guests are their own and not necessarily reflective of the host or other podcast contributors. If you find the Dhamma interviews we are sharing of value and would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give monthly donations on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, or one time donations on PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to do so.

The Sound of a Wooden Gong at a Burmese Monastery

We intend the upcoming Burma Dhamma podcast to give not only voice to the people and practitioners of the Golden Land, but also the actual sounds of Burmese monasteries, virtually bringing the listener into this rarified environment as much as possible! So today our intrepid sound engineer, Ko Thar Nge, spent the morning at a Burmese monastery getting just the right sound of the wooden hammer striking the "own maung," the ubiquitous wooden noise-maker that every Burmese monastery must have to call monks together. These ambient sounds of Burmese monastic life will be featured between interviews and discussion, bringing the listener closer to the experience of practice and renunciation.

This week is another packed schedule of interviews-- Alan Clements, Ashin Chanda, and U Sarana have all confirmed. Three interesting guests with much to share about their own life and practice of Dhamma in Myanmar.

Of the interviews already completed, we are nearing a release date, and hope to have them out in the next week. Stay tuned for more to come!

A Dhamma podcast with Ashin Sarana

What a great talk with Ashin Sarana yesterday! We started by learning about his earliest interest in Buddhism and spirituality. Who would have thought that an early fascination with magic and Chinese action movies were the entryway for this Czech monk into the Dhamma. U Sarana went on to describe his (mostly unsuccessful) search for a Buddhist friend in his youth, and his eventual decision to leave his girlfriend in Europe for novice ordination in Sri Lanka followed by a three year degree in Buddhist studies. Now almost a decade in Myanmar, he came just as the internet became available in a country just beginning to open up, and while Facebook was exploding. He joined the social network initially only to make Burmese friends, as a way of practicing his written Burmese ability, and from there began to use the online platform as a way to answer wide-ranging questions on Burmese culture and history, meditation practice, and the Pali scriptures. This unwittingly led to a controversial incident last month in which he found himself the center of attention in his role to speak out against monks touching money, and U Sarana discusses this matter in detail on the podcast. He also mentions a number of other wide-ranging activities, such as his translation of 20 hours of Dhamma talks of Sayagyi U Ba Khin which were recently unearthed, his creation of two picto-dictionaries for English/Burmese/Singhalese/Czech, his upcoming video Dhamma series, his assistance on the Shwe Lan Ga Lay meditator's guide, his new meditation monastery, his search throughout rural Myanmar for a true arahant, and much, much more.

We are finalizing our podcast feed and hope that it will be live in the next few days! Stay posted for more information.

We can only continue to manage the technical costs of producing our Burma Dhamma podcast with the generous support of meditators who find this information valuable. If you'd like to support our mission, please consider leaving a donation at paypal.me/insightmyanmar or https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar

The Death of Ledi Sayadaw

Ledi Sayadaw spent the last two years of his life at Zingyan monastery in Pyinmana. U Sarana explains that the Burmese term Zingyan (စႀကၤံ) is derived from the Pāḷi word cankamana, which means “walking up and down.” The Buddha’s doctor, Jīvaka Komārabhacca, recommended walking as a way to maintain health, and the Buddha acknowledged the value of this advice by suggesting that monks use special paths for walking meditation (from the Mahāvagga, the third book of Vinaya Piṭaka). In Burmese, the term “zingyan” often refers to a place where walking meditation is practiced, so it may indicate Ledi's dhamma practice at that time. By then, however, he had gone completely blind, the result of so many years of reading and writing in poorly lit places.

In 1923, the day before a full moon, a strong earthquake rocked the region, and the monastery trembled. Ledi lay on his bed and explained to his students that this was in fact a request from the devas that he teach them the Abhidhamma in the Celestial Realms, suggesting that the human realm had already benefited adequately from his years of guidance. After a second earthquake occurred the following day, Ledi instructed his top disciples to recite the Mahāpaṭṭhāna (Pañhāvāra Pāli) from the Abhidhamma, since it was now his time to depart the human realm entirely. The moment the recitation finished, at 2:30 p.m., Ledi passed away. He was 76 years old. Apparently his death was partly due to accidental poisoning from a laxative herb by a visiting Thai monk, who fled in terror when he realized what had happened.

The photograph shows an American meditator standing before the central Buddha image at Ledi Sayadaw's forest monastery in Monywa. 

The White Scarf and Burmese Meditation

Marie Byles records that at exactly 1:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, something curious happened at the Maha Bodhi meditation center in Mandalay. “U Thein placed a white scarf over my shoulders, saying that I was now a Yogi and should always wear the scarf when meditating.” Her description almost seems to imply that the presentation and donning of the white scarf was symbolic of a formal, spiritual transformation, not dissimilar to a monk’s taking of saffron robes during an ordination ceremony.

Looking through the lens of Buddhist history, U Sarana notes that references to white garb are found frequently throughout the Pāḷi scriptures, occurring in all five nikayas of the Sutta Pitaka (including thirty-nine times alone in the Majjhima Nikaya). In the scriptures, white is associated with purity in general, and specifically can mean that one is following eight or ten precepts. Interestingly, Saya U Than recalls how Ledi Sayadaw had instructed Saya Thet Gyi to wear a white scarf once he began teaching meditation. Sayadaw U Vajirapani, one of the most senior students of the famous Tipiṭakadhara Yaw Sayadaw, noted that Ledi was adhering to the scriptural reference of seta paribajaka, or “white recluse,” (Also written as setavattha paribbājaka. More information is available in the Khuddakavatthukkhandhakaṃ, from the Vinaya Pitaka.) as well as odata vasana gihi, meaning “person clothed in white.” U Vajirapani suggests that Ledi reduced the practice of wearing entire white garments down to a plain white scarf, asking lay yogis to wear it when they came to the forest to learn Dhamma from him, and then the custom was carried over when meditation-oriented monasteries came to be established in later years. Photos of white scarves from the early 20th century show them as being much larger than merely covering the neck or acting as a kind of sash, as it is worn today, suggesting that it has since been reduced further in size.

 Then, U Ko Lay describes that when U Ba Khin was learning under Saya Thet Gyi, Saya Thet became pleased with his student’s meditation progress, and advised him “to sit in mental culture for seven days, and to wear a white cloth around his shoulders.” Later, when Webu Sayadaw encouraged U Ba Khin to spread the Dhamma, he is reported to have said, “Give [the lay practitioners] a method. Give him the teaching as a layman after having changed to wearing a white cloth.” Later on, many yogis at the International Meditation Center took up the practice of wearing a white shawl. The practice of the white scarf is not very common in meditation centers and monasteries in Myanmar today. However, in other Buddhist countries (such as Sri Lanka and Thailand), some monasteries continue to require a fully white garb for meditation courses and other ceremonies, as do some organized pilgrimages.

Webu Sayadaw's "Ground of Victory"

Spiritual striving and worldly gain often appear on opposite sides of the spectrum, but this is certainly not the case at Aung Myay Monastery in Shwebo. 

The monastery's name means “ground of victory” and refers to an episode connected to King Alaungpaya. (Ground of victory in Burmese is aung myay. Bate Mann refers to a religious building or holy place. Throughout history, other kings have proclaimed their own “ground of victory,” but this one associated with King Alaungpaya is one of the more famous in the country. In contemporary Myanmar, Burmese may declare their own “ground of victory” to motivate themselves in accomplishing a difficult task.) Long before ascending the throne, Alaungpaya passed this spot as a simple village hunter, afterwards claiming that he saw a frog eating a snake and deer chasing away a tiger there. Modern monastery artwork depicts this scene. Ashin Sarana suspects that whatever King Alaungpaya actually saw was repackaged to evoke Jātaka Tale 77, in which King Kosala saw this identical scene as one of sixteen symbolic dreams. The Buddha interpreted this as illustrating the perverse character of distant future times, when the less skillful would rule. In later years, during the colonial period, some Burmese would interpret British rule and the country’s attendant social breakdown as fulfilling that prophesy. The Burmese typically learn about King Kosala’s dreams as children, so this land, the pre-colonial Burmese past and this particular Jātaka Tale are culturally linked together in a powerful, symbolic resonance. Many years later, when he was preparing for war against a stronger foe, he chose this auspicious spot as his “victory spot” because he had twice witnessed a weaker animal conquering a stronger one.

When the British annexed the country, they recognized the symbolism of this patch of ground, and that it represented past Bamar military might and nationalism. So they tried to deliberately render the grounds inauspicious, first by hanging prisoners there and then by converting the entire area into a British cemetery.

This British posturing evidently did little to dissuade Webu Sayadaw, however, as he decided to establish his third monastery here in 1940, eventually spending his Rains Retreats here after the invitation from a female doctor from Rakhine State who was concerned about his poor health. The compound spans thirty-two acres, with an inner perimeter track that is a nice way to get a feel for the grounds. These dirt paths run parallel to an ancient wall and pass by some neighboring communities living just outside the monastery.

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.

Shwebo: A Place of Resistance and Dhamma

Some of the royal forces’ best fighting men hailed from the Mu Valley, particularly the old districts of Hladau, Tabayin, Tazfe, and Ye-O. Soldiers from this region were distinguished by a special vermillion tattoo on the small of their back. Given this history, it was not surprising that some of the last skirmishes between colonial troops and the Burmese resistance took place in the Shwebo area after the Burmese king was deposed in 1885.

One Shwebo-born rebel was the infamous long-haired U Yit, who had served the king and then fought the British after annexation. Seeing that further resistance was futile, he fled to Tadahgalay Village with his Shan wife. The area was at that time a dense jungle that they had to clear in order to farm (and which by now has morphed into Insein, an urbanized suburb of Yangon). So many Shwebo rebels settled here that for a time the area was called Shwebosu. U Yit lived to be over 100 years old, ultimately becoming better known the beloved grandfather and role model of the future Sayadaw U Pandita, the famous Mahasi disciple, than for his resistance exploits.

In the years that followed the king’s removal, dacoit gangs roamed the land, prompting the colonial government to engage in extensive “pacification” campaigns here. While the old British Gymkhana Club in Shwebo is no more, there is a small British War Cemetery honoring soldiers killed in these battles.

Spiritual striving and worldly gain often appear on opposite sides of the spectrum, but this is certainly not the case at Aung Myay Monastery. Its name translated means “Ground of Victory,” and refers to an episode connected to King Alaungpaya. (This is aung myay. Bate Mann refers to a religious building or holy place. Throughout history, other kings have proclaimed their own “Ground of Victory,” but this one associated with King Alaungpaya is one of the more famous in the country. In contemporary Myanmar, Burmese may declare their own “Ground of Victory” to motivate themselves in accomplishing a difficult task.) 

Long before ascending the throne, he passed this spot as a simple village hunter, afterwards claiming that he saw a frog eating a snake and deer chasing away a tiger there. Modern monastery artwork depicts this scene. U Sarana suspects that whatever King Alaungpaya actually saw was repackaged to evoke Jātaka Tale 77, in which King Kosala saw this identical scene as one of 16 symbolic dreams. The Buddha interpreted this as illustrating the perverse character of distant future times, when the less skillful would rule. In later years during the colonial period, some Burmese would interpret British rule and the country’s attendant social breakdown as fulfilling that prophesy. The Burmese typically learn about King Kosala’s dreams as children, so this land, the pre-colonial Burmese past, and this particular Jātaka Tale are culurally linked together in a powerful, symbolic resonance. Many years later when he was preparing for war against a stronger foe, he chose this auspicious spot as his “Victory Spot” because he had twice witnessed a weaker animal conquering a stronger one.

When the British annexed the country, they recognized the symbolism of this patch of ground, and that it represented past Bamar military might and nationalism. So they tried to deliberately render the grounds inauspicious, first by hanging prisoners there and then by converting the entire area into a British cemetery.

This British posturing evidently did little to dissuade Webu Sayadaw, however, as he decided to establish his third monastery here in 1940, eventually spending his Rains Retreats here after the invitation from a female doctor from Rakhine State who was concerned about his poor health. The compound spans thirty-two acres, with an inner, perimeter track that is a nice way to get a feel for the grounds. These dirt paths run parallel to an ancient wall and pass by some neighboring communities living just outside the monastery.

The photo shows the Victory Spot of Webu Sayadaw today.

Why did Saya Thet Gyi Give White Scarves to Meditators?

Marie Byles, Australian author of Journey Into Burmese Silence, visited Maha Bodhi Meditation Center in 1957, and was taught for several months by Saya U Thein, one of the main disciples of Saya Thet Gyi. 

Byles recalls that on at “1 p.m. on Christmas Eve… U Thein placed a white scarf over my shoulders, saying that I was now a Yogi and should always wear the scarf when meditating.” Byles’ description almost seems to imply that the white scarf encouraged a formal spiritual transformation, not dissimilar to a monk’s ordination. 

Interestingly, Saya U Than wrote about how Ledi Sayadaw had instructed Saya Thet Gyi to wear a white scarf once he became a meditation teacher. Then, later on, many yogis at the International Meditation Center took up the practice of wearing a white shawl when studying under Sayagyi U Ba Khin. Although it is not clear where the garment originates from or its underlying meaning, it may relate to the brown shawl, or yawbut tin thi, that Burmese pilgrims and meditators wear today and that indicates their spiritual intent. However, U Sarana is doubtful about this, for he notes that “the brown scarf for ladies was an attempt to ‘label’ them with a ‘recluse mark,’ thus to differentiate them from the monastery workers and non-yogis.”

Buddhist history may also shed some light on this wearing of white. Dating back at least to the 3rd century B.C.E., the Sri Lankan laity would dress entirely in white to indicate their adherence to following eight or ten precepts. Some monastic traditions request that samaneras dress entirely in white before their ordination, and still in Sri Lanka today, lay yogis routinely dress entirely in white when visiting monasteries for uposatha, during meditation retreats, or on pilgrimages. It is uncertain if Ledi’s preference of a white scarf was contextual to his time, historical, or a unique innovation that he encouraged himself.

Note that the photograph above depicts a statue of Saya Thet Gyi at his meditation center in Pyaw Bwe Gyi, and the painting below shows him wearing the white scarf in a painting at the same site.  In the latter painting he is shown holding beads, suggesting that he may have used this in his meditation practice, as his teacher Ledi Sayadaw was also photographed with beads. 

 

A "Nibbana Market" in Burma

U Sarana shares the following story. He updates a weekly newsletter full of Dhamma information about Myanmar, to which any interested meditator may subscribe.

"In the Dazaunmon Month you may see in villages and especially towns what is called Nibbāna Market. Why is it called Nibbāna is little bit mystery to me, but most probably it is because all the 'sold' goods are 'sold' for free.

In the beginning, the people who will participate in this ‘run’ will gather at a certain place, make a queue, and one by one will receive tickets with numbers. Each of the ticket points to a certain stall where are already waiting volunteering ‘sellers’. There are however many such stalls, let’s assume about 50 to 100. But the person standing in the first queue will receive a single ticket only, with a single random number. These stalls are also not mapped at all – so the ‘customer’ will run here and there around the village or a town quarter, searching for the stall of his number. He comes to that stall, and gets one single thing – a soap, a packet of uncooked rice, a washing liquid, etc. If he wishes, he will obtain another ticket right at that stall. That ticket of course also contains number, and our poor customer will run here and there again – to find his new destination. In this manner the people are going here and there and searching for stalls with the right number, spending thus great amount of time just walking. And believe it or not – it is this running, which greatly reduces number of the participants and the number of stalls the visit, and thus also the goods they receive. Maybe this is also called Nibbāna Market because many people 'give up their attachment,' and realize that there is a lot of peace in detachment from craving from this constant and mindless running around, striving, and accumulating.

There are also special places where people are offered rice or sweet drinks (not with a number). These places are arranged not only during Dazaunmon, but also during various other occasions. Because people from any direction (North, East, South, West,) are welcome to come and have the meal or drink, these places are called “satuditha” (စတုဒိသာ, “four directions”)."

"I Moved to Myanmar with the Determination that I will Attain Nibbana Here Indeed."

"My name is monk Sarana (Ashin Sarana), as a lay person I was known as Jan Šťovíček. I am from Czech Republic, Pilsen City. Born in 1987, at the age of 20 I left to Sri Lanka because I wanted to become a monk, and preferably attain psychic powers. In Sri Lanka I was ordained ca. 6 months later as a novice. I realized that best psychic power that an ardent monk can attain, is Nibbana. The monastery where I stayed supplied me with peace and the most important necessities, so that I could dedicate myself to meditation, calm the mind, develop loving-kindness, get control over subtle greed and hatred, and keep equanimous even in difficult times.

I attended Buddhist and Pali University while staying in a village monastery in Sri Lanka. Thanks to the monastery, I could dedicate my time to the studies, and study not only what was required, but also additional subjects, such as Myanmar language. Because of the peace and freedom I gained in monastery, I was able to learn and understand great portions of Buddha's teachings - and to repay this wealth provided to me by lay people, I taught lay people Dhamma and meditation. Once I had a Dhamma discourse in Sri Lankan TV during the Vesak day, and ca. 10 million people were reportedly listening to my words. It was so successful, that it was repeated again next day in the morning. Also, I tought once loving-kindness meditation to ca. 3000 people, still while in Sri Lanka. In different monasteries I taught loving-kindness meditation to groups of 10-50 people, daily. At a certain period I was appointed to be a chief-monk, to increase moral of a whole village, when I stayed in a monastery where a monk just passed away. I believe the moral of the people increased, and their morality as well.

After four years in Sri Lanka I moved to Myanmar, with the determination that I will attain Nibbana here indeed. A few days after my arrival to Myanmar I gained the higher ordination, I became a bhikkhu. I continued to practice loving-kindness meditation under most positive conditions here in Shwe Oo Min, and with help of Sayadaw U Tejaniya's teachings I was able to penetrate the truth of reality in the way the scriptures praise it. Since then I helped a great number of visiting lay people and monks to understand the nature of meditation, and support them in purifying their views and methods, so that their practice progresses smoothly.

I am still staying in Shwe Oo Min monastery, and next year I plan to move to a true forest monastery, not only to meditate, but also to memorize another great portion of Pali Scriptures. Already here, apart from my meditation successes in Shwe Oo Min, I was able to memorize a great amount of Pali Scriptures and gain knowledge and understanding of both theoretical Dhamma as well as monk's discipline. These days the sayadaws here send the visiting foreigners 'monks-to-be' to see me and attend a basic course of monastic discipline under my guidance. Sometimes I am given the role of 'instructor' during higher ordinations. These then become monks for a short period of a month or so, and become lay people again. Thus by the help of a monastery lay people learn meditation, Dhamma, and themselves taste the peace and purity of monks.

I believe that the greatest benefit of existence of monasteries - and with it the support of monks - is that any other people can also become monks (temporarily or undeterminedly) and practice meditation, live in peace and purity. Monks in Myanmar are reported to increase people's moral, morality, happiness, peace, and especially wisdom in terms of non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion."

A Czech lesson in Dhamma

The Czech monk Ashin Sarana taught a series of lessons on the subject of "Dhamma", as the board above so neatly indicates. His students were several young Czech boys who were visiting the Golden Land for the first time and practicing meditation at a Yangon monastery. 

"As a Meditator in Burma, Should I Bow before Buddha Statues?"

Q: I appreciate the value of paying respects to a living monk, but I’m challenged when it comes to an inanimate object, such as statues, stupas, etc. How important or relevant is this practice, really?

A: “Lighten up!” laughs Bhikkhu Cintita. “It is true that in bowing to a statue there is no one to receive the bow. But we bow for ourselves, not for another. Bowing to a statue, or offering a statue food, water or flowers, is an enactment, it is theater. Learn to think of it as play, and do it anyway. Like bowing to monks, bowing to the Buddha is a wholesome practice of selflessness.”

As the American monk implies, some yogis may be perfectly comfortable paying respects to real people, but are not when a statue another inanimate object is placed before them. Some mistake this act as a sign of idolatry. J. George Scott noted this false assumption than a century ago:

There are few things which more irritate an educated Burman than to assert, or as most English do, calmly assume, that the Burmese are idolaters. The national idea is that idol-worship is especially the characteristic of the lowest savage tribes, and even fetichism is considered a superior faith. Therefore the accusation of bowing down to stocks and stones is intolerable, and the implication is combated with feverish energy. Where there are no prayers, in the technical sense of the word, there can be no idolatry. No one, not even Shin Gautama himself, can help a man in his strivings to lead a holy life. None but the individual in his own person can work out his special salvation, and he tries to do so by setting a splendid ideal before his mind. The words uttered before the impassive features of the Budh are not a supplication for mercy or aid, but the praises of the great Lord himself, through the contemplation of whose triumphant victory over passions and ignorance the most sinful may be led to a better state.

There is no Supreme Being; the Buddha himself, who even while he was on earth was no more than a perfect, sinless man, no longer exists to make intercession, were there any such power to which one might appeal. The only thing to be done is to praise, and in praising to strive to imitate, and through imitation to attain to the perfect knowledge, and so to the final deliverance, the exemption from the four burdens of heaviness, age, sickness, and death, which is the restful absorption of Ne'ban.

This explanation of the Burmese perspective still resonates today. A serene face, an inspiring posture, and a place to make offerings are seen as wonderful opportunities to develop one’s respect, humility, and devotion towards those aspects of Buddha’s qualities that one wishes to develop oneself.

U Sarana further advises that “giving up” and “non-clinging” are practiced in different ways, and that even when one brings such an attitude to an inanimate object, such as a Buddha statue, it can beneficially affect one’s spiritual practice. Thus, he notes, if one gives food to the Buddha statue, while the food will of course not be eaten, one has still relinquished one’s own possession and given it to a symbol of the Buddha. However, U Sarana adds there is a belief that while celestial beings do not ingest food, they do smell it (as they do incense, candles, flowers, etc.) This is why when food is offered to statues, it is often fragrant, such as ripe fruit. And even if one offers nothing materially, but simply prostrates oneself, this is also seen as a kind of “offering” or “renouncing,” for the yogi is letting go of some part of the ego in honoring the Enlightened One.

As Dr. Asabha reminds us, “When we pay respects to a statue, actually we are not paying respects to the statue, but our mind aims for the Buddha’s glory. This statue helps us to understand [the Buddha and his achievements]. When we see this statue, our mind aims to the Buddha’s glory, and we pay respects to the glory of the Buddha. Not this actual statue, this is only form. And when we pay respects to the pagoda, it is the same thing.” Venerable Rekkhita offers some specific advice for the Western yogi challenged with this act when he writes, “Perhaps one way is to practice chanting chants that involve visualising the Buddha and some of his foremost disciples. Such as the Buddha Mangala Gātha, where the Buddha is visualized seated in the centre and eight disciples are visualised at all the eight points of the compass. As these type of chants are a kind of mental imagery they can help understand the intention of the statue designers and builders or craftsmen.”

U Sunanda advises that when bowing to a statue of the Buddha, one should keep four qualities in mind: sīla, samadhi, vipassana, and vimutti. He also says it can be helpful to bring to mind that many paramis that the Buddha had to achieved in order to reach the end of suffering, and then the compassion he had in teaching this way to the greater community. Masoyein Sayadaw recommended to his many disciples that it was best pay respects to a statue of Buddha at least once daily. 

Prekhemma Sayadaw also speaks to this. He notes that there are four types of cetiya, or Relics, related to the Buddha. The third of these is odehta zedi, which includes stupas and representations of the Buddha. He advises that “[W]hen one pays respect to a statue or stupa, don’t think about it being a pile of bricks, but rather as the remains or as a representation of the Buddha. And who is the Buddha? He is the teacher of anyone who seeks to meditate. So in any structure, don’t think about the architecture or style, but its essence. Don’t think about the statue, but what it represents.” In fact, he feels this advice is as pertinent to Burmese Buddhists and monks as it is to foreign yogis; he laments that today, he sees many Burmese mechanically bowing down out of custom or tradition. The revered Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw used to counsel his students, pone daw go gone daw hlan deh, or, “When you see the statue, ‘cover’ [that is, give importance to] the qualities.”

Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw’s student, U Tejaniya, advises his Western students, “If you have resistance, then don’t bow. But if wholeheartedly the mind is calm, then do it. This is also a form of gratitude, gratitude for these teachings that are so valuable. I don’t want to push anyone to have to bow.” In this vein, U Tejaniya recalled an incident where a Muslim questioner came to meet with Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, and did not bow to him. Although others were upset, his teacher was not disturbed in the slightest, saying that he did not become a monk simply so that others would bow to him. Recalls U Tejaniya, “This is [each person’s] own business.”

Like his teacher, U Tejaniya has noticed that some Burmese monks may have too much of an attachment on the outer forms, and Maha Gandayone Sayadwa U Janaka spoke similarly half a century earlier when he suggested that an overly-fastidious attention towards the shrine area has distracted lay supporters from the more important part of the teachings. He wrote in Autobiography, “[T]he images of various styles and types so confused our visage that we lost the true Buddha.” It is important to add, however, that he was quick to note that benefit can indeed come to one who properly honors a Buddha statue, elsewhere saying that he did “not mean to say that prayer and offer of food, flower, and light at the pagodas are of no merit.” What bothered him was when he saw people praying at the Buddha images and pagodas for personal gratification.

Essentially, the decision of bowing before a statue is the yogi’s to make, and so long as one does not show overt disrespect (such as touching the image’s head, sitting higher than the statue, pointing one’s feet towards it, etc.) it is generally acceptable. For those that see it as another layer of the practice, it is fine to do, while for those that see it as veering into the category of “organized religion,” it can be avoided. Of course, one should also check with the Sayadaw of the monastery where one is staying, as some may feel that bowing is a central part of the Buddhist practice they are teaching. This is the stance that Sayagyi U Ba Khin took when a Muslim merchant friend of his student U Goenka wished to take a course to relieve his insomnia. Despite the fact that the “calmness of the place and the kindly presence of the Teacher made a strong impact on him,” he suddenly decided to decline attending the course based on a Buddha shrine he saw at IMC, for his religion prohibited the glorification of images. U Ba Khin heard about the man’s hesitation, and promised him that not only would he not be required to bow before it, but he could even curtain the image off during this course if he felt threatened by it. The man later felt comfortable paying formal respects to Sayagyi as he had great gratitude for his teachings, but did not ultimately bow to the statue.

“A great deal of nonsense has been written from time to time on the subject of the Burmese custom of Shiko. A Burman coming into the presence of a superior, a monk, a member of the royal house, an official, an elder of his family, adopts an attitude akin to kneeling, and places the palms of his hands together. Placing the palms of the hands together and slightly raising them is the essence of the attitude of respect. It is a charming and graceful salutation. ..[W]hat objection there can be to the hands slightly lifted in reverence, a natural and beautiful action, why it should be thought more dignified to pretend to cast dust on the head in salaaming, I cannot understand.” Sir Herbert White, A Civil Servant in Burma, 1913

 Sayadaw U Janaka Speaks

Maha Gandayone Sayadaw U Janaka was famous for getting to the heart of the Buddha’s teachings, even when it exposed traditional Burmese beliefs and practices that had veered away from this core message. He often spoke of this relationship between the Buddha and the Dhamma on the one hand, and a statue that represents them on the other. Following are some of his more memorable quotes:
· Images and idols of the Buddha are just imitations of the physique of the Buddha.
· Myanmar sculptures make the Buddha’s image in Myanmar style, so do the Chinese and Indian sculptures in their own styles. The real intention is to make people think of the Buddha and adore Him all the more.
· Images and idols lay a cover over the real Buddha; preachers’ preachings cover up the real Dhamma; bogus monks cover up the real Saṅgha.

Burmese Flowers

U Sarana, the Mingaladon-based monk, has contributed the following stories. To join his weekly newsletter, contact us as here.

"Perhaps in every country children like to play with flowers. In Myanmar it is especially so, and many flowers thus get their 'children's name.' One of such flowers is paw-paw pan (ေပၚေပၚပန္း), of which official name is not known to me. This flower has a stalk that can be cleaned, removing the flower and the root, and used as a low-tone whistle. When blowing in the stalk, the sound you may hear is paw paw, said jokingly Ma Zin Mar. Ma Myint Way knows this plant in her village in the Mandalay region as Thingyan flower - and my dictionary in turn explains that there are seven different flowers with this name, called so because they are particularly selected for flower-vases in Thingyan days, i.e. during the holidays of Myanmar's new year.

An interesting plant described to me by Ko Thet Win Maung is magnolia (Michelia champaca), called in Burmese Saka-War-Pin (စံကား၀ါပန္းပင္). It's flowers are cut off and kept in a well-washed 'glucose glass-bottles.' These glass-bottles are then kept in front of a Buddha statue or on tables as decoration-- and can last up to one whole year. So far I don't remember having seen this, but if you see that, you may like to ask how long the bottle has been kept there. Ma Zin Mar says, that upon opening the bottle the flowers immediately wither."

A Food-Book for Sangha Dana at Shwe Oo Min Monastery

So often in Burma, foreign yogis have a great volition to give Sangha Dana to a monastery, but because of a host of reasons-- language, culture, and protocol-- do not know how to specify exactly as they wish their dana to go. With this in mind, U Sarana (seen below giving a Dhamma talk to young Burmese during Thingyan) and a team of volunteers have done a wonderful task at Shwe Oo Min monastery of providing a photo-book of all available curries, fruits, desserts, and drinks that the kitchen can prepare for all of the monks, nuns, yogis, and workers at their monastery. With this tool, donors can simply point to the meal of their choice, and happily see that their dana has gone towards this meritorious deed. Hopefully other monasteries and meditation centers in Myanmar may follow this example in helping to allow foreign yogis to give more easily, and with more information.

For the full Shwe Oo Min Sangha Dana foodbook, see here.

"Why do young Burmese girls become novice nuns?"

"Why do young Burmese girls become novice nuns?"

The truth is that many young girls join the Order out of economic necessity. Anecdotally, one Burmese lay supporter estimated that only one child out of ten chooses to wear robes from her own volition. Ma Thanegi agrees with this assessment. “They don't choose to be nuns,” she says. “Here I'm talking about female children, not late teen girls. They may be orphaned or abandoned by poor parents.”

Paradoxically, there are also many well-known stories of middle-class young girls who feel a great volition towards the Holy Life, but their family tries to veer them towards more traditional careers. As the above-mentioned lay supporter goes on to share, “even when the person is 30 or more years old, the family members have great difficulty allowing the ordination-- and even though they allow it, they weep during the ceremony.”

This was true for one Burmese nun who had been meditating at Pa Auk for some time as a lay woman. She had wanted to become a nun from a young age, but her parents persuaded her to first get her University degree. She did this, but immediately came to live at Pa Auk after this, for she sought spiritual development. Then, she wished to study Pali and Buddhist scriptures, so she decided to enter a nunnery, to which her family finally gave her permission.

Ma Thanegi agrees with the basic assessment that many who come to nunnery do so because of external circumstances. She notes, “unfortunately most women who enter nunhood are those who could not face the problems of secular life so they are by nature timid.” She feels that many women may temporarily wear the robes as a way of gaining merit. Additionally, it is an excellent way to learn about the Buddha’s teachings at a much deeper level. “A few of my schoolmates from wealthy families were put into nunneries every summer holidays as little nuns so that they would know more of Buddhism. They liked it apart from going back to school with shaved heads.” For those remaining in robes for life not out of economic or personal hardships, merit also plays a major role, according to U Sarana. “This is why their lifestyle revolves around religious activities, helping others, serving monks, etc.”

U Sarana Arrives in the Sagaing Hills

U Sarana has reported that his first full day of intensive research in the Sagaing Hills has been completed, and was an astounding success. Reports a monk who made contact with him: "he is happy (and proud) of the work done in a day and says that you will be amazed of all the gems he has found. Lots of material is coming! Apparently local monks are helping and have found unedited maps drawn in cloth of the area, they have camera, dana," and all other needs being fulfilled. As there are only walking paths carved into the wilderness in the Sagaing Hills which go back centuries, discerning how to get around is a major challenge that even many locals do not know. This is therefore awe-inspiring news that, like a line out of Tolkien or Robert Jordan, "unedited maps drawn in cloth" have already been found at local monasteries. For those that would like to support U Sarana's trip, dana may be offered for all to share in the merit.

"What's So Special About the Sagaing Hills?"

Regarding the recent news about U Sarana undertaking an intensive research trip in the Sagaing Hills, some readers who have not been to Myanmar have asked, "what's so special about this area, anyway?"

This is a fair question, and one that would require a book to answer-- or, perhaps, the upcoming Shwe Lan Ga Lay.

One cannot find the words to adequately describe such an unusual gem as these Hills. It is noteworthy that it has played critical roles in the genesis of the two major Burmese Buddhist practices that have been exported from Burma: Mahasi Sayadaw and Sayagyi U Goenka. It was in Sagaing, at Thameikdawdaya Nunnery just after World War II, in 1947, where Sir U Thwin beheld Mahasi Sayadaw speaking for the first time. He was transfixed listening to the sermon, and later remarked that “[Mahasi Sayadaw] was teaching with utmost dignity in a tranquil state of mind without any distraction….This eminent teacher is the savior I have been searching for.” Conferring with Prime Minister U Nu, Sir U Thwin invited Mahasi Sayadaw to the newly opened Sasana Yeiktha in Rangoon, asking him to be the lead teacher here. It was from this this center where the Mahasi movement swept not only Burma but the entire Southeast Asian region in unprecedented ways, an unparalleled Dhammic movement that had its origins in a humble Sagaing nunnery.

Similarly, U Goenka has suggested that Ledi Sayadaw learned Vipassana meditation deep in the Sagaing Hills from an unknown master. Although there are questions about this speculation, it is extremely significant that this region would be chosen as the origin of Ledi's Vipassana practice, for it is a region especially known for patipatti-minded monks. Ledi would be asked on two separate occasions to return to the Sagaing Hills to drive away plague epidemics, and was successful both times, according to one monk biographer. He also spent the last couple years of his life in a monastery near the Ayeyarwaddy River (although passed away in Pyinmina), where pilgrims can still today go and meditate just beyond the peaceful flowing river. It was also here where he was given the highest award by British colonials. (by this time, however, Ledi was legally blind, having exhausted his eyesight from his continual reading and writing) Also, perhaps U Goenka's greatest contemporary Dhamma friend in Myanmar was Sitagu Sayadaw, who played a critical role for the spread of U Goenka's teachings within Myanmar. And Sitagu Sayadaw, of course, established his famed Sitagu Academy just at the foot of the Hills-- and is now building a massive Vipassana Center much deeper into the Hills in the model of Borobudur in Indonesia.

Until just a generation ago, tigers roamed the dense forestation of the Sagaing Hills, and some monks even today bear tiger scars upon their bodies from attacks that occurred during alms rounds-- talk about unwholesome kamma for the great beasts! Countless arahants have been produced from these Hills, and the surviving stories of their challenges and ultimate successes make some of the most inspiring reading available to meditators today-- it is histories and stories such as these that U Sarana hopes to further track down.

U Sarana: Preparations for Sagaing

A previous message noted that U Sarana will undertake an intensive one week trip into the Sagaing Hills, accompanied by the Burmese monk U Tiloka and one lay supporter, to do comprehensive research of the monasteries, pagodas, and history of this region. Next to nothing has ever been written about the Sagaing Hills in English, and very little even in Burmese, since for the last one thousand years this has been a refuge for Vipassana-oriented monks who were more interested in seeking full liberation than in preserving historical records or making a lineage. Still, some history has remained here, and for the benefit of the many thousands of future meditators who also seek this practice, U Sarana has chosen to undertake this great task.

In his own words, he shares:

"I want to go straight inside the Sagaing Hills, to the places where lay people, foreigners can't get. I want to get to the most dangerous and most "wild" places, which are most shrouded in mysteries. This is where I can be helpful, not elsewhere. Prepare me the trip-plan in this way. Not otherwise, please.

The greatest luck here is, that the monk supposed to go with me is eager to tell me everything and anything, so I am able thus to gain a lot of "answers", and also "questions" for further research. It is the monk who is the cause for my travel, nothing else. I am completely convinced, that if there is something very sacred or extremely difficult to know/understand about Sagaing, this monk will just take me to the answer, or point out the right source of information.

From words of U Tiloka I have a strong belief, that lay people won't get access to certain places, unlike monks. Me, as a monk, going there together with a Sagaing native, might have an enormous, immense possibility to get such information that you perhaps never even dreamt of. In the course of searching answers for your questions, I will certainly learn much, much more.

You also should know, that I have huge expectation of the Sagaing research trip. I expect to take thousands of photos, visit extremely developed Sayadaws - see their feats, see all the mysteries by my own eyes. I expect to learn hundreds of new vocabulary and great number of proverbs, lists of wisdom and maybe even find the monk who could be my meditation teacher after I finish my studies."

For those who would like to give dana to support this monumental research trip, please see here.

U Sarana to visit Sagaing Hills

Readers of this blog may find that many of our entries share information about the Dhamma in Burma which is basically unavailable anywhere else on the Internet, and which even many printed books do not carry.  Most of these posts are excerpts from the upcoming meditator's guidebook to Burma, Shwe Lan, for which hundreds of specialists and volunteers have given their time for more than two years. For Shwe Lan, hundreds of monasteries, pagodas, meditation caves, and other Buddhist sites were visited in Myanmar, and dozens of interviews were conducted with noted scholars, writers, monks, nuns, and meditation teachers. Many of the blog posts are but a small window into the breadth of information that is being compiled and revised in the Shwe Lan draft, to be freely shared with seekers on the Path.

With this in mind, it is with great joy that we announce that the monk U Sarana has volunteered to take a one week fact-finding mission in the Sagaing Hills. He will go with another monk who is familiar with the mystery and legends surrounding the Hills, both of whom will be supported by a local lay woman, who will look after their daily needs. They will spend an intensive week visiting more sites from morning until night, and conducting interviews with monks who have lived in these Hills for many years. Surely, they will find much precious information that has never been known about this area of the Golden Land where, more than any other, Vipassana practice has flourished for centuries. What is more, U Sarana is known for being particularly devoted to his Buddhist studies, Vipassana practice, and monastery responsibilities, and very rarely ever leaves his monastery. So it is all the more remarkable that for the first time, he has offered not only to leave his monastery, but also to go all the way to Upper Burma! This is a rare event indeed. His findings, research, documentation, and photos will eventually appear in Shwe Lan as well finding their way on this blog, to benefit all meditators.

U Sarana's trip expenses will be covered by the generous dana that meditators around the world have given Pariyatti to fund this volunteer project. All dana received goes directly to project expenses; which in this case will cover the travel expenses from Yangon and throughout Sagaing for these three researchers. His lay supporter has estimated that the total cost for this week trip may be $600-700. For those meditators who have found inspiration from this blog and would like to see this continue, and who moreover would like to gain merit by being involved in this kusala project, financial dana may be offered to Shwe Lan via Pariyatti's page here. Scroll to the bottom of this link and there is an option for giving dana through one's credit card.

For those without financial resources but who would also like to be involved in this wholesome project, please send us an email directly.