Locating the Birthplace of an Italian Buddhist monk

Research has been ongoing to learn more about the fantastic life of the Italian Buddhist monk U Lokanatha. 

A friend of B.R. Ambedkar, Sun Lun Sayadaw, Webu Sayadaw, and Ajahn Pannya, and an inspiration to General Aung San and Dr. Nandamala, his life biography nearly defies imagination. Despite coming from a conservative Catholic family in which several uncles and brothers were priests, his pull towards the Dhamma led him to walk from Italy all the way to India, and he is said to have once repelled a mob in Turkey due to the strength of his metta. He hoped to convert Mussolini to Buddhism as a way of preventing World War II, but was instead imprisoned in a POW camp in India as he was accused to being with the Axis Powers (where, as a prisoner, he underwent a hunger strike and taught Dhamma to the prisoners). 

After the war, he would go on an American tour, describing the Buddha's teachings as the antidote to the nuclear age, and saying he would bring an "atomic bomb of love" to his audiences. He would give Dhamma speeches at such diverse places as Hollywood seances and before Account General office employees prior to the opening of U Ba Khin's IMC, and calling himself the "first Dhamma Ambassador to the West," he also helped to arrange a meeting between Webu Sayadaw the the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, resulting in the offering of precious Buddha Relics to the tiny Ingyinbin monastery, which still has them today.

This picture shows the result of efforts to locate his birth home in Naples. Since a flood in 1999, it has been inhabitable, but appears to be the original building. Supporters would like to see a Burmese stupa constructed here to honor the great monk. 

The First Vipassana Course in the Philippines

Although Yangon is "only" 2662 kilometers from Manila, the two Asian (and ASEAN) countries have had little contact in the last few centuries. The British (and nearly the French) came to Burma, while the Spanish and Americans landed in the Philippines-- with only the Japanese Imperial Army briefly colonizing both. 

The two cities also reached their heyday around the same time, in the pre-WWII era, when Manila was known as the "Pearl of the Orient" and Rangoon and Mandalay were some of the most cosmopolitan cities on the continent and with the most celebrated universities. But while Burma is one of the most devotedly Buddhist countries in the world, Catholicism reigns in the Philippines, and is one of the few Asian countries in the region to have scarcely been touched ever by the Buddha's teachings. 

Yet.

Because in the last decade or so, the Philippines-- as have a number of other countries around the world-- has seen a renewed interest in the profound teachings and practice of the Buddha. Several Pa Auk monks have recently made the islands a home, and the ten-day courses in the tradition of Sayagyi U Goenka have been becoming popular. In fact, one of the initial supporters was a Catholic nun, and one course has even been held in a Catholic seminary near Cebu. 

Good news is coming for Filipino meditators, which will be shared in an upcoming post. For now, enjoy this video that recaps the first successful U Goenka course held here.

Below, a photo of the grounds of the new Vipassana center.

The Cave of Mogok Sayadaw

Mogok Sayadaw is one of Burma's greatest monks. A presumed Arahant whose meditation technique spread across the country in the postwar period, the Mogok method is now considered the most popular meditation tradition in Myanmar, with over 800 centers in the country alone. Because Mogok city is also the site of mining for precious gems, it has long been out of reach from foreign meditators. 

Recently, however, one Australian meditator applied for and received special permission to visit here, and he was privileged to be able to to meditate for one hour inside the very cave where Mogok Sayadaw practiced so ardently in World War II. Hopefully more and more foreign yogis and monastics will get this precious opportunity in coming years. Above is the photograph he has shared of his visit. (Note the well-known Patisamuppada diagram above the cave, which figures prominently into Mogok Sayadaw's teachings.)

The Stone Library of Ledi Sayadaw

The only remnants of the lost forest refuge may be those represented in the full-scale diorama in Ledi Thein Ma Taw Gyi, or as it is known in English, the "Maha Ledi Edifice." This blue, circular building is located to the right of the arch, and also displays a number of items relating to Ledi’s life. 

Further reminders of the great monk’s work in this world are exhibited in the form of hundreds of marble slabs, in fact 806 of them to be precise. Completed in 1925, just two years after Ledi Sayadaw’s passing, most of the engraving is comprised from 89 of his dipanis. Seven additional texts are credited to his disciples Ledi Pandita and Ledi U Kavi, so marked by a giant board meticulously recording the titles, locations, and other pertinent details of each work. Most are in Burmese (Others are in Pali and Nissaya, or a word-for-word translation of Pali into Burmese), following Ledi’s innovation in making them accessible to the common person, so that any wanderer may read and contemplate the Dhamma. Some were damaged during World War II, but have since been restored. Walking freely through this garden of scholastic monuments is a living and nearly breathing testament to Ledi’s contribution within the field of pariyatti. Even these slabs, however, do not constitute the totality of Ledi’s writings. A current project is now underway in Ledi Sayadaw’s birthpace of Sain Pyin Gyi Village to complete the stone engravings of his remaining volumes, thus preserving the entirety of Ledi’s words for future generations. Or as Linda Chang, an American yogi commented, “meandering amongst these large slabs was literally 'going through' his works!” Found within these slabs and reached via a narrow walkway is the main Buddha shrine.

The "Buddha Museum" in Nyaungshwe

Although today called a “Buddha Museum” and managed by the Ministry of Culture, historically this was a Shan haw (In Shan language, this refers to the residence of a Saopha, and is often translated as “palace.”) Located in the northeastern part of town, it once belonged to the head of the entire Shan federation and the eventual first president of the Union of Burma, Sao Shwe Thaike, who would become a great supporter of Webu Sayadaw and Sayagyi U Ba Khin. 

Built in the 1920s, the architecture successfully combined Western and Burmese styles. Nowadays, one can only imagine the beautiful peacocks that once roamed the grounds and resided under its temple, and the lavish Buddhist festivals and town ceremonies which were once hosted here. In The Moon Princess, Sao Sanda—the daughter of the saopha-- speaks to this odd transformation: “Tour groups are now taken round the large rambling palace, with its numerous halls and rooms, in which I grew up and which I loved so much.” During World War II, while being occupied by the Japanese secret police, the compound was partly damaged by a British bomb that fell but did not detonate. Later, local residents credited the nats for preserving the significant site.

"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.

Intersection of Dhamma Travel and Tourist Travel in Myanmar

 As Myanmar continues to open up, more and more Dhamma pilgrims can come to experience the richness of its Buddhist sites. Unfortunately, more and more tourists can also come to tramp around these very same Buddhist sites. Such a fact comes out in an article written by Douglas Long in My Magical Myanmar. He describes his visit to Monywa. This was the place recognized as the home of the great Ledi Sayadaw, which meditator David Lambert celebrated in his essay Chindwin by writing that “beyond the conventional radar, this is the heart of yogi tourism, where foreign meditators... come to explore the heartland of their spiritual souls. For some, this is the area ‘where it all began.’”

Now, however, as Long's essay shows, it is no longer "beyond the conventional radar," as for him, it is a place to be "sheltered in our air-conditioned room and [wait] until late afternoon for a walk around town."

Long goes on to write that "we... enjoyed the long, casual amble that took us past a statue of national hero Aung San on horseback, the town’s central clock tower, a buzzing street market and the Shwezigon Pagoda. At the riverside, we enjoyed fresh-squeezed sugarcane juice as we watched the sun descend toward the horizon." Shwezigon, of course, is the pagoda where Ledi Sayadaw lived, mediated, wrote, and taught after a great fire in Mandalay destroyed nearly all of his books and he retreated the then-capital city.

The next stop is Bodhi Ta Htaung, where Long writes: "Myanmar’s tourism boosters are fond of declaring that this statue is one of the tallest such images in the world, but given the Buddha’s teachings on humility and impermanence, these trifling boasts seem somewhat contrary to the spirit of the religion." Not known or mentioned by the casual tourist, however, is that the great Bodhi Ta Htaung Sayadaw, originally known as U Narada, practiced meditation across Upper Burma, although his work was hindered by bouts of tuberculosis. Even after becoming Sayadaw, he regularly planned extended self-courses to pursue his own meditation practice, going to such sites at West Prekhemma Monastery in Sagaing, Kyuakse Hill, Kaunghmudaw Pagoda, among others. Between 1988 and 2004, he also travelled extensively throughout Asia and the West. His last known words, said while in the hospital were: “He who always cultivates mindfulness, attains Nibbana. He who does not cultivate mindfulness, is born and dies endlessly. Lord Buddha delivered a discourse time and again, mindfulness should be cultivated at all times.”

The road to Bodhi Ta Htaung Monastery

Long's next stop is Thanboddhay Monastery, which he notes as a "beautifully painted in a riot of bright colours and decorated with thousands of small Buddha images." Much more importantly, however is the former Mohynin Sayadaw who oversaw this site. He was one of Ledi Sayadaw's most renowned students, and followed Ledi's advice by coming here to meditate ten years in seclusion without talking to another soul. When World War II struck Burma, this became a refuge for thousands of lay Buddhists, with many learning meditation for the first time. It was a thriving meditation center after the war, with unique meditation cells constructed along the walls of the inner compound that still exist today. 

Thanboddhay Monastery

Long also mentions passing by Letpadaung mine, and he notes that "Myanmar riot police had used unnecessarily heavy-handed tactics while confronting monks and villagers protesting against the environmental and communal impact of the mine." However, he seems to miss that it was not just environmental concerns that people had. Even more importantly, this was where Ledi Sayadaw resided for over one year, living remotely in a cave while practicing meditation, and the local Buddhist community did not want his cave damaged or access to the site prevented to future pilgrims.

Finally, Long visits Hpo Win Daung caves, about which he says this: "We wandered around the main hill, saw a few Buddhist monks looking into the alcoves, and ran into a group of local kids who asked for packets of shampoo." Much more important to the Dhamma pilgrim, however, is that this is the site where Saya Thet Gyi was instructed by Ledi Sayadaw to practice his own teachings, and where he made his earliest advancements in meditation practice.

One wonders if these sites will become open further and further to conventional tourists who do not know-- and are not interested-- about the rich and important dhammic past of these sites, or if they may also be visited by those who recognize the sacred importance of these sites within the great tradition of Burmese Buddhist practice.

Maha Ledi Monastery in Monywa, where Ledi Sayadaw resided

Photographing Novices: A Contrast of Values

The Huffington Post recently published a collection of photos of novices in Myanmar by Stephen Wallace, and which can be found here. Just as a previous post discussed the dynamic between Western and Burmese attitudes in regards to the imprisonment of Mr. Philip Blackwell, this photo collection raises similar concerns. To most Western travelers, the site of young, playful monks is something that brings a smile to one's eye and the camera immediately to one's face, as these young novices seem to represent an irresistible mix of the noble and the playful, the mature and the innocent, the wise and the young. However, many photographers ultimately end up taking pictures that would be considered highly inappropriate to Burmese, and what is more, then sharing and even selling these prints to other like-minded Westerners. This is certainly true of those photos in Mr. Wallace's collection, where novices are seen half-clothed and playing in some of the country's sacred temples. 

Again we see cultural attitudes come to play. The Western attitude here may be, "I am just taking photographs of what's really happening before me. What am I supposed to do, not take the photos? If novices are not supposed to be behaving this way, then their teachers should teach them how to behave, not blame me for taking the photos."

The Burmese attitude, however, may be one of anar, an essentially untranslatable word that means to not behave in a way that would disturb or disrupt other people. One may feel anar...

· when being offered the last piece of mango slice.
· when one has been helped by a friend who had to exert some effort on one’s behalf.
· by having one’s meal suddenly paid for by a friend.
· by being invited somewhere and not being able to come.

Similar to ignoring the demands of “face” in other cultures, it is said in Myanmar that one who behaves without this fear of anar is not acting in the “proper” way, since it shows a disregard for others in favor of one’s own wants or needs. As one local man explains, “When you ask us if we would like to join you for lunch or dinner, make sure you ask us twice or more because we will say no the first time, even though we’d love to because of our culture.”

In this way, simply because these scenes may be happening do not automatically give the foreigner license to photograph anything he wishes, let alone to then share or make a profit from his photographs. A similar observation was made by Australian journalist Peter Olszewski in Land of a Thousand Eyes, when he notes that the Burmese concept of modesty means that when a woman must breast-feed in public because she has no other place to do it, people automatically avert their eyes; and when neighbors talk about personal matters through thin walls, one simply decides not to listen. In this case, following the principles of anar, the culturally appropriate thing for people such as Mr. Wallace to do is simply to choose not to take photographs of such scenes. However, as one can see, Western cultural attitudes contrast with this.

Perhaps nowhere has this contrast between modern tourism and a search for exoticism, and the traditional Buddhist faith come more into contact than at Maha Gandayone Monastery in Amarapura. This was overseen by many years by one of Myanmar's great 20th century monks, Sayadaw U Janaka.

In addition to his many Burmese lay supporters, U Janaka also welcomed foreign visitors in the post World War II era. Initially this was a beneficial exchange. The Sayadaw remembered how “many foreigners came and talked with me. They looked around and said that they were quite pleased with everything they found here.” One Korean monk during this time was so moved that he commented: “This place is an ideal for monks and we hate to leave it. It is sad that we were not born here. We hope to mettā gain and hope to become this Venerable Monk’s disciple and pray that we reach nirvana together.”

Unfortunately, the monastery today has ended up on the tourist trail, with large tour buses showing up and treating it like a cross between a museum or a zoo, freely taking photos, walking around, with many of the foreign tourists unconcerned with dress or basic protocol. Monks report that nearly as many as one hundred visitors may come in a single day, and they usually do so just after 10 am in order to watch the monks take their meals. For many of the monks this ritual is part of their mindfulness training, but tourists strain to observe the exotic scene and record it with photography and video. There is even at least one package tour group that organizes visits here strictly for aspiring photographers.

Other monasteries may be threatened by similar issues in the future, and it’s worrisome to consider how this will affect their training, signs of which can already be seen in neighboring countries Thailand and Laos, where seeing an alms rounds is on the “to-do” list of most tourists. In some ways, the schizophrenia of the modern Western world’s relationship to traditional Burmese Buddhist sites and practices can be seen playing out at Maha Gandayon in real time. For example, in one past edition, Lonely Planet recommended that backpackers try to visit Maha Gandayone specifically during lunch to watch the monks eat; then, in a subsequent edition, they stood by their recommendation but advised against wanton picture taking; and in the present edition, they now call picture-taking at the monastery “worth avoiding.” In other words, while they may be commended for their growing awareness, they are now frowning on the very behavior they were hyping only a few short years ago!

One may wonder how the Maha Gandayone monks themselves regard such an increase in this frenetic activity. One response has been to plaster English signs throughout the grounds advising tourists on basic monastic discipline. They also have tried to restrict tourist access to just certain parts of the monastery, so the disruption can be contained. Towards this end, “No Entry!” signs hang throughout. Burmese tour guides are often implored to make certain that their foreign visitors are properly attired, but money talks loudly, and so this is not always adhered to.

The obvious question may be, why do the monks tolerate this? When asked, some senior monks admitted that they are not so fond of the noise, disruption, or occasional inappropriate behavior; however, as one monk commented, the Mingala Sutta teaches how even glimpsing the sight of a monk may give one faith in the Dhamma. He went on to say that “Buddhism is to share, and not to own. Foreigners may come for tourism but still find some happiness while here. The Buddha would also allow this, because the Sasana is open to all, it is like the moon that everyone sees.” He added that a foreign visitor may become more curious about the Buddha’s teachings, and in asking may learn something valuable. Such a sentiment is even found on the large English sign advising visitors on basic monastic etiquette, where Point #9 reads: We all the monks from this monastery thank for your visit and pray for your happiness and goodwill.

Taung Phi Lar Meditation Center Monastery in the Sagaing Hills

In the same proximity as Padamyar Zedi Pagoda, Taung Phi Lar Monastery monastery is a site not to missed on any trip to the Golden Land, and may be worth extending a visa to arrange for a longer stay! The monastery is buried within the trees and offers a secluded and quiet atmosphere for practice. Taung Phi Lar Sayadaw was also known to reside here in the 18th century. The current Sayadaw is said to follow the weizka path.

The compound is larger than most found in the Sagaing Hills. It has a kind of mountain atmosphere to it, and its builders took advantage of the uneven ground to construct a number of residences and sites for practice that allow the meditator greater solitude. As there are rarely many yogis here, so noise is rarely a factor. The food served is strictly vegetarian.

A long set of impressive brick and stone stairs leads to the top of the compound, laid between rock walls. On the way up, one passes several caves built into the hillside. The stairway ends at a circular, open-air style meditation hall, with a small pavilion in the middle. Such a design for a meditation hall is extremely rare in Myanmar. There is a central Bodhi tree, around which yogis may meditate. Paintings are found on all the interior upper walls, including a series of life-sized scenes from the Buddha’s life. Breathtaking views of the expanding forest can be glimpsed from every side. Of particular note is a makeshift gong: on closer examination, one sees that it is a large American bomb from World War II, and a small inscription can still be made out that reads: USA Air Forces 11-43 (Burmese lettering seems to have renamed it as “Mettā Bell”). The sole windmill that exists in the Sagaing Hills is also found at this site. Finally, one can climb a meandering stairway up the slope, where two rather menacing looking cave entrances beckon off to the right, although permission should be requested prior to entering, as they may not be safe.

The Sayadaw speaks excellent English, and one can request permission from him to stay a while and practice. He can also teach and guide yogis’ practice, including the high jhanas. Aside from a Canadian monk who once spent a few months here, few foreign yogis have visited this site before. 

A statue of the original Taung Phi Lar Sayadaw

"The Fires of Lust are the Fiercest of Fires"

The following is a quotation by the great Italian monk U Lawkanatha, who spent many years as a monk in Burma. After meeting Webu Sayadaw, he took a vow never again to lie down, which he upheld for the remaining decades of his life. He was also close to such 20th century luminaries as Ajahn Pannavadho, Sun Lun Sayadaw, B.R. Ambedkar, among others. His dreams of returning to Italy prior to World War II and converting Benito Mussolini to Buddhism did not pan out, and instead he found himself in a British POW camp. Undeterred, he argued that wearing the saffron robes negated any implied political involvement, and used his time at the prison to teach Dhamma to other political inmates. Following the war, he made the Buddha's teachings especially relevant in an age when there was a constant fear of nuclear annihilation. The following excerpt is from a speech given at Rangoon University:


"The only reliable Guide is the Greatest Physician in the Universe who removed his own cause of unhappiness who destroyed his Craving and attained the highest happiness through the destruction of the cause of unhappiness. Economic ways will never give happiness because economics never destroy Greed, Hatred and Ignorance. Each one must attain his own happiness within himself; each man must be a physician to himself. Only by conquering the passions, which burn within can one attain the cool state where there is no longer any burning. There is no fire like lust, our Lord Buddha said. It is the fiercest of all fires. And those who think that burning is a pleasure, well, they can go on burning. They can go on burning because our Lord Buddha said that the fires of lust are the fiercest fires. And we have been burning from the infinite past and we will go on burning to the infinite future until and unless we extinguish the flame by means of the water of Truth and by withholding the fuel. Adding water of Truth and withholding the fuel. Withhold what fuel? It is the fuel for the fires of passions. We must see without attachment. We must listen philosophically — seeing and knowing things as they really are without attachment. And once we see, we smell, we taste, we hear, we touch and we think without attachment, then, we are using the senses as our Lord Buddha used the senses — as the Master and not as a slave. He used the senses without clinging. This divine detachment withholds the fuel from the senses and by withholding the fuel the fires die."

The Sagaing Hills During Wartime

The following interesting incident occurs from the celebrated biography of British Field-Marshal Sir William Slim, Defeat Into Victory. It gives a fascinating account of how the most spiritual part of the country, with a history of over 1,000 years of meditation, fared during the war.

“I was sitting outside my headquarters at Sagaing when I was surprised to see a civilian motor-car drive up and disgorge half a dozen Burmese gentlemen, dressed in morning coats, pin stripe trousers, and grey topis. There was a definitely viceregal air about the whole party. They asked to see me. They were a deputation of influential Burmese officials from the large colony who had taken refuge in the Sagaing Hills in the bend of the Irrawaddy opposite Mandalay. They submitted a neatly typed resolution duly proposed, seconded, and passed unanimously at a largely attended public meeting. This document stated that the Burmese official community had received an assurance from His Excellency the Governor that no military operations would take place in the Sagaing Hills, a locality held in particular veneration by the Burmese people. Trusting in this, they and their families had removed themselves there. Now to their dismay Chinese troops had entered the hills and were preparing defences, even siting cannon. They there demanded that I, as the responsible British commander, should order out the Chinese and give a guarantee that, in accordance with His Excellency’s promise, no military operations should take place in the Sagaing hills.

I was terrible sorry for these people. They were all high officials of the Burma Government, commissioners, secretaries, judges, and the like; their world had tumbled about their ears, but they still clung to the democratic procedure of resolutions, votes, and the rest that we had taught them. They brought me their pathetic little bit of paper as if it were a talisman. When I told them that, as far as I was concerned, I had no wish for military operations in their hills—I might have added truthfully, nor anywhere else at that moment—but that the Japanese general was equally concerned and not likely to be so obliging as to agree, they departed polite but puzzled. The impressiveness of the proceedings was somewhat marred by one gentleman who came back and asked could he not be issued with a six-months’ advance of pay? I do not blame him—it would be a long time before he would draw his British pay again."

Chanting at Thanboddhay Monastery

When Pariyatti pilgrims descended upon Thanboddhay Monastery in Upper Burma in January 2014, they were pleasantly surprised to find nearly one hundred college students, who had arrived to chant Buddhist suttas at the holy site. The two groups were able to sit together in meditation for some time before making one another's acquaintance. One may be hard-pressed to imagine Western university students doing similar things in their free time!

Today, there are three distinct parts of the grounds: (1) the Thanboddhay area, (2), the old Mohnyin monastery and meditation center (sometimes known in English as Mohnyin Forest Monastery Retreat), and (3) Mogaung Pagoda. All sites were developed by Mohnyin Sayadaw, one of the earliest disciples of Ledi Sayadaw. He was advised by Ledi to spend ten years living in the forest, eating food only from alms rounds and avoiding speech with others. During the lifetime of Mohnyin Sayadaw, there were man-made “caves” or niches at this site where monks and yogis could sleep and meditate. It was also known as a site where many locals came to seek protection from the violence of World War II, and those that arrived were sheltered and kept safe until the war’s end. The Sayadaw was famous for laying down a strict code of discipline guaranteed to ensure the community’s survival, which prohibited waste of fuel and water, regular education to children, and daily maintenance and cleaning of the compound. As a result, thousands of Burmese survived when the Japanese left in 1945, and many of them following a strict Buddhist regimen as they did so. This resulted in the construction of a meditation center on the grounds following the war, as well as a pagoda and a collection of huts where yogis could stay for practice and carry on with their study. The grounds were divided in two, with monastics on one side and laypeople on the other, and further segregated by gender.

The monastery today bursts forward with color like few other Theravada Buddhist sites you will find in Myanmar. Built between 1939 and 1952 upon thirty-seven acres, it is believed to contain 573,888 distinct Buddha images and an additional 7350 relics and other holy material. Arriving at the complex, your eye sense door will be flooded with bright colors and your field of view will be filled with uncountable small Buddha images—some large statues but most are simple hand-sized figurines that literally cover the walls. The complex has been compared to Borobodur in Indonesia, and unlike other Burmese pagodas the entrances are not guarded by chinthe but instead by white elephants. Another unique feature is its shape, which has a square base topped by receding terraces, over which rise hundreds of small stupas (864 to be exact). There are many smaller monasteries to be found between the larger pavilions, each one featuring similar architectural style and motifs. Some statues feature fashionable ladies out of the 1930s on a stroll with parasols, dogs sneaking into open doorways, and some donors even commissioned their own likelihoods. There are several statues of Mohnyin Sayadaw himself, depicted at various stages in his life. One compound was even donated by the Tiger Balm family, easily identifiable by the two plaster tigers trying to scale the wall as two barefoot men in Western suits look on. There is also a large square pool filled with fish and turtles, known as Laik Kan, and the animals here are free from harm. Popped rice and watercress is sold nearby and can be fed to them by pilgrims. The large tower (completed in 1936) is called Arlain Nga Sint, or “Five Stages Spiral Tower”, and symbolizes the hair that Prince Siddhattha cut off before seeking his spiritual journey. The hair was said to float upwards, eventually reaching the King of the Celestials, who built Sulamuni Pagoda in the sky. Additionally there are twenty tagundaing (large decorated pillars), and many stone sculptures of different fruits that are venerated by local farmers.

To learn about current pilgrimage offerings, see here.