Ingyinbin Journal: Not to Get Carried Away

John, a meditator from New Zealand, spends extended periods in Ingyinbin each year, the home of the revered Webu Sayadaw and with his friend Ashin Mandala. This winter, he has decided to keep a journal, which he has kindly offered to share with us. His journal alternates between observation and poetry, between meditation practice and commentary about Burmese Buddhist society, from his learnings and his questions. The full collection of his musings can be found here.

11 January

Interesting to read Aya Khema and find recounted in intenser and more developed form some of the experiences that have started to occur over the past couple of weeks during Anapana. Not that what is experienced is within a long pole’s reach of the jhanas, but these days have given a more sustained settledness when meditating than hitherto and this is heartening. I walk to the hut with some degree of mindfulness, contentment and a feeling of positive anticipation. Walk through the grounds, say hello to the three young puppies who continue to refuse to be petted, and climb the five concrete steps into the hut, leaving my jandals on the platform outside the gate, which I close behind me, and then settle onto my cushion, having, on the cooler days, closed the shutters on two of the three walls and face the other. 

The body is quickly comfortable and relaxed, although the mind continues intermittently with uninvited thoughts and it can take a good 30 minutes until a stage is reached where it too feels contained and settled, not leaning out after things or feeling that things reach in after it, odd sorts of distractions really. The mind is settled yet doesn’t remain unwaveringly on the breath, a number of times it gets lulled into extraneous thoughts for up to several seconds, or even between times there continue to be fleeting little distractions, sometimes fleeting images or forms of half-thought that are not yet verbal or properly formed. Balancing this, to some extent, the mind is progressively absorbed in the calming, pleasant, upwelling body sensation that begins in the head region and slowly incorporates section by section downward the rest of the body, sometimes skipping from chest to feet and legs and then working back through the hips and torso. 

There is a slight tightness, often, in the legs that can linger, but it is not particularly uncomfortable, indeed the feeling is generally muted because along with it there is a smooth and active feeling of ease throughout the legs and the entire body. The mind tends to feel anchored in the chest or head area, but sometimes when I focus on this I realise that that is a notion more than a place and the mind can move freely and inhabit various portions of the body, not necessarily in any order, nor is it jerky. And where the mind arrives it quietens, soothes, warms and kind of stirs; the body seeming to remain body in its shape, but again on reflection that is notional and the mind and body prove a perfect accompaniment where they are together all over. This can fill a two hour sitting, although the feeling of fluidity and fullness varies from sit to sit. Much piti, both of an energetic showering kind (which seems to emanate mostly from the surface of the body) that brings refreshment and eases any tightness, and another upswelling kind that seems to emanate from or reside deep within the body itself - and the feeling that - almost that - the mind can generate or facilitate either kind, though not in an easily controlled or predictable way, rather there is a feeling of confidence to be able to bring a feeling of calm and settledness to parts of the body by concentrating the attention on them.

Like a glass of milk
topping the brim:
nothing to be added.

Agitation, where it occurs, is mental rather than physical, a feeling of eagerness to keep developing, pressing towards certain sensations occurring, or the mind being more one-pointed, or desiring the suffused sense of light, lightness of the body, to become a full-fledged patibhaga nimitta. Too eager.

Not to get carried away, the morning and evening group sittings bring me down to earth. I remain self-conscious when sitting with others, especially because I am often noisy in the throat and tend to be -

Breathing.
Commotion barely discernible.
Surrender in and out.

Listening to Pa Auk’s or U Jotika’s talks also sets me back in my modest place.

Ingyinbin Journal: Arrival in the Village

John, a meditator from New Zealand, spends extended periods in Ingyinbin each year, the home of the revered Webu Sayadaw and with his friend Ashin Mandala. This winter, he has decided to keep a journal, which he has kindly offered to share with us. His journal alternates between observation and poetry, between meditation practice and commentary about Burmese Buddhist society, from his learnings and his questions. The full collection of his musings can be found here.

"The enthusiastic young student in the restaurant encourages us to return later to Kin-U and use her phone for wifi access if needed, given there is no internet available at the monastery. A few minutes later U Mandala arrives in a white car with the Sangha flag positioned mid-bonnet, his passenger a fellow meditator on a visit from Belgium, to drive us on the dirt and stone road, past multiple fields of mature rice plants interspersed by others containing only stubble on cracked earth, to the monastery.

Nearing Ingynbin 

egret buffalo buffalo egret: 

coming, staying, going.

Bhante is pleased to see us and clearly appreciates the National Geographic Atlas that, with other small gifts, we place before him following our prostrations. A new toilet is to be installed in the main building, itself freshly re-painted on the outside with a mixture of white green gold & silver; we also are shown the freshly painted white pagoda nearing completion that sits on a small mound between the guest house and the lake. Greetings ended, we pass by the dogs sleeping on the ground on the way to our accommodation and sit with the surroundings somehow seeming unshakeable:

Suddenly barking village dogs
enter an evening without disturbance
Already at home here.

The agreed time to sit is 5am; at 4:45 bhante’s torchlight appears at the glass panels of the metal door. The surroundings remain still until near 6 when the temple bell is struck in series of three calling the monks to breakfast - only to launch another crescendo, barks and yelps. Anapana together starts to reshape an internal sense of proportion:

A small boat 

smaller, smaller: 

sea everywhere!

When Karen and I in early afternoon head to the small white stupa in which Tamara said she had also meditated, it is the athletic young monks playing caneball who impress: some of them have draped parts of their red robes over nearby branches or tucked them round their bellies as they nimbly cavort. We see them kick the ball backwards over their heads or header it deftly to a teammate:

The cane ball repeatedly crosses the net 

dextrous monks!

- cane ball my mind.

The mythological duck placed atop the stone pillar adjacent our meditation place marks the historical extent of the monastery’s land. The elderly women with her few remaining blackened teeth who seems to be living out her life in one of the bamboo huts in the compound retains a wide smile as she fingers Karen’s lungyi ‘la la la’.

As we had done on the previous visit, now with Thierri we walk the local dusty lane, used by bullock carts leaving for the rice fields in the morning and re-entering the village near evening. Again the girls, at sunset, stream from the weaving factory, empty tiffins shining in their hands, smiling and laughing together, as they enjoy gazing at us and giggling:

A line of bullockcarts returning to the village: 

sunlight tangled in dust, 

girls smiling."

Thae Inn Gu Sayadaw and Meditation Monastery

Born in March 1913, U Aung Tun married young and had three daughters. His first wife died, and subsequent two wives left the marriage to become nuns. U Aung Tun’s first profound awakening occurred upon reading Sun Lun Sayadaw’s biography. Like him, this highly revered monk had little educational background, and yet achieved the greatest spiritual heights— prompting U Aung Tun to wonder, “why not I?” This, combined with having received a sharp blow to the head while attempting to rob a house, prompted the 46 year old man to travel to his sister’s home in Kyaung Ga Lay and follow nine precepts for nine days. Here, from 4 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day he practiced ānāpāna meditation in the sitting position, not changing his posture unless having to meet the calls of nature. He developed profoundly during this time, and this determination and perseverance would go on to characterize his future teaching style.

Following this period, he continued his practice, in later months moving to his nephew’s home, where it is believed he attained the third state of enlightenment. Once, he described viewing his past lives “in his vision… like a television series.” He later decided to go to Twante to meditate alone in a forest, and accepted an offer to have lunch at the home of U Su Ya in Hmawbi, and it is here where he is believed to have become fully liberated—nearly 21 months after beginning his ardent practice. Sayadaw U Okkatta, as he was now known, came to establish himself here, and soon thousands of Burmese disciples were coming to pay their respects and learn from him. The Sayadaw also started to travel and give Dhamma talks, where audiences numbered as much as 3,000.

Thae Inn Gu Sayadaw drew particular inspiration from the Buddha’s vow at the time of his enlightenment, Ayoo kye kye, ayay khan khan lu yin thay ma thay yin tayar ya, or “I will try [either until my] bones dry up [or until] the case is accomplished,” and he exhorted his monks, too, to work until enlightenment or until their bones broke apart. In his teachings, this translated into encouraging longer periods of sitting without changing posture, starting with a minimum of two hours and building up from here.

The Sayadaw passed away at the age of 60 on July 8th 1973, after which the body was kept in state for three years. Disciples say that despite not being embalmed, the body did not become rotten during this time, but “dried up,” and eventually left seven relics, two from the eyes, four from the bones, and one tooth. They were once taken to a jeweler to be examined without prior explanation, and the jeweler thought they were real precious gems! However, when looked at more closely, it became apparent that vein-like lines were also present. These are on display annually in April and are believed to emit light from the pagoda. 

Thae Inn Gu Sayadaw has influenced many great monk of today, including the Thabarwa Sayadaw in Than Lyin. Discourses of the great monk can be found here.

Kone Lone Sayadaw

A Canadian and Indian monk, respectively, peer at the preserved body of Kone Lone Sayadaw

The site where Kone Lone Sayadaw's body rests

Kone Lone Monastery, also known as Sun Daung Monastery, is located in Pindaya and is frequently visited by local pilgrims.

The practice of Kone Lone Sayadaw was largely samathā-based, and he was not believed to practice vipssana. His hands were also believed to be special, particularly the palms, which were considered to have identical lines in both the right and left. Many believed his hands alone could keep away danger, and laminated cards of the late Sayadaw’s outstretched hands are available for purchase today. His name came from the nearby Kone Lone village. This was the only village in the area where animals were allowed to be butchered, and so it was frequented by the kone lone birds (similar to an eagle), who flocked over hoping to catch the remains. The Sayadaw’s Pali name had been U Tejaniya, and although he quickly left this village for another one to escape the slaughtering grounds, the name stuck with him. 

A golden statue of Kone Lone Sayadaw is shown next to a giant photograph of him

The Kone Lone Sayadaw was known to eat only fruit during periods of his life. His skin was said to be so smooth and beautiful that no sweat ever marred it, and his inner purity was believed to give him a general sweet-smelling odor. He was known to become tired if even smelling the odor of those visitors who came to see him who were meat-eaters, and so only allowed a limited number of devotees at any time. Then, even after his death in 2004 at the age of 96 years old, his body was still sweet-smelling, and it did not decompose even after an attempted cremation. This has led some supporters to believe he was fully enlightened. Eventually his devotees encased it in glass and built a stupa around it. The area is very unusual for Burmese Buddhist sites. Perched on the highest point in the area, a lone pagoda sits atop the hill, its design one of endless curiosity. With engravings and tiles, the architecture is full of unexpected angles and three-dimensional forms, with some sides look flat from a distance and expanding in all directions as one approaches. Many arches appear on the lower level, and higher up the ornamental designs and motifs form an intricate ringed pattern until the five-tiered cone shaped stupa. The entire pagoda is surrounded by a great moat where koi reside, and pilgrims can buy fish food from local venders to feed them. The Sayadaw’s body lies in state within the pagoda, within a glass and metal coffin ornamented by gold. A nearby table accepts offerings, most of which are various kinds of fruit, and a fragrant tropical scent seems to hang in the air. Small squares cut from his original robes are handed out to pilgrims.

Cut pieces from the original robe of Kone Lone Sayadaw are given to pilgrims

Also of curiosity here is a gourd that was found while the Sayadaw was still alive that resembles a Buddha image. Today, there is also a monastic education school attached to the monastery where many novices train. One may also mediate in the very cave where Kone Lone Sayadaw spent much of his time residing in solitude, and where local villagers report the frequent conversations he had with visiting devas. 

Local pilgrims pay their respects at the site

Sayagyi U Goenka venerates Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw

In the Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw commemorative book, one page is dedicated to Goenkaji's visits. The first shows him paying respects to the venerable monk, the second visiting his North Okkalapa monastery, and the third addressing a gathered crowd to discuss dhamma

From a photobook commemorating Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw's life are these three photos of Goenkaji. It was largely because of Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, deeply revered in Burma and believed by many to be an arahant, that Goenkaji was given permission by the State Sangha to be able to run his courses from 1993. Goenkaji was therefore always deeply grateful to Shwe Oo Min Sayadawgyi, and during his visits back to Burma often made sure to visit him and pay his respects. Many of his early pilgrimages made a point to stop here, and Goenkaji would give a brief dhamma talk after paying his respects (on one such trip an American assistant teacher himself ordained at the Shwe Oo Min monastery!). Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw also strongly supported the children course initiative that the Goenka centers undertook, and they worked together with the Shwe Oo Min monasteries across Burma to be able to reach many thousands of children. Still today, it is not uncommon for serious meditators to visit the Shwe Oo Min Monastery, and there is a hut where one can pay respects to the memory of the former Sayadaw, and some will stay on here for some time.

Burma Day 7: Webu Sayadaw

(To see Day 6, go here!) The following excerpt was written by Kory Goldberg, describing the Buddhist pilgrimage in Burma as it reaches it half-way point. You can also consider joining a later pilgrimage in Burma yourself.

"The day began again with a morning yoga session on the hotel's roof, even though we were all quite tired from a lack of sleep caused by the very loud Burmese independence day celebrations that began around 9pm the night before and continued until around 7am this morning (and now that it is night time again the music has recommenced. The ear sense door senses the sound object--some moments the mind accepts sound is merely sound; other moments the mind is pulled towards aversion of the unpleasant sound object). A few members from our group were too tired to join the group and opted to stay back and rest at our luxurious hotel.


We spent most of the day at Webu Sayadaw's first monastery in Kyaukse (pronounced Chowse, so I have no clue why the English spelling is the way it is--this is quite common and none of the old Burma hands can adequately explain the disconnect between the way it is spoken and written). When we arrived the bhikkhus were out on alms round so we immediately headed towards Webu Sayadaw's first kuti (where Sayagyi U Ba Khin first met the venerable one) and meditated there for an hour while playing a rare recording of Webu Sayadaw and Sayagyi U Ba Khin chanting together. The powerful contemplative atmosphere, not only here but the entire compound, made concentrating on the in-coming and out-going breath easier than usual. After our session we made our way to the dining hall where we met Webu Sayadaw III, whose role as abbot, I imagine, is not only an honour but a challenge to fit into the gigantic shoes (or rather, bare feet) of the previous two Webus who were not only strict dhutanga practitioners but also purported to be Arahants. After a brief question and answer period that focussed primarily on the original Webu Sayadaw's interpretation of Anapana and the practice of eating one meal a day in one sitting from one bowl, we offered the Sangha robes and the day's meal. While the nuns ate their meal we took a walk up the mountain to Webu Sayadaw's second and bigger kuti which also served as a dhamma hall for instruction. While meditating at this site we were in the presence of what are believed to be the Buddha's relics (given to Webu Sayadaw by the president of Sri Lanka). The relics are in Webu's bowl that is wrapped in a white cloth, and we were able to have the bowl placed on ours heads as we meditated. To be honest, I am a little skeptical about this claim given that the bowl is just displayed there out in the open without any sort of protection whatsoever, so anyone cold steal them if they so desired. however, given that we are in such a strong dhamma atmosphere where the people are really concerned about there ethical integrity, it seems highly unlikely that anyone would imagine committing such a crime (and the long-term kammic consequences of doing so would be so much worse than any punishment dished in this lifetime). Also, I cannot truthfully say that I felt anything really special, as I have on other occasions while in the presence of the Bhagawan's relics; although this might also be because the whole atmosphere is really charged, making it difficult for a gross oaf such as myself to detect such subtle nuance. After our lunch, we walked up and along another trail leading to the cave that Webu Sayadaw used to live in for several years before his lay disciples built him a kuti so that he would be more accessible to reach for dhamma instruction. Since the cave only holds about half a dozen meditators at a time, we took turns sitting in there while the rest sat on the small verandah just outside the cave. Sitting quietly was a real pleasure as the tranquil and quiet atmosphere and the gentle breeze cooled our hearts and minds, releasing travel- related stresses, strains and fatigue. After we all had a turn in the cave, we slowly made our way back down the hill to the bus, stopping briefly at the water well whose healing waters were said to have cured Webu Sayadaw's long time dysentery. Some of us followed the Sayadaw's lead and drank some of the musky water. My tummy had been slightly upset, so I decided to take a risk and make a dedication of truth and take a swig of water, thinking that at best it would either relieve my discomfort and increase my faith in the mystical or worsen my digestive woe. Eight hours later and so far so good.


On our way back to Mandalay we stopped in at Dhamma Mandala for a tour of the centre and a group sitting. Once again our Burmese yogi kin were delighted to see us and showered us with their Burmese hospitality, even though it was Day 0 of a 20-day course. Unlike in the West where centre management tends to be stiff and rule-oriented, the Burmese are way more relaxed, nourishing visiting meditators and even allowing them to meditate in the pagoda between courses. Our final stop before a light dinner at Ma Khain's was at the late Monle Sayadaw's meditation centre where his bone, brain and heart relics were on display for public viewing. The body of this inspiring arahant who passed away in 2010 was left out in the open for 7 days so that devotees from around the country could pay their last respects to the great master. Whereas corpses generally stiffen quite quickly and begin to smell rotten after 2-3 days, Monle Sayadaw's body remained limp and odorless for the entire week leading up to the cremation. We had the good fortune to be blessed by the Sayadaw's robe that had wrapped his corpse. the rare robe, which had been woven by lotus fibres, had not been washed after being on the corpse and it remained clean and fresh. This great master of meditation and Abhidhamma lived a humble and simple life, and served as example of freedom in the truest sense of the word."

The journey continues through to Day 8!

Children Meditation Course at Saya Thet Gyi Meditation Center, Pway Bwe Gyi

These are photos from a recent Children's Meditation course that was held at Saya Thet Gyi's meditation center in Pway Bwe Gyi, which is across the Yangon River from Yangon (and then a further 30 minute cycle ride).

Note some are wearing the traditional brown scarves that denote in Burmese culture that one is on a religious retreat. Also, most are in their white and green school uniforms as they attend. 

For those who would like to gain merit by sponsoring further meditation courses for children in Myanmar in the future, please contact us.

Children Yogis break for lunch

Yogis from local schools head into Saya Thet Gyi's Meditation Center to begin their one day course