Plans for U Mandala in Australia

As noted earlier, U Mandala of Ingyinbin is confirming his plans to travel to Australia. On invitation from a Mexican yogi, he will first stay at Earth Home Thailand in Maejo village near Chiang Mai, where natural building techniques are practiced. The founder of Earth Home Thailand felt a strong desire to visit the ancestral home of the venerable Webu Sayadaw in December 2013, and spent three weeks there volunteering to build a natural home that is now used by monks as a meditation chamber. Pariyatti pilgrims donated further dana so that the program could continue, in the hopes that Burmese farmers and lay supporters in the area can learn and promote this practice in the remote village. The links between Earth Home Thailand and Buddhist Burma are indeed only growing stronger, as the Dutch monk Bhante Agga spent much of last year living in a forest near Maejo and being supported by the Earth Home Thailand family. 

U Mandala will then go to Australia on his own, and he hopes to meet with Australian meditators and Buddhists who have visited his home village of Ingyinbin, or who venerate the great Webu Sayadaw.

In his own words he has shared: "I will long stay in Australia because I want meditation. I am interested in attending Sayagyi U Goenka meditation centers because I want to practice meditation there. As for me, all life was spent on pariyatti. Now it is time for me to start to practice patipatta with more digiligence so I will go to away my birth place to do this. I want libration from samsara."

U Mandala first learned anapana meditation as a 17-year old novice in Ingyinbin from Webu Sayadaw, and has gone on to be the most senior monk at the monastery, only after the head Sayadaw. He is in charge of the monastic education for all novices as well as village children, instructing them not only in basic educational skills but also in Buddhist scripture, as well as continuing the anapana meditation promoted by Webu Sayadaw. He has also been the single Ingyinbin resident with the foresight for many years to greet and welcome foreign meditators who wished to come to pay respects to Webu Sayadaw, and has lovingly cared for them during their stay. Last year, he even helped to ordain one such visitor. Thus, after such heavy responsibilities for these many years, he views his visit to Australia as a chance to focus entirely upon the patipatti (meditation) practice.

Plans are still being made for his schedule in Australia. It may include a Dhamma talk and Question and Answer about Webu Sayadaw. Meditators who wish to make merit by offering lunch to U Mandala or who wish to invite him to their homes may do so, and dana to support his stay may be collected in Australia. Please contact burmadhamma@gmail and we will relay your request to U Mandala.

Ledi Sayadaw: "His fervour and fiery zeal effected real revival..."

Sir Herbert White was a British administrator who spent much time in Burma in the late 19th and early 20th century. His highly engaging memoirs, A Civil Servant in Burma from 1913, offers a rich collection of anecdotes, history, and observation from an official who was perhaps more open-minded and inquisitive than many of his peers. In the following remarkable passage, Sir White comments on having heard about the great works of-- and later meeting-- the venerable Ledi Sayadaw.

“One of the most striking personalities in modern Burmese Buddhism is the Ledi Sadaw [sic]. This remarkable man devoted some years of his life to travelling through the country preaching and exhorting. His passionate eloquence drew immense congregations. Wherever he went he was greeted by enraptured throngs. Men and women vied in adoration of this saintly personage, women loosing their hair and spreading it as a carpet for his holy feet. His fervour and fiery zeal effected real revivals, whether lasting or transitory I dare not say. Besides addressing public assemblies, he obtained leave to enter jails and preach reformation to the prisoners, apparently with good results. In spite of the extraordinary enthusiasm which he inspired and the honours thrust upon him in his triumphal progress, he preserved unstained and flawless, simplicity and humility of character. We are not wont to regard with favour errant monks preaching here and there. Too often their exhortations have tended to sedition, their liberty has been a cloak for licence. Never for a moment did the Ledi Sadaw fall under a shadow of suspicion as to the purity of his motives and conduct, or the good intention of his pilgrimage. The ethical part of his sermons consisted of fervent denunciations of intemperance, drinking, gambling, opium-smoking, the pleasant vices most devastating among Burmans. In no way inspired by any Government officer, he did not hold aloof from the authorities, but desired to be on good terms with them. Speaking to Colonel Maxwell, who more than most of us won the intimate confidence of Burmans, in all simplicity he said: ‘I am not sure that Government will approve my preaching. There will be much loss of revenue; for when I have finished, all liquor and opium shops will be closed for want of custom.’ With a clear conscience the Commissioner bade him go on and prosper, assuring him that Government would be well pleased if so desirable a result... A travelling set of the Buddhist scriptures was the only mark of Government's appreciation. I had the privilege of one interview with this extraordinary man. What chiefly impressed me was his weary expression, as though the working of the fiery spirit had worn out the frail tenement of the body. I am glad to hear that the Sadaw still lives, and that his preaching days are not over.”

Sayadaw U Tejaniya in Kalaw 5

In this fifth of eight parts, Sayadaw U Tejaniya continues his Dhamma discussion in Kalaw. He is answering questions at the Shwe Oo Min Monastery in Kalaw, from a group of foreign meditators and monks. This is precious footage that can now be shared with those all over the world who endeavor to follow the Buddha's teachings of peace.

To begin at the first part, go here.

Sayadaw U Tejaniya in Kalaw 3

In this third of eight parts, Sayadaw U Tejaniya continues his Dhamma discussion in Kalaw. He is answering questions at the Shwe Oo Min Monastery in Kalaw, from a group of foreign meditators and monks. This is precious footage that can now be shared with those all over the world who endeavor to follow the Buddha's teachings of peace.

To begin at the first part, go here.