Becoming a Buddhist Nun: "There is No Guidebook"

"Being a Sayalay here at Pa Auk. Pa Auk Center only does 10 precept ordination. So if you are wanting only 8 or 9 and thus want to still handle money, that is not possible here, but is at other monasteries. There is no guidebook. One really needs to find someone they connect with in order to ask questions and get some basic guidelines on what it entails to be a nun. I requested to be ordained, they accepted, the date was set, my hair was shaved, I was expected to have brown clothes and if not they give you one set and then one recites the 10 precepts in front of the teacher and that is it. You think there is a class or basic training but there is none. Once again, you are on your own to figure everything else out and to discover what is allowed and what is not. Cast to the wind in a sense. Thank goodness there is one Western Sayalay here who has been ordained for a few years now and has been kind enough to answer any of my questions and help me along the way. Without her, I would be completely lost. 

The ordained community is very kind and very helpful but not all of them speak English or even know what to inform you on as they might assume that you already know what to do and not do. It is an unfolding in every moment and when I make a grave error, then someone kindly comes up to me and then tells me so. A learn-as-you-go kind of experience. There are so many details that I will not go into but can only emphasize that it truly is a learn-as-you-go, thus one must not be in a hurry or have some agenda because it unfolds as new needs arise. Such as how to buy soap? How to travel? Since one relinquishes all one's requisites, one is then dependent on the monastery and thus needs to figure out where the go, who to talk to, how to arrange things, etc....You get a bit of the picture? Everything is relinquished, there is no guidebook or manual for either behavior or for how to acquire necessities and then one finds oneself on the holy grail trail to find out how to get one's needs met. 

Thank goodness ones needs are simple and yet issues and needs to arise. And they do get addressed but it is a treasure hunt in the making! In addition to keeping one's meditation schedule, cleaning duties, interview time slots, etc..." 

--Sayalay Sukha (Sarah Wilds)

A Bit of Freedom

"Pa Auk Meditation Center is a great place if one does not need much support and is advanced enough in their practice to meditate without much guidance on their own. The Center is so large and mainly populated by Burmese thus all the daily Dharma talks are in Burmese and so are the study groups. One can interview with a teacher a couple of times a week, so some quick guidance but even then one might have a hard time understanding the teacher's English. Aside from the regularity of the sitting times, a foreigner can be lost in a sea of silent meditators and no one to go to for support. It is a very beautiful setting and quiet and conducive enough but one needs self motivation and independent effort. 

Many people make their lives here so the level of mindfulness outside the meditation hall is mediocre as people hurry about and chat here and there. Overall, Pa Auk Main Center is a wonderful opportunity to do long term practice and go deeper with ones' practice if one is already well established. Be prepared for very basic conditions such as no fans in the meditation hall and very basic food. One might also be sharing a room which at other centers is not the case. One might take on 10 precept ordination as monk or Sayalay which is a rare opportunity for a foreigner. One can stay as long as one likes and has quite a bit of freedom while at the center."

Sayalay Sukha (Sarah Wilds)

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. 

But is the Sasana Really Like an Organism...?

In his first blog post for "Burma Dhamma," American monk Bhikkhu Obhasa shared his reflections transitioning from having practiced in the Sayagyi U Goenka tradition to becoming a Buddhist monastic in rural Burma, here. His honest reflection in describing his painful learning bumps have, in the short time since its posting, made it one of the most popular blog posts yet. 

So popular, in fact, that the good folks at Dhamma Wheel have begun their own discussion of the blog post here. Burma-Dhamma readers interested to join the discussion may contribute their own thoughts to this thread.

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.)

"It is as if the Sasana is a Giant Organism..."

“I've come to recognize a certain type of arrogant view in myself, previously unseen, that the individual striving is the only thing that truly counts. I came by this notion honestly as it's a natural outcome resulting from having been raised in a culture that heralds the individual above all else. 

I now realize the absurdity of this notion. We are actually anyway totally interdependent. In regards to Dhamma, it is amazing how every piece, that is, all the paramis, and anyone that participates at any level in contributing any of them, helps to sustain the Sasana for future generations. It is as if collectively the Sasana is a giant organism that is bigger than all of us individually, more than the sum of its parts, and both impersonal and interpersonal at the same time. It is more clear now how the strength of this greater phenomenon, with and because of, all of its pieces has had the richness, adaptability, strength and momentum to survive generation after generation. Without that whole, it is unlikely that this practice I so deeply value would even still exist. 

And even though some do not engage the teachings at the level of meditation, the ones that do are carried on their backs and always have been. For those I once held in mild contempt for not meditating, I now am developing an ever-deepening sense of gratitude. And not only for those in the present, but also the many nameless beings that have done so in the past, as well as of course gratitude for the genius of the system and its originator. 

This unfolding realization has helped to reduce the ego and let go of a very limiting and limited view. Even the simplest acts of veneration are not for me but for the Sasana. Every bowing of the head, every flower placed on a shrine, every swipe of a broom at a monastery, every grain of rice that lands in my bowl, it is sustaining the Sasana. I see that I and others are simply performing roles as suit our current nature, none more important than another, that collectively make up the Sasana. 

A rare phenomenon that for over 2,500 years has held open the door and shown the path to liberation.” 

--Bhikkhu Obhasa, American monk

Ariya Wasa Dhamma Yeiktha (အရိယ၀ါသ ဓမၼရိပ္သာ)

Located nearby Hnee Pagoda, this beautiful nunnery is relatively new to the Kalaw scene. Many of the buildings are temporary structures, as the compound is still in the process of being developed. Pleasant forest paths line the area, skirting between the many pine trees. At the highest point is a golden stupa that makes an ideal spot for meditation, as does the open-air gazebo surrounded by a dozen wooden pillars, and a Bodhi tree from Bodhgaya is growing steadily on a slight rise.

Of particular note are the two monks’ residences: made of wood and donated by a Burmese expatriate family in Texas, they feature an appealing circular design with private rooms and a spacious deck area.

Daw Nein Mala, who speaks English well, oversees the nunnery. In her early years, she had no interest in wearing robes, but listening to Dhamma discourses by some of the country’s great monks awoke in her a spiritual striving that she has been following ever since. She went on to learn meditation under Pakkoku Sayadaw, Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, and several teachers within the Mogok tradition. She now personally leads a ten-day meditation retreat each April, and her center can host over 100 yogis in Burmese style lodgings.

As of this writing, the site has no proper kitchen facilities, meaning that one would need to secure food needs elsewhere and come with a high degree of self-sufficiency. For monks, however, it is possible to eat from taking alms rounds in the area.

“I am in the eastern part of the country where it is more mountainous, cool, and less populated, scouting out possible places to relocate to in the future or retreat during hot season. I spent my birthday in this little hut in a pine forest overlooking the town of Kalaw in Shan state. It is rather peaceful here with a nice walking path for meditation just outside the door. Three of the neighbors kindly provide my one meal a day when I go for alms in the morning. I am well taken care of here.” Bhikkhu Obhasa, American monk