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. 

 

"Social and cultural differences"

The following narrative continues the story of a Mexican meditator who has been in Burma for many years. This is the second entry, and the beginning post can be found here.

"When I arrived at Shwe Oo Min monastery I did not understand anything. I asked a foreigner Sayalay to tell me the rules and regulations of the monastery but she only told me to keep eight precepts. For me it was very obvious that I should not kill anyone there, I should not steal, lie, take intoxicants and so on. What I did not know was how the monastery operated in the daily basis. I did not know that I needed to line in the women side for breakfast and lunch, how to do cleaning, if it was ok to stay in the room or not, how I should get a sit in the meditation hall etc.

I figured out all this step by step and making a lot of mistakes that sometimes made others a bit upset. For that reason, the beginning of the retreat was not very pleasant and calm, because I was constantly worried about if I would do something wrong. Little by little the intensity of this fear subsided, I watched what other yogis were doing and I tried to imitate them. However, I must say that getting familiar with the rules of the monastery was very confusing and chaotic. Usually I have been informed about the rules when I was going to a new meditation center.

The dress code was also very strange to me. In the others retreats I did, I was dressing in a more conservative style. But at Burmese monasteries the standards were even more conservative than what I was used to. So these clothes I was used to wearing were not suitable here. For me this was shocking, because at the monastery they were constantly asking me to dress more conservatively. However, in my own perspective monks were not dressing very conservative. Their shoulder was uncovered and sometimes it was even possible to see the complete torso. This is something that I’ve never experienced before.

The behaviour among women and men were very new to me as well. It is not encouraged for men and women to spend much time together. For Mexicans especially, such an experience is so weird. In Mexican culture these problems are not present, it is not something that we ever encounter. So for me it brought a lot of tension because I was not fully sure how I should behave. Whatever was very natural and innocent for me according to my own background, in Burmese culture was now considered completely different. But I tried adapted my behaviour to the conditions that were suitable for Myanmar culture.

The relationship between monks and women are so formalized that I found it a bit scary to know how to relate to them. Sometimes I felt they were paying too much attention to something that it was not that important. I also found that a good teacher will have an incredible ethical conduct with his/her students.

Burmese culture is very concerned about right ethical conduct, and tries to avoid as much as possible lustful speech and behaviour, which is very proper for any religious person. However, sometimes it felt that some people were trying so hard to be free from greed that they were developing aversion instead, which is not a solution for the problem. I felt that it was better to give importance to developing a wholesome mind and proper volition in any given interaction.

I experienced something similar when we were asked, later on in the monastery to wear longyi. Before everyone could wear any kind of loose clothes. However, the use of pants in a monastery is something unusual in Myanmar, they asked us to wear longyi. I was told by yogis that this rule came to the monastery because the novices were experiencing lust by seeing how the foreign women dressed, so they decided to change the dress code. For me this was also very new, because in Mexico wearing loose pants is considered to be a particularly conservative and safe clothing choice for women. I think women in the mid 20th century in Mexico were scolded if they did not wear dresses, but our times have changed. I guess it is just different timings for different places."

How to Tie a Longyi

On the December 2013 pilgrimage, foreign meditators are instructed in the art of the Burmese longyi-tying at the Yuzana Hotel in Yangon, as the pilgrimage started. For those meditators who would similarly like a lesson in how to wear the Burmese garment, sessions will be scheduled this coming winter. After the longyi-tying lesson, full pilgrimages will resume. Registration is now available, see here for more details. Or, this recent post describes the coming pilgrimage opportunity in further detail.

A Dhamma Yatra in Burma

Foreign yogis sit in meditation at Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda as a monk chants through a loudspeaker, seated before them

Journal entry by Kory Goldberg after the second day of a Dhamma Yatra in Burma.... (to see how the next yatra turned out on this same day, see here!) You can also consider joining a later pilgrimage in Burma yourself.

The view of Shwedagon from the pilgrims' hotel

"What a privileged life we live! Morning stretching with spectacular dawn views of Shwedagon followed by a traditional Burmese breakfast of stirfried veggies and a fruit platter. i was not alone in the joy that I felt as was clear on the faces of all my companion pilgrims in the Golden Land. our first stop was Dhamma Joti to join the local community for a group sitting in the centre's fabulously charged pagoda. Sharing a cell with three of my companions, I observed the piti arising from a sense of well-being, security and trans-national community that dominated this mind-matter structure. After the session, our group of 23 from seven different countries shared metta with the local yogis, and I was pleasantly surprised to briefly rekindle a connection I had made with a yogi from Pyaw Bwe Gyi eleven years back.

From the Light of Dhamma our group continued onwards to the country's largest and most beautiful reclining Buddha statue at Chotagyi. On the way Snow and Joah showed us how to wear the Burmese pilgrimage uniform composed of a Brown longyi, white shirt, and brown sash. Although I understood intellectually the value of everyone in the group wearing the same thing as a marker of breaking down distinction and creating a group bond, for some reason I didn't really feel comfortable with the standardized attire, especially the sash. nevertheless, I wore the sash at Chotagyi, as did everyone else, and thought to myself this is a great ego destroying practice. As soon as we got off the bus I noticed how everyone's eyes turned on us. While the handful of foreign tourists at the site looked at us as if we were more alien than the culture that they were visiting, the Burmese were all smiles, feeling proud that a group of foreign yogis came to their country to practice the Dhamma and wear specialized local attire to boot. Listening to the monks chant at the temple and feeling the metta coming our way while we meditated and toured the site was precious. Our next stop at Natagyi Pagoda with jewel laden Buddha image wearing royal regalia was equally interesting, providing us with food for thought about the nature of appearance and the ease of projecting erroneous conceptions onto a transient, disatisfying, and impersonal reality. Whatever opinions we form about the unknowable only cause further confusion and suffering.



Next we went to IMC where Goenkaji first learned vipassana. Although we were unable to enter the meditation hall or pagoda because a course was in progress, we were permitted to meditate on a small pavillion just ouside the pagoda. Despite the sounds of nearby construction work and honking cars in the distance, the tranquility in the atmosphere was tangible. Upon opening my eyes after the session and seeing the doors of the pagoda I visualized Sayagyi standing there (as In the photo that many of us have at home). i felt waves of gratitude for what has taken place at this powerfully charged space and felt so fortunate to have the opportunity to experience it first hand. We then continued the journey to the monastery of the recently deceased arahant Pakoku Sayadaw to meditate with and examine his corporeal relics, and also have all of our questions answered about this phenomena of relics (and their multiplication) by two of his disciples-one a radiant bhikkhu and the other a knowledgable and inspiring lay yogini who spoke perfect English. Another rare and fortunate moment in all of our lives.

The Pakkoku relics on display in Yangon

To top off this wonderful late morning, we feasted at a Chinese Buddhist Temple. Never have any of us had so much delicious vegetarian food presented to us. One dish after another kept arriving at the table, each looking and tasting more delectable than the last. Buddhist vegetarianism is a concept and practice that all of the yogis in our group embrace with open arms.

From the lofty spiritual realms we visited all morning, we then descended into the mundane, physical realm of Bogyoke Market. Most of us shopped for ourselves and for our loved ones back home. An exciting moment, but also a little draining as our attention was challenged. Fortunately, our next and final stop was Shwedagon Pagoda. Although we did not have time for a formal sitting practice, simply walking around the sacred monument containing eight of the Buddha's hair relics recharged our batteries. Snow guided us through various nooks and crannies, pointing out spots that are so evident but so easy to miss amongst the plethora of monuments, statues, paintings, ATM machines, money changers, monks, nuns, yogis, devotees, tourists, security guards and other beings whose presence contributes to the site's power and meaning. Finally, before heading back to the hotel, we stopped in for dinner at a restaurant that had already prepared us a wonderful Burmese vegetarian meal even though we weren't really hungry, allowing us to attune to Burmese sensitivity by practising the avoidance of anar. A great first day to a great first yatra."

To read about Day 2 at Saya Thet Gyi sites, click here!

Pilgrims begin their yatra with a group meditation sitting at Shwedagon Pagoda