Liberation through the Kanni Method of Vipassana and Samatha

The following was written by Dr. Khin Maung Win, describing his experience at Bodhi Aye Nyein Yeiktha. They teach within the tradition of Kanni Sayadaw, who taught Sayadaw U Wayama, the famed presumed Arahant of Prekhemma Monastery in the Sagaing Hills. Kanni Sayadaw 

was also a younger contemporary of Ledi Sayadaw, and a meeting between the two great monks is memorialized in a statue exhibit in Kanni village.

“I practiced the Insight meditation by means of the mindfulness of breathing. At the first stage, I had to practice to comprehend the nature of materiality. The observing mind penetrated the body. The brain, the skull, the heart and the spinal cord and ribs where burnt [sic] and destroyed, the skull became a fine gauze, the skeleton was broken down. When the observing mind pin-pointed at the toughness of the body, the feeling of pains disappeared and the mind knew that the materiality was subject to decay.

Then I practiced to comprehend the immateriality. The observing mind highlighted on the severe pain. It was composed of many small pains. Each small pain showed their own nature of pricking, hotness, numbness, coldness, hardness, and each of which were in flux. The whole body became minute particles and then disintegrated. Only the observing mind was left in the sense of knowing.

When I pracied to comprehend the condition factors of mind and matter, the whole physical body changed to the particles, some of which were in tremendous motion and some in slow motion. At that stage, the last eleven past extensces were seen in my mind’s eye. The first four existences were a tiger, a horse, a goat, and a cow. The fifth was a woman. That woman reverended [sic] a high priest and did a lot of wholesome deeds with the intention of becoming a monk in the future life.

As a result of good deeds the next life was a monk. That monk trained himself and followed the disciplines and rules for monks. The seventh life was a god. The successive life was an acestic who took delight with sensual pleasure. The next was a pig. That pig wanted to be free and wished to run like a rat. So, the tenth life was a rat. It was afraid of cats and wanted to be a cat. The eleventh was a cat. That cat lived in a monastery. It was familiar with the Triple Gem and never chased the rats. The wholesome deeds done in the monk’s life reinforced to be reborn in the human wold.

One day, when that cat suffered from the disease of ageing, a lay woman came to the monastery and made donation. Soon after the woman went back hom then the cat died and followed the woman. That woman became my mother in the present life.

During the practice of Insight meditation, I saw the blood flowing thorugh every nook and corner of the body, and everything in the body were in flux. More than that I saw the dissolution of all parts of the body. The whole body was seemed to be [sic] a fearful disaster or a great enemy. I felt weariness of living with that socalled body. I wanted to liberate [sic] from that pyscho-phyiscal aggregates.

I kept on practicing with steadfast mindfulness to observe the phenomena of mind-matter processes in all four postures. I encountered the intense light beams, more brilliant than the light image, appeared in me and I felt the great rapture.

Once the physical body transformed into particles and disappeared while the observing mind rapidly moved to a far distance… I observed the rise-fall phenomena for half an hour, then I was in void, and enjoyed a peaceful feeling. When the observing mind reappeared, I observed the nature of impermanence.”

"As a Meditator in Burma, Should I Bow before Buddha Statues?"

Q: I appreciate the value of paying respects to a living monk, but I’m challenged when it comes to an inanimate object, such as statues, stupas, etc. How important or relevant is this practice, really?

A: “Lighten up!” laughs Bhikkhu Cintita. “It is true that in bowing to a statue there is no one to receive the bow. But we bow for ourselves, not for another. Bowing to a statue, or offering a statue food, water or flowers, is an enactment, it is theater. Learn to think of it as play, and do it anyway. Like bowing to monks, bowing to the Buddha is a wholesome practice of selflessness.”

As the American monk implies, some yogis may be perfectly comfortable paying respects to real people, but are not when a statue another inanimate object is placed before them. Some mistake this act as a sign of idolatry. J. George Scott noted this false assumption than a century ago:

There are few things which more irritate an educated Burman than to assert, or as most English do, calmly assume, that the Burmese are idolaters. The national idea is that idol-worship is especially the characteristic of the lowest savage tribes, and even fetichism is considered a superior faith. Therefore the accusation of bowing down to stocks and stones is intolerable, and the implication is combated with feverish energy. Where there are no prayers, in the technical sense of the word, there can be no idolatry. No one, not even Shin Gautama himself, can help a man in his strivings to lead a holy life. None but the individual in his own person can work out his special salvation, and he tries to do so by setting a splendid ideal before his mind. The words uttered before the impassive features of the Budh are not a supplication for mercy or aid, but the praises of the great Lord himself, through the contemplation of whose triumphant victory over passions and ignorance the most sinful may be led to a better state.

There is no Supreme Being; the Buddha himself, who even while he was on earth was no more than a perfect, sinless man, no longer exists to make intercession, were there any such power to which one might appeal. The only thing to be done is to praise, and in praising to strive to imitate, and through imitation to attain to the perfect knowledge, and so to the final deliverance, the exemption from the four burdens of heaviness, age, sickness, and death, which is the restful absorption of Ne'ban.

This explanation of the Burmese perspective still resonates today. A serene face, an inspiring posture, and a place to make offerings are seen as wonderful opportunities to develop one’s respect, humility, and devotion towards those aspects of Buddha’s qualities that one wishes to develop oneself.

U Sarana further advises that “giving up” and “non-clinging” are practiced in different ways, and that even when one brings such an attitude to an inanimate object, such as a Buddha statue, it can beneficially affect one’s spiritual practice. Thus, he notes, if one gives food to the Buddha statue, while the food will of course not be eaten, one has still relinquished one’s own possession and given it to a symbol of the Buddha. However, U Sarana adds there is a belief that while celestial beings do not ingest food, they do smell it (as they do incense, candles, flowers, etc.) This is why when food is offered to statues, it is often fragrant, such as ripe fruit. And even if one offers nothing materially, but simply prostrates oneself, this is also seen as a kind of “offering” or “renouncing,” for the yogi is letting go of some part of the ego in honoring the Enlightened One.

As Dr. Asabha reminds us, “When we pay respects to a statue, actually we are not paying respects to the statue, but our mind aims for the Buddha’s glory. This statue helps us to understand [the Buddha and his achievements]. When we see this statue, our mind aims to the Buddha’s glory, and we pay respects to the glory of the Buddha. Not this actual statue, this is only form. And when we pay respects to the pagoda, it is the same thing.” Venerable Rekkhita offers some specific advice for the Western yogi challenged with this act when he writes, “Perhaps one way is to practice chanting chants that involve visualising the Buddha and some of his foremost disciples. Such as the Buddha Mangala Gātha, where the Buddha is visualized seated in the centre and eight disciples are visualised at all the eight points of the compass. As these type of chants are a kind of mental imagery they can help understand the intention of the statue designers and builders or craftsmen.”

U Sunanda advises that when bowing to a statue of the Buddha, one should keep four qualities in mind: sīla, samadhi, vipassana, and vimutti. He also says it can be helpful to bring to mind that many paramis that the Buddha had to achieved in order to reach the end of suffering, and then the compassion he had in teaching this way to the greater community. Masoyein Sayadaw recommended to his many disciples that it was best pay respects to a statue of Buddha at least once daily. 

Prekhemma Sayadaw also speaks to this. He notes that there are four types of cetiya, or Relics, related to the Buddha. The third of these is odehta zedi, which includes stupas and representations of the Buddha. He advises that “[W]hen one pays respect to a statue or stupa, don’t think about it being a pile of bricks, but rather as the remains or as a representation of the Buddha. And who is the Buddha? He is the teacher of anyone who seeks to meditate. So in any structure, don’t think about the architecture or style, but its essence. Don’t think about the statue, but what it represents.” In fact, he feels this advice is as pertinent to Burmese Buddhists and monks as it is to foreign yogis; he laments that today, he sees many Burmese mechanically bowing down out of custom or tradition. The revered Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw used to counsel his students, pone daw go gone daw hlan deh, or, “When you see the statue, ‘cover’ [that is, give importance to] the qualities.”

Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw’s student, U Tejaniya, advises his Western students, “If you have resistance, then don’t bow. But if wholeheartedly the mind is calm, then do it. This is also a form of gratitude, gratitude for these teachings that are so valuable. I don’t want to push anyone to have to bow.” In this vein, U Tejaniya recalled an incident where a Muslim questioner came to meet with Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, and did not bow to him. Although others were upset, his teacher was not disturbed in the slightest, saying that he did not become a monk simply so that others would bow to him. Recalls U Tejaniya, “This is [each person’s] own business.”

Like his teacher, U Tejaniya has noticed that some Burmese monks may have too much of an attachment on the outer forms, and Maha Gandayone Sayadwa U Janaka spoke similarly half a century earlier when he suggested that an overly-fastidious attention towards the shrine area has distracted lay supporters from the more important part of the teachings. He wrote in Autobiography, “[T]he images of various styles and types so confused our visage that we lost the true Buddha.” It is important to add, however, that he was quick to note that benefit can indeed come to one who properly honors a Buddha statue, elsewhere saying that he did “not mean to say that prayer and offer of food, flower, and light at the pagodas are of no merit.” What bothered him was when he saw people praying at the Buddha images and pagodas for personal gratification.

Essentially, the decision of bowing before a statue is the yogi’s to make, and so long as one does not show overt disrespect (such as touching the image’s head, sitting higher than the statue, pointing one’s feet towards it, etc.) it is generally acceptable. For those that see it as another layer of the practice, it is fine to do, while for those that see it as veering into the category of “organized religion,” it can be avoided. Of course, one should also check with the Sayadaw of the monastery where one is staying, as some may feel that bowing is a central part of the Buddhist practice they are teaching. This is the stance that Sayagyi U Ba Khin took when a Muslim merchant friend of his student U Goenka wished to take a course to relieve his insomnia. Despite the fact that the “calmness of the place and the kindly presence of the Teacher made a strong impact on him,” he suddenly decided to decline attending the course based on a Buddha shrine he saw at IMC, for his religion prohibited the glorification of images. U Ba Khin heard about the man’s hesitation, and promised him that not only would he not be required to bow before it, but he could even curtain the image off during this course if he felt threatened by it. The man later felt comfortable paying formal respects to Sayagyi as he had great gratitude for his teachings, but did not ultimately bow to the statue.

“A great deal of nonsense has been written from time to time on the subject of the Burmese custom of Shiko. A Burman coming into the presence of a superior, a monk, a member of the royal house, an official, an elder of his family, adopts an attitude akin to kneeling, and places the palms of his hands together. Placing the palms of the hands together and slightly raising them is the essence of the attitude of respect. It is a charming and graceful salutation. ..[W]hat objection there can be to the hands slightly lifted in reverence, a natural and beautiful action, why it should be thought more dignified to pretend to cast dust on the head in salaaming, I cannot understand.” Sir Herbert White, A Civil Servant in Burma, 1913

 Sayadaw U Janaka Speaks

Maha Gandayone Sayadaw U Janaka was famous for getting to the heart of the Buddha’s teachings, even when it exposed traditional Burmese beliefs and practices that had veered away from this core message. He often spoke of this relationship between the Buddha and the Dhamma on the one hand, and a statue that represents them on the other. Following are some of his more memorable quotes:
· Images and idols of the Buddha are just imitations of the physique of the Buddha.
· Myanmar sculptures make the Buddha’s image in Myanmar style, so do the Chinese and Indian sculptures in their own styles. The real intention is to make people think of the Buddha and adore Him all the more.
· Images and idols lay a cover over the real Buddha; preachers’ preachings cover up the real Dhamma; bogus monks cover up the real Saṅgha.

Resistance to Bowing in Burma

Each yogi approaches the act of paying respects in a unique and deeply personal way. For some Westerners, there is no conflict whatsoever, and they feel deeply grateful that they have the privilege of encountering living members of the Saṅgha and sacred statues before them to which they can bow. Others have shared that while they don’t know how much it affects their practice, they understand it is part of the culture, and on that basis are happy to embrace it. However, it is not uncommon for some foreign meditators (and even meditation teachers) to feel quite challenged by this practice, and who question its value during their time in Myanmar.

There are several possible reasons, some cultural and some personal, for yogis to feel resistance towards this practice. Some Western yogis feel comfortable with the idea of bowing towards those whose character they know and respect, but are uncomfortable bowing before a person that they do not know well— and respect-- in advance. Such obeisance is not common in Western countries, and is not stressed as a practice at many meditation centers—in fact, when meditation first spread to these countries, some teachers made a conscious effort not to include this aspect out of fear for this very resistance. Yet other yogis have mentioned that the physical act of bowing down and showing deference is to them a sign of weakness and submission, perhaps due to their ethnicity, culture, history or religious background. For example, some Jewish yogis have shared that they find it hard to bow because, for many Jews, bowing before another brings back painful anti-Semitic memories of when their ancestors were forced to bow down as a people before a foreign power. A different sentiment may be felt by some American yogis, who come from a culture where the self and the individual are so pronounced and a part of its historical narrative.

Prekhemma Sayadaw addresses these concerns in a beautiful way. He notes that the proper attitude for bowing should always be out of genuine respect and deference, and never out force, fear, capitulation, or even custom. Interestingly, in Saving Buddhism, Alicia Turner tells how Burmese themselves revolted at the idea of using the shikho as a sign of submission. In 1903, John Van Someren Pope, Director of Public Instruction for Burma, demanded that all Burmese pupils perform a formal shikho to their students each day. Students at the Rangoon Collegiate School, however, refused to do so, arguing that “shikoing was… reserved for religious objects of respect,” and not something that should be done by force or represent submission. The standoff ultimately resulted in a protest involving hundreds of students and which shut down the schools entirely for a period, and even some Europeans suggested that if these secular “teachers really wanted to be shikhoed, they should ordain as Buddhist monks.”

Prekhemma Sayadaw adds that regardless of one’s culture or religion, having— and manifesting— respect for those living a noble life is an important human quality to develop. For without having even a trace of humility or reverence for such living examples of purity, the Sayadaw cautioned that it becomes much more difficult to develop any such qualities within oneself. And for this reason, he felt that the specific form of bowing is not as important as cultivating the appropriate mental qualities. It is important to note, however, that this should not be taken as advice that can be applied in every Buddhist context. In some sites, bowing down in a formal and precise way is an integral part of the practice.

The Power of Dāna

The power of the humble and selfless gesture of giving dana is seen in some of Myanmar’s great monks and meditation teachers. To give one example, Sayagyi U Ba Khin kept daily records of his own dana expenditures (he was an accountant, after all), one of three columns he used to record his behavior: “dana merit” (measured in money), “sila merit” (measured in adherence to the precept) and “bhavana merit” (referring to hours spent in meditation and recitation of verses). U Ba Khin records that he fulfilled his sīla-kusala by observing “the 227 rules of conduct with respect and diligence…[and] made a special effort not to infringe even the minor rules of conduct,” and fulfilled the bhāvanā-kusala by “[showing] my respect by meditating, by practicing patipatti.” However, his greatest detail is seen in the Dana-kusala column. Here he records that he has given the following items: “for Ingyinbin Pagoda, for Kaung-hmudaw Pagoda, 3 sets of the Tipitika in Burmese, 2 sets of three robes, 3 sets of two robes, 5 umbrellas, 6 pairs of sandals, 2 leather seats, 2 bowls and strainers, 1 razor, candles and incense sticks, 1 big box of cakes, two days of food offerings.” Next to each item is the exact cost, coming to a total expenditure of 2,442 kyat.


Another shining example is Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw (seen above, with Sayagyi U Goenka). Although he had a very large number of supporters, he only took that which he needed, and sent the rest of the donated items to seminaries throughout the country that did not have as many donors. When asked why he did not keep the donations himself, he replied that just as one can buy whatever one wishes at a supermarket, so also can one develop spiritually in any way that one desires in this time of the Buddha Sasana, but when you pass away, all opportunity is lost. For this reason, one must do all one can in the present moment to end akusala actions and tendencies. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, from assisting monks to helping people, like, for example, his sharing his donations with those monasteries that were less fortunate. Addressing donors, he advised that when doing kusala actions, one should be “facing out” rather than “facing in.” In other words, they shouldn’t be thinking of any merit they accrue, but rather focus on the receiver of the dana and what he or she needs to be happy; when seeing their happy face, one will also become happy, and this is kusala.

In order to understand the great value that dāna can bring to one’s life, Prekhemma Sayadaw relates a story from the Buddha’s time. Suvana Devi was the king’s daughter, and she had a younger brother. One day she heard him talking to a palace servant, a boy of around the same age. Her brother was advising the servant to practice more dana, and that it was the fault of his not properly practicing dana that he was born a servant, not a prince like himself. Suvana Devi went to the Buddha and relayed this story. He explained that in a previous life, the two boys were monks who practiced intensive meditation. But the future prince also practiced dana as well. For example, he would give part of his lunch to animals. The future servant objected to this practice, claiming that meditation was the only practice that would lead to nibbana. When they both passed away, Prekhemma Sayadaw comments how “during every future life, the monk who did the meditation and dana enjoyed greater wealth and comfort. Later they both became disciples of the Buddha, and both became enlightened. But the one who practiced dana had an easier path.”

The Role of Kusala

Pilgrims perform the kusala action of giving robes to monks at Shwekyin Monastery

“Kusala” is usually translated into English as “merit,” a word that can create confusion for many foreign yogis. Different renderings may be helpful in expressing the depth of this term. For instance, the Access To Insight website translates a kusala deed as being one that is “wholesome” or “skillful.”

When one understands the law of cause and effect, one sees that all wholesome acts bring a degree of calm and joy is brought to the mind. In other words, no good deed goes unrewarded, and the opportunity for skilful actions, both large and small, can be found in plentitude during the course of one’s day. For many Burmese Buddhists, the most meritorious of all deeds will involve monasteries and monks to some degree.

However, the idea of “accumulating merit” can be misunderstood by foreign yogis whose primary form of practice is mediation. The common misperception is that performing meritorious deeds has a materialistic tinge, in which the devotee tries to to amass points that will go on a score card or tally, with more points leading to better future births. The usual criticism is that it would be a better to give time towards meditation on the cushion than trying to accumulate yet more points.

But here it may valuable to try to understand the perspective of the Burmese Buddhist. Rather than as a score card trying to add more points, the continual performing of kusala actions can also be seen as a muscle being strengthened through repeated use. As with any physical skill or mental habit that one is trying to develop, establishing a routine for consistent practice makes it easier to keep on doing that particular activity—or as a neural scientist might say, by strengthening the neural pathways, the tendency towards repeating those actions becomes more automated, which may help establish the desired behavior. Thus performing kusala actions such as devotion, service and generosity both trains the mind to do these virtuous duties and make it less likely for the mind to perpetuate unskillful actions that will bring bad results. Naing Naing Tun gives the Burmese perspective for this, noting that one who gets in the habit of doing kusala deeds eventually comes to possess a “kusala mind,” which is then primed to view the world from this wholesome state. “We need to cultivate the quality of a kusala mind, which is pure and clean, and has happiness and peace,” he said. “And this is not like the kind of mundane happiness that comes in daily life. If you can keep in mind the good deed you’re doing, then the happiness will be refreshed over and over again, with the kusala mind arising again and again.”

A common saying in Burmese describes how the quickest cows go into the pen first, and the slowest and laziest last. Then when the pen is opened, the laziest go out first. This is a metaphor for how kamma works: whatever is most base in the mind tends to come out first. Therefore, doing good deeds is important to develop wholesome inclinations of the mind, so these are first “out of the pen.” Or as is expressed simply through the Burmese proverb, kaung hmu ta khu nei zin pyu, or “perform a good deed every day.”

Maha Gandayone Sayadaw U Janaka also spoke about what he characterized as an urgency to do good. He wrote that “merit cannot be obtained without really trying. You must do good work to earn it. The confidence (in the good) that in with you now must be used so that new confidence will be developed. The diligence that you are using at present will intensify the diligence you will have in the future.” Elsewhere, he said simply, “don’t wait for good luck; make good luck by doing good deeds.”

Prekhemma Sayadaw makes the practical observation that only those who have attained may find no further urgency to make kusala actions, since they may not fear rebirth in lower worlds where Vipassana practice is no longer possible. “But for the meditator who hasn’t become a sotapanna,” he says, “the cycle of rebirths will continue. And without having a strong store of kusala merits, one will really have a struggle ahead.

Doing such acts regularly will bring a measure of peace to the mind. What is more, this then creates a stronger base for future or present meditative pursuits. As more and more good acts—and the accompanying wholesome states of mind that bring these very acts into fruition, followed by feelings of joy and calm that accompany the completion of the skillful deed—are taken, the mind may also gain greater faith and confidence in the overall teachings, thus providing increased energy with which to practice. Such meritorious deeds, and the pure volition pushing them forward, are thus a powerful aid for developing increasingly higher qualities of mind.

Dana for a Sagaing Hills Monastery

Prekhemma Monastery kappiya Ko Bo Win prepares to take the Dhamma cycle out to pick up the curries with Koyingyi for the upcoming day.

During the 2013-14 pilgrimages in Burma, pilgrims stopped at Prekhemma Monastery high up in the Sagaing Hills. While here, the foreign meditators generously gave dana to Prekhemma Sayadaw. They also enjoyed a Question and Answer session with the Sayadaw, viewing relics, and meditating in the cave on site. 

Prekhemma Sayadaw now wishes to inform these yogis that the dana they have given went into buying, for the first time, a Dhamma cycle for the monastery. In all the past centuries at Prekhemma (for it is one of the oldest monasteries in the Sagaing Hills, with some records suggesting it may have been founded in the 11th century), it was always necessary for monks and novices to walk entirely down the hill and into town to collect the curries that would be offered for lunch from village home, a trip which took several hours. Now, with this recent donation, a kappiya drives the monk with his tiffin to the appropriate homes on the Dhamma cycle. This also means that the monks have more time to study, meditate, and recite suttas; time that in the past was spent in walking.

For all those pilgrims who gave generously on these pilgrimages, may you rejoice in knowing where your dana went. For all those who wish to rejoice at such good deeds upon hearing of them, may you also share in the merits.

For more information on how one can join a pilgrimage this coming winter, please see here.