Saya Thet Gyi's Method, in Mandalay

This 31-acre site got its name from the sapling of a Bodhi tree that was brought from Bodhgaya in the 19th century. The whole area, in fact, has been known as Bodhigone, or literally “Bodhi table.” This refers to the physical base on which a Bodhi tree is placed or from which it grows, and can also be used metaphorically. Even though the original tree is no longer here, the name remains.

Today Secretary U Win Maung is one of Maha Bodhi’s primary lay supporters. He recalled coming here regularly as a young man and learning under Saya U Thein directly. Upon returning from an extended stay in Singapore to find parts of the center left unattended, he made it his life’s mission to oversee much-needed renovations here. Bhaddanta Karunika Bivantha is the primary meditation instructor here. He spent thirty years learning under Saya U Than, another of Saya Thet Gyi’s important disciples, and today teaches in the tradition of his guru.

The daily meditation regimen consists of eight one-hour sittings, with a 30-minute break between. The sayadaw joins the meditators for three sittings daily. Anāpāna is taught according to the four stages of the First Tetrad as described by Ledi Sayadaw (in brief, these are: (1) establishing mindfulness, (2) knowing if the breath is long or short, (3) feeling the whole breath, and (4) becoming peaceful within calm observance.), and Bhaddanta Karunika Bivantha teaches that the student must pass through all four stages before moving to vipassanā. Practically speaking, yogis often follow anāpāna for the first four days of a 7-day course and switch to vipassanā during the final three days. Concerning the kind of vipassanā practiced here, Bhaddanta Karunika Bivantha instructs yogis to become distinctly aware of vedanā and how it is constantly changing. Once the yogi understands that vedanā is anicca, he says, then one can move on to observing the four elements.

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. 

 

The Summit of her Ambition: The Spirited Life of Marie Byles

The Australian Marie Byles claimed to be the first Westerner to set foot in, and learn the Dhamma at, both Maha Bodhi Monastery in Mandalay and Thanboddhay Monastery in Monywa. She learned under Saya U Thein, the student of Saya Thet Gyi at the first site; then from Mohnyin Sayadaw, the greatest monastic disciple of Ledi Sayadaw at the second. She wrote meticulously about her experiences traveling and meditating throughout Burma in 1957 in Journey Into Burmese Silence, a book that is freely available here.

Now, Anne McLeod has written a biography about his pioneering woman, looking at what drove her to take trips few others were making at this time. 

Here is an excerpt about her life story:

In 1924 Marie Byles became the first woman allowed to practise law in New South Wales. Told she could only work as a law clerk, she triumphed over the patriarchal legal profession and a society that viewed women as second-class by establishing a successful practice. As legal advisor for women’s organisations in the 1930s she helped change legislation that discriminated against women’s rights in marriage and divorce – most cruelly, in the guardianship of their own children. Instead of the fame and fortune she could have earned through law Marie devoted herself to the conservation of the Australian environment. 

An early member of the elite Sydney Bush Walkers club, Marie and her friends (including Paddy Pallin who made their camping equipment) spent every weekend exploring unmapped terrain within reach of Sydney. As they grew to know and respect the landscape, the bushwalkers developed a commitment to protect the most beautiful and ecologically sensitive areas and became leaders of the conservation movement.
A zealous advocate for wilderness Marie worked as legal advisor on behalf of the Federation of Bushwalking Clubs to petition the government to reserve vast areas of land for future generations. Before the National Parks and Wildlife Service was constituted in 1967, bushwalkers took responsibility for managing the reserved areas by serving on Trusts and attending regular working bees to make paths that are still walked today. 

It was mountains though that held the greatest fascination for Marie. After reaching the summit of Mt Cook in 1928, she twice returned to New Zealand’s South Island to climb virgin peaks and map unexplored areas before leading an international expedition to south China in 1938. The failure of this dream became the catalyst of a journey into places not found on a map as she began a quest to find the meaning of life beyond success and failure.