"They were building a bathroom!"

Parami Sasana Yeiktha

Overseen by Sayadaw U Waseta, this monastery was founded in 2010. The Sayadaw was trained in the Sayadaw U Pandita tradition, and taught meditation overseas for years before deciding to settle into this mountain refuge, located just outside of the city. U Waseta follows the rigorous practice as characterizes that of his late teacher U Pandita, and as he speaks English, is willing to teach foreign practitioners who come to the Golden Land for Dhamma practice. Yogis can expect an 11-hour practice day, replete with walking and sitting meditation. Visitors to the monastery can also expect a very quite and secluded site, with sometimes the Sayadaw residing here entirely alone, although it enjoys a quite supportive local lay community. 

One American, Zack, ordained here as a Buddhist monk in May 2016, and he tells his following story below:

"When I arrived in Myanmar, I had no specific plans to cultivate Dhamma. I didn’t even know what the word meant! Though Buddhism had long piqued my curiosity, I wasn’t yet even a beginner when I arrived. 

Nonetheless, soon after I learned about the unique possibility, I decided to dive into the deep end and get ordained as a monk, if only for one week. For some reason, the opportunity just called to me. 

Rural Burmese monastic life is a far cry different from California layperson city-life. Though I was completely willing to understand and learn this different way of life, it doesn’t just come to you overnight.

One of the puzzles for me was bathing. Though I had read about outdoor bathing practices, I still wasn’t sure, e.g. what I should wear or take off, where and how discreetly I should scrub, whether it was okay to do this all with other (especially lay-) people around, or whether I should wait for privacy. It didn’t help that I was the only monk at the monastery aside from the Sayadaw! So I didn’t get to look to anyone for an example. 

I did the best I could for the first few days, deciding to clean more private areas in the confines of the toilet room and less sensitive areas outdoors. If unideal, this worked for me, and I felt clean. 

But on day four, curious if I was missing something, I asked the Sayadaw if this was an OK way to do things. “Oh, I forgot!” he exclaimed, “that you’re a Westerner and you shower indoors!” I assured him that I was okay bathing outdoors, and that I simply wanted to make sure I didn’t offend, but he still seemed distressed.

The next morning, a truck full of concrete, bricks, and other building supplies pulled in the driveway. A team of volunteer construction worked filed in from the neighboring town and began excavating for a foundation. The Sayadaw himself directed the team with a tape measure and a level. 

They were building a bathroom.

Of all the hospitality I’ve experienced in my life, this gesture stands unrivaled. And as my friend, who’s spent several years in the country, put it laughingly: “Yeah, that’s the kind of thing that happens in Burma.” 

How magical and impactful to be invited—and as an outsider and a beginner!—so warmly into this culture of support and generosity."

Bathing and Laundry at Kun Lay Monastery

Kun Lay village, also known as Ei Chantha (or "Cool and Peaceful") Village, is about one hour by bad roads away from Pyin Oo Lwin. Nestled on higher ground and a former summer retreat for British colonials, it still enjoys cool weather today during Myanmar's hottest months. Life has changed little in the intervening centuries from traditional Burmese ways. This is also the area where Bhikkhu Agga spends Waso, and it has an even older history of dhutanga monks seeking full seclusion here in past centuries.

This video shows the way that washing and laundry take place in the village. As few homes have their own private areas, communal sites are shared among the village. There is one for men, and another for women, and all must be clothed when showering. The well is about 20 feet deep, and require some technical skill to be able to allow the bucket to twist when dropped and fill with water, and to hoist up without dropping any. The water is from a natural spring, and is quite cool and refreshing. Men typically bathe around the large cement tank, and a washing area is demarcated by a smoothed wooden platform. The old water tank can be seen to the left of the current one. The tank is surrounded on one side by deep forest and winding paths, and on the other by vegetable fields.

Burma Day 13: Settling In Before Heading Out

The day before can be seen here! The following excerpt was written by Kory Goldberg about the pilgrimage in Burma. You can also consider joining a later pilgrimage in Burma yourself.

Pilgrims take a group photo with the Sayadaw at the Patipatti side of Webu Monastery

"Today was atypical as people had the opportunity to really follow their own rhythm. Following meditation and breakfast, most of us chose to take the village and Pariyatti Monastery tour, but some decided to simply take it easy and meditate on their own. Some even followed bhikkhus U Sasana and U Agga on their alms round through the village, getting a glimpse into the 2600 year old tradition in a location that probably does not look like too much has changed since then. For those of us on the tour walking through the village with U Mandala and the visiting monk U Yassa was quite special. Ingynbin's people are renown for their devotion to the Sangha and walking along with these English speaking venerable monks afforded us an opportunity to interact with villagers in a way that seemed impossible the day before when a small group of us went out on our own. The previous day, we certainly got a few brilliant smiles and mingalabas, but with the monks people actually came out to meet us after they had finished bowing in reverence to the monks. 

The group gathers for a photo in front of the magnificent Dhamma Hall on the Pariyatti side of Webu Monastery

When we arrived in the village centre, we came across a large float built to hold a coffin. Venerable Yassa's aunt had recently died and he was back in Ingynbin from Mandalay to participate in the funeral procession and practice the Asubha contemplation. One of the pilgrims asked the monk of 25 rainy seasons how he felt. He admitted that he felt sad, but he did not cry since he had so much Buddhist practice under his belt. He said he felt happy also at this moment, for he had helped to teach dhamma to his aunt and he knew that she had lived a pure and virtuous life. Sharmaji, with full compassion, held the monk's hand, for he too is a human being. 

U Yassa then translated the conversation to the crowd of villagers who stood close by (in a respectful and non-imposing manner, unlike in India when locals are not shy to surround a foreigner and gawk at him as if he were an animal in a zoo). The villagers were all smiling, including Yassa's uncle, understanding that death is just another part of the cycle of life. Yassa continued that his aunt was a dedicated Buddhist whose morality was stainless and her meditation strong, so he was confident that she was bound for rebirth in a celestial plane. He then invited us to attend the funeral and practice the Asubha, a reflection on the fragility of human life and the repulsiveness of the human body. To his surprise, we all accepted with gratitude and excitement to watch a corpse burn to ashes.

Since the ceremony was not for another 90 minutes we returned to the monastery for an audience with the Buddha relics. As I was at Chowse, I was quite skeptical regrading their authenticity, despite knowing that they had been donated to Webu Sayadaw by the Prime Minster of Sri Lanka (Webu Sayadaw had visited Sri Lanka only on the condition that he was given some Buddha relics to bring back to Myanmar). However, as soon as I entered the Sayadaw's darkened room where they were kept I immediately felt that distinct strong activation of the awareness of the anicca along with a coolness flowing through my body, a very unique movement of sensation that I feel only when in the presence of the Tathagata's remains. The 82-year old Sayadaw sat there flanked by some younger monks, and in front of him was an open relic casket. Right there lay before me mustard seed sized pieces of bone in the centre of an ivory lotus flower. Snow had been in the room for some time already, and she called each one of us up to the relics and then placed them on our heads for a direct blessing. Once everyone had had a turn, Yassa translated the Sayadaw's Webu-inspired teaching on practising continuously in order to awaken in this very lifetime. None of us wanted to leave, but this moment too had to come to the end of its life as the funeral ceremony was to soon begin.

The procession itself was neither solemn nor sad, but rather festive with lots of joking and laughter as people banged on the side of the float shouting out the Burmese equivalent to "Grandma, Grandma, come on Grandma." The float was then disassembled, the body removed from the coffin and placed on to the pyre. We then all moved to a nearby site where we were all given lychee juice while taking refuge in the Triple Gem and 5 precepts, followed by an Asubha-based discourse, which fortunately Yassa translated for us. 

Initially, I felt bad that we were given the seats of honour at a funeral of person we did know and that the translations stretched out the event for our sake, but when realizing that all the locals were so pleased to have us there, all such thoughts vanished. As the chanting and discourse commenced, the smell of burning flesh wafted through the air. When the discourse was over, we met Yassa's cousin, also a monk, and uncle who we met earlier. This time, however, the elderly farmer was no longer grinning from ear to ear as the direct realization of what was happening began to sink in. His son, the monk, looked devastated, despite wearing the armour of a bhikkhu. We then walked over to watch the corpse burn and reflect on the vulnerability of life and inevitability of death. To our surprise, most of the funeral attendees skipped out on what seemed to me one of the most important parts of the ceremony. Those in attendance, besides the freaky foreigners eager to see a dead body, were a bunch of young novices with their fingers stuck up their noses, a few teenagers, the calm Yassa, and those responsible for burning the body. Every now and again these guys would use a long piece of bamboo to scrape the flesh and poke at the bones to make sure that every part got consumed by the fire.

Later that afternoon as most people rested, a couple of us completely changed gears as we dove into the mud with the Thai women and a group of novices to work on constructing the mud bricks for the adobe house. We worked out our muscles by mixing the clay, water and rice husks and then carrying heaps of these mixtures over to the frame for shaping the bricks. It was a lot of fun and gave us an opportunity to interact with locals in a completely new and engaging way. Translating words into English, Thai and Burmese while building something useful is a great way to establish communication amidst linguistic and cultural obstacles. After we were done and bathed at the natural hot spring, we came across some young, local farmers playing their end-of-day ritual of chinlone-volleyball. At first we hesitated to join because these guys were amazing, but their skill and positive energy magically raised our bar and we fit in not too badly.

After our evening meditation the relaxation for most continued until bed while some of us went back to meet with Thais to learn more about adobe building and their projects back home. What an incredibly diverse and spontaneous day! The constant surprises and blessings on a pilgrimage can only manifest when their is a willingness to remain flexible and open to change, comfort with not knowing what will pop out around the next corner, and honest about one's needs and limitations. The next step is integrate these pilgrimage lessons back home where every day, every moment is its own little journey."

The next day's entry, when the group goes on to the mystical Sagaing Hills, can be found here...

Burma Day 11: Mysteries Unravelling

If you missed Day 10, it can be found here. Kory Goldberg continues his daily journal entries while on the pilgrimage in Burma. You can also consider joining a later pilgrimage in Burma yourself.

"We began our day with a sitting in the building where Sayagyi U Ba Khin spent 10 days as a monk. Listening to a recording of him chant the Tikipatthana in such a location was almost like guilding a lily, but not quite. At home in the West, listening to such a recording sometimes feels out of place, especially since the audio quality is quite poor and the words incomprehensible, even to someone who understands some Pali. But here, it all made sense.

The Ingynbin Webu Monastery is divided into two sections. The original part of the monastery is referred to as the Pariyatti side, or the academic side, and is where Webu ordained as a monk in his late teens. The newer compound is referred to as the Patipatti side, or meditation monastery, and this is what Webu had constructed when he returned to his native place after several years of absence. Our group is residing in the very tranquil, though run-down Patipatti side, but taking our meals at the Pariyatti side, which has much more buzzing activity and is in much better shape, physically. After our breakfast this morning, we briefly met with U Mandala, the second in command after the Sayadaw and who had ordained under Webu Sayadaw at the age of 7, or 43 years ago. Struggling with his English, he gave us an overview of the monastery and of his life as a monk and a Pali scholar.

After our meeting we had some appreciated rest, bathing and laundry time. All the men who needed to bathe and do laundry Burmese style joked and laughed, mostly about the awkwardness of bathing while wearing a longyi and then switching it for a dry one. We imagined we were village girls at the water tank, gossiping about the community. It was actually a really nice communal moment, and many agreed that these type of interactions were sorely missed at home. Afterwards, Joah and U Agga, a Dutch monk with three rainy seasons under his belt, gave us a tour of the Patipatti side. Among many of the highlights were the hut where Webu Sayadaw attained liberation, the building in which he resided four months of the year (he only spent the hot season here) and passed away in, the dhamma hall for devas and "aliens"??, and the Bodhi Tree at which U Ba Khin placed the hairs from his shaven head. One of the most memorable sites, for this group in particular, was in the building with the painting of the prophecy. We decided to replicate the painting by posing in the same marching manner as the people in the picture. We are from 10 countries: Canada, USA, Burma, Russia, Columbia, Sweden, India, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand; plus a small group of people consisting of three Thai women and a Belgian man and add U Agga, all together making representatives from 13 different countries. It was quite the historical and humorous moment.

In the afternoon, Russell, a New Zealander from our group, joined the noble order of bhikkhus, becoming U Sasana. He was the second foreigner to ever ordain in the same sima hall as Webu Sayadaw. It was a very touching moment to watch him enter into a new phase of life, even if it is for just a couple of weeks. U Agga refers to the robes as meditation armour.

For me, and a few others who saw Russell through the process and prepared a private hut for him to live in, the day ended with a fantastically concentrated meditation in Webu's nibbana kuti whose spiritual charge is difficult to match. If concentration was always that easy..."

For Day 12 see here. The following photos show the transformation from the layman Russell Quinn to the monk U Sassana (the New Zealander later wrote extensively about his experience in robes, and his very inspiring words can be read by all)...

Lather is added to the hair

The shaving begins. The hair was later placed below the very tree where Webu Sayadaw also placed U Ba Khin's hair during his ten days in robes

Local villagers watch spellbound as the ordination continues

The final shaving is complete

Opening formalities to become a samanera

Paying respects

A European monk kindly helps to show the wearing of robes to this new monk

The samanera process is complete, with full bhikkhu ordination awaiting

Surviving a Cold Shower

In this excerpt from the book, we pick up an entry from our "Monastic Life" chapter. Following is a short excerpt from the section on bathing:
---
Surviving a Cold Shower

Historically in ancient Rome and Victorian England, cold showers were seen as an essential part of an upright life, as warm water bathing was viewed as a sign of decadence and needless luxury. Indeed, even in modern times many Southeast Asians don’t really understand the Western preoccupation with a hot shower. Still, it is a creature comfort that many Western yogis do miss when without, although after some time here this too becomes less important. If you are staying at a monastery with a closed shower area, likely there will be either a giant clay pot or concrete pool from which you can use the plastic scoop to bathe yourself. Make sure to keep this water storage clean and to only lather outside of it. To keep in a traditional spirit, you can also consider using the old-style shampoo that mixes the bark of the tayaw vine with kin pun (acacia) pods, making a gooey substance that keeps the hair smooth and head cool. In any case, if you are not up for being the Spartan, here are some hints that may help:

· You can politely request a little boiling water from the kitchen and mix that into the bucket before you shower, and this may be wise to do if you happen to be sick. Alternatively, if you purchase a plastic bucket and leave it out in the sun, it often will heat up by afternoon.

· If you are in the winter period, make sure to get your shower in before it gets too late in the afternoon, and the temperature begins to dip. Because the water is room temperature, it’s also more likely to be warmer during the day than in the mornings or evenings.

· You can also purchase a scrub or loofah. With these, you can get very clean quite fast with only a minimum of water. If you are traveling, a quick-dry fabric towel is also helpful.

· An American monk recommends that you “wet your head first, and then using your hands, rub the water along your legs, arms, and finally your heart area. Afterwards, you can immerse yourself in the cold water more comfortably.”

· Eventually, learn to appreciate the cold water! As one yogi commented who came to Myanmar from a frigid Colorado winter, “the outdoors temperature is generally so hot for me here (it was 14 degrees Fahrenheit when I left my home) that I have learned to accept and at times actually enjoy cold bucket showers, pouring water from a bucket over my body.”

Local men use the town bathing facilities in the small village of Ingyinbin, in Upper Burma