Insight Myanmar

The Buddha’s teachings of liberation were not meant only for prosperous and stable times, but also for when things are uncertain, or even perilous. Perhaps no moment in recent years has tested the mission of contemporary meditation centers and monasteries as much as this ongoing coronavirus pandemic, when just the basic act of gathering together poses a serious health risk.In this episode, we check in with three American-based monasteries and meditation centers with some connection to Burmese traditions, to hear how they have responded to these unprecedented times. Each speaker has years under their belt as a spiritual teacher, and they discuss how they worked to ensure that the Buddha’s timeless teachings of liberation remain practical and relevant. They explain how their respective centers each found their own unique way to adapt to the pandemic and continue to serve its meditator community.We first check in with Sean Feit Oakes, an Editor and Community Dharma Leader at Spirit Rock Insight Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. Next up is Ayya Soma, an Italian monastic and co-founder of Empty Cloud Monastery in West Orange, New Jersey. Finally we speak with to Dick Delanoy, an Assistant Teacher at Dhamma Patapa, a vipassana center in Jesup, Georgia, in the tradition of S.N. Goenka.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

If you reference the Philippines, vipassana meditation practice and Buddhist study are not the first things that come to mind! That is because this heavily Catholic island nation is pretty much the only region in all of Southeast Asia that has had hardly any connection to the Dhamma over the course of the last 2,500 years. So then, why would a podcast based on Buddhist practice, with a specific focus on Myanmar, dedicate a series of episodes to the Philippines vis-a-vis the Golden Land? The answer: although the Philippines has had little connection to Buddhism and Buddhist monasticism, this is now slowly changing, and many Filipinos are becoming more open and receptive to the liberating teachings of the Buddha.We first hear from Tony Fernando, a cellist and psychiatrist at the University of Auckland. He ordained as a monk several times at Chan Myay Myaing Monastery in Yangon, practicing metta (loving kindness) intensively. He’s now introducing compassion into the field of sleep study, and has also begun a mindfulness training at the Mount Eden Correctional Facility. The second guest is Imee Contreras, the founder of Mindfulness Asia and the co-founder of the Philippine Insight Meditation Community. She has also been a mindfulness teacher at Spirit Rock and UCLA.These two guests relate powerful stories that inform the contemporary spread of Dhamma into new areas of our world.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

Alan Clements’ new book, Burma: Voices of Freedom, is a monumental achievement, a work more than three decades in the making. Alan interviewed hundreds of people in order to examine the intersecting lines between Burmese Buddhist practice and the turbulent history of the country, thus bringing together the worldly and the spiritual in profound ways.  He decided to sit for just one full-length interview on his recent publication: here on Insight Myanmar Podcast! In Alan’s own words, the pages of Burma: Voices of Freedom “cover the historic national election of the National League of Democracy (NLD) to Parliament, the Rohingya crisis, the nature of totalitarianism and the efficacy of nonviolence, the radicalization of militant Buddhist monks and the role of Islamic terrorism, interspersed within the jagged landscape of a nation's ongoing struggle for freedom, rule of law, and national reconciliation.” His book explores not only what has taken place in the country, but where things stand now as well as his hopes for where things might go.In our interview, we examine the role of the liberating teachings of the Buddha within the country’s transformation, balanced with the sensitive need to ensure a separation between Church and State, and to welcome the role of non-Buddhist communities in a pluralistic society.Just one technical note, there was a small glitch with Joah’s sound on this interview, but fortunately Alan’s is fine. Apologies in advance, and the issue has since been resolved, so will not impact future episodes.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

“Having already witnessed first-hand the transformation of mindfulness from mysterious curiosity to commercialized buzzword, going back to read about a time when so much was still so unexplored generated a kind of nostalgia in me. Perhaps this is like when Americans pine for the ‘simplicity’ of the 1950s or the ‘freedom’ of the Old West—it says more about the psychology of the one doing the pining or the state of current society than about those actual time periods.”So writes Carl Stimson after reviewing three books: Journey of Insight Meditation (1978) by Eric Lerner, One Night’s Shelter (1985) by Bhikkhu Yogavacara Rahula aka Scott DuPrez, and The Quiet Mind (1971) by John Coleman. Bringing himself into the study as a fourth character, Carl goes on to tackle wider questions as to what we can learn about the growth and expansion of the vipassana movement from Asia to the West. He covers such themes as an early lack of diversity among Western meditators and teachers, the benefits as well as consequences of greater access to mindfulness teachings, meeting challenges along the spiritual path, and the maturation process of a meditator.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

The second in a two-part interview, educator and amateur historian Zaw Win Htet continues his stories that weave together his own life, his local region, and some of the most revered Dhamma teachers of 20th century Burma. In this segment, he covers the life and monastery of Mohnyin Sayadaw, the most important monastic disciple of Ledi Sayadaw. He also relays the ancient history of the monkey-run Hpo Win Daung Caves, where ascetics have long come to practice alchemy and where Saya Thet Gyi first applied the vipassana instructions given by Ledi Sayadaw. Finally, Zaw closes the talk on a personal note, discussing his family’s involvement in the Ledi Mu organization, which preserves Ledi Sayadaw’s teachings across the country. He goes on to describe his own work in establishing the Nat Taing Monastic School, which provides a free education to the village’s youth, and his family’s long history of caring for foreigners in a country that until only recently had been closed to them.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c, or via CashApp or Venmo by searching "Insight Myanmar."

“My grandmother is the main character of this story,” Zaw Win Htet informs us as he begins the interview. An educator and amateur historian, Zaw shares how the bedtime stories she told him every night animated his life’s journey of discovery. Combining academic study with oral history, lived experience and a family lore steeped in deep Buddhist faith, Zaw weaves together his own life, his local region, and some of the most revered Dhamma teachers of 20th century Burma. The first of a two-part interview, this one covers such topics as the ancient origins of the Chaung Oo and A Myint villages, the intimate relationship between Zaw's family and the revered Maha Bodhi Ta Htaung Sayadaw, and his grandmother’s personal encounters with Ledi Sayadaw.***If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon, PayPal, Go Fund Me, CashApp, or Venmo; in all cases, simply search “Insight Myanmar.” You may also give by credit card by going to our website, www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

This is the third in our ongoing “Intersections of Dhamma and Race” podcast series. At this time of increased tensions, there is a sore need for personal reflection and introspection, deep and active listening of “the other”, and communication across all boundaries and communities. And when we do this based firmly on the bedrock of the Buddha’s timeliness teachings of liberation, the possibility of living through these difficult days together, while advancing on the Path, converge.On this episode, we are treated to a reflective and introspective look at how Black practitioners have applied Dhamma wisdom through the pain of racism and prejudice. The guests include:·     Bhante Panna on the experience of being a Black monk in Cambodia and Thailand.·     Tricea Dawkins on starting up a meditation practice while being a medical worker on the front lines of the pandemic.·     Esly Caldwell on the wisdom of karma and the power of metta at a time of racial strife and ongoing protests.·     AB Johanne on how vipassana meditation helped her develop compassion and awareness.·     Keven Porter on how a daily meditation practice has changed his life, and the intersection between economics and race.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c.

The story of Melissa Coats is a tale of finding balances. It relates to navigating her identity, being half-white and half-Korean, and her practice, going back and forth between being a lay practitioner and Buddhist nun, in both secular and religious communities. It speaks to her life, alternating between progressive enclaves in California and a more conservative Burmese Buddhist life in Myanmar, between a fusion of traditional Chinese Medicine and Buddhist meditation integrated into Western life in the United States, and seeking out their respective origins in China and Myanmar. She talks of beginning her meditation by taking vipassana courses in the S.N. Goenka tradition, and then learning under Ruth Denison and at Spirit Rock before ultimately traveling to Burma, where she has stayed at Panditarama, Pa Auk, Brahma Vihara, and Shwe Oo Min. Melissa’s story also addresses the balance she actively seeks between having male and female teachers. Melissa’s journey has already been a long one for someone so young, and it is still unfolding. In a world where meditation centers and entire countries are shut down due to the pandemic, this talk gives the listener a virtual tour into the meditative and Buddhist world of Myanmar.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c.

The sixth episode in our “COVID-19 in Myanmar” series, this is the first show in this series in which all the voices are from a single place—in this case, Thabarwa Monastery in Than Lyin. This episode departs from previous ones in more ways than this, however. As some of the interviews were collected right as the world began to shut down because of COVID-19, we realized that while not that long ago in time, they seem eons ago in other ways, as so much has happened since then. So besides their original talk, you’ll hear some updates from guests on how and what they’re doing now. This “before-and-after” approach allows the listener to follow their journey across time and see how their practice and mind have adjusted as the ground continues to shift under their feet... and also to learn what Dhamma wisdom has been gain along the way. The guests include:Thabawa Sayadaw, from an April talk given to foreign meditators on how to overcome accusations and misunderstandings through continuously doing good deeds.Awbur Nyan, a musician and lay supporter of Thabarwa Monastery, on how Yangon has fared through the coronavirus and how Sayadaw’s teachings have helped her.Bhikkhu Varrapanyo on his decision to remain at the monastery throughout the pandemic, and how he is applying meditation instructions from his teacher.Khema Cari, currently residing at the Thabarwa center in Italy, on how centers around the world have managed.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

Sometimes a single moment can be so profound… or so complex… that it takes hours, or even days, following the encounter to get a handle on it. In the story that follows, that “moment” has been taking years to process. In this case, the actual moment in question is simple enough: Yonie, an African-American vipassana meditator in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, travels to Myanmar to pay homage to the lineage of his teacher and consider monastic ordination. Several days into his stay at a Yangon monastery, he is in the dining hall awaiting lunch, when a long-standing Burmese monk aggressively motions for him to leave, and when he doesn’t, the monastic hauls off and kicks him. This disturbing incident—which in terms of time, lasted no more than a minute—is astounding in its complexity, and poses many swirling questions to untangle and process. Our conversation unfolds with Yonie and I doing our best to explore its many threads, and includes such topics as global anti-racism, how Dhamma practice can inform one’s response to prejudice, the collective trauma of Burmese given their recent history, the indirect nature of Burmese communication, and much more.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

This is a very different kind of show than any previous episode we’ve brought you on the Insight Myanmar Podcast. Regular listeners may remember that a few months ago, we interrupted our usual run of sit-down interviews to produce a special series on the coronavirus pandemic in Myanmar. In these episodes, we checked in with a number of monastics and practitioners, and inquired how they as meditators were coping with the world shutting down. As we were working to respond to the relevancy of that moment— itself no easy task for a skeleton crew volunteer team— another historic moment engulfed the United States and resonated with people around the world: the Black Lives Matter protests over of the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police.We feel the need is just as compelling to meet the demands of this moment as our recent podcast series, and so we are creating a new collection of episodes called “the Intersection of Dhamma & Race.” In this series, we are widening the scope of our usual programming to examine the overlapping lines of Dhamma practice, racism and social justice. Aishah Shahidah Simmons, a long-term Black American vipassana meditator formerly in the S.N. Goenka tradition and an award-winning cultural worker, joins our volunteer team as co-producer of this series.The United States has been witnessing an explosion of multiracial bravery inspired and led by Black individuals speaking truth to power, standing up against racism and for social justice, and within many different social and economic institutions, from well-known sports franchises to giant corporations. While these acts may at times be confrontational, they highlight uncomfortable and too-long-ignored truths that societies must finally face, both people as individuals, and collectively.In this same spirit, we hope that the following episode can be a platform for bringing a similar sort of conversation about entrenched biases, practices and attitudes within the vipassana and mindfulness communities. The guests include:·     Victoria Robertson is the first Black American appointed Senior Assistant Teacher under S. N. Goenka. She speaks about her time attending and conducting vipassana courses in this tradition; how she learned to develop empathy for others; her observation that the White vipassana teachers were equipped to teach meditation, but weren’t able to apply those meditation practices to address racism; her leadership role in creating the one and only Global African Heritage course to date in this tradition, and the organization’s unwillingness to support her attempts to bring Dhamma to Black communities in inner cities. She is no longer a teacher in this tradition.·     Joshua Bee Alafia is a Taoist and Insight Meditation Teacher, as well as an author and film director. He notes how the mindfulness community naturally mirrors the issues and complexes, including racism, that American society at large struggles with. He believes we will look back at this current time as the “Great Awakening” in American society, and that compassion and inner reflection are now sorely needed, because it takes courage to heal as individuals and by extension a society.·     Wayne Smith is a professional cellist and a long-course vipassana student in the tradition of S.N. Goenka. Determined not to become bitter as a result of racism, his early meditation experiences brought him in touch with the ill will building up inside nonetheless—and taught him how it could be observed and let go of. He feels it is critical for White people to look clearly at their own white privilege and identify their involvement in perpetuating a racist system even by just passively participating in it. He finds meditation a valuable tool for this effort, as well as engaging in conversation and interaction across communities.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, or by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT.

Welcome to the fifth episode in our ongoing “COVID-19 in Myanmar” series, called “Sheltering in Place.” While the previous show told the stories of four expats who left just before the world closed down, the current episode relates the tales of four more expats who were in Myanmar at the time that the pandemic hit, and made the decision to remain in the country and ride out the storm in the Golden Land. The guests include:·     Hampus Haraldsson, a Swedish yogi who had planned a series of meditation courses, self-retreats, travel and Buddhist study in Myanmar this year. He was taking a metta course at Chan Myay Myaing Monastery in Pyin Oo Lwin when the pandemic hit.·     Marc Shortt, the founder of Sa Ba Street Food Tours, and who led a fundraising effort to buy food from local vendors and offer it to under-served communities in downtown Yangon and in Hledan.·     Jochen Meissner is an Austrian meditator in the Sayagyi U Ba Khin tradition and the founder of Uncharted Horizons, which runs trekking and biking expeditions in Dalla and Chin State. He talks about life in Yangon under shutdown.·     Matthew Schojan is an American practitioner who is the founder of Wandering Meditators and leads regular group sittings at the Alliance Francaise in Yangon. An expert in the field of mental health, he talks about the impact he is seeing now seeing due to the pandemic.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted foreign meditators in Myanmar? This is precisely the question we set out to answer in this “Expats in Exile Edition” of our COVID-19 in Myanmar series.The guests include:·     Jose Molina, an agricultural economist based in Yangon, who observed that life stayed pretty much as usual in the city, even as the rest of the world shut down. Initially resisting the inclination to leave, he ultimately packed up his apartment and had an emotional farewell at Chan Myay Yeiktha Monastery, his primary place of practice. Now back in Massachusetts, he has had to adjust back to a more materialistic culture and reflects on the Dhamma lessons that can be learned during a pandemic.·     Emily Rothenberg, a Fulbright Fellow in Mandalay who had hoped to use the pandemic as a time to settle into practice, but could not find a Burmese monastery that would accept foreign meditators. Moving into the home of a US diplomat and hoping to hunker down there, as the situation grew more serious she ended up catching one of the last flights out of the country. Back home in Chicago, she tried to plan her own self-retreat, and struggled to find a sense of stability after such a tumultuous period.  ·     David Sudar is a former monk at Shwe Oo Min Monastery under Sayadaw U Tejaniya. He had returned to Myanmar earlier his year as a lay meditator, to spend the winter in retreat. He managed to travel back to the US in spite of a debilitating illness, and self-quarantined at home in Portland, Oregon. In addition to continuing his own practice through extended self-retreats, he is also guiding meditators around the world through Zoom sessions, and discusses how yogis have found their practice impacted by the pandemic.·     Gary Leung, an Australian meditator who came to Myanmar for eight months of Dhamma practice, and ordained temporarily as a monk at the annual Kyaswa Monastery meditation retreat in the Sagaing Hills. His first indication that the pandemic was becoming more serious was during a pilgrimage in Upper Myanmar,  when he learned that Burmese monasteries would no longer accept foreigners, and he changed his return flight earlier to be able to leave before the country shut down. Once back in Sydney, he self-quarantined in his family home, and is continuing to practice and work remotely.As part of this new series, we will explore how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting Burmese monastic society in upcoming episodes, as well as how it is impacting meditators around the world and pushing meditation teachers to respond in new and innovative ways to the crisis as it unfolds. In this time of uncertainty and insecurity, we hope the voices that follow provide information and insight, and help awaken the seeds of wisdom within you.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

In 2017, Zach Hessler, then known as U Obhasa, was a forest monk in upper Myanmar. Following in the tradition of monks during the Buddha's time, one day he set out from his forest monastery on foot to wander among the mountains and villages in the vicinity. He did so with the intention of following a set of ascetic practices known as dhutaṅga. But he could not have imagined what would happen next. Unknowingly entering a forbidden area, he and his monastic companion suddenly found themselves surrounded by several dozen men wielding weapons, suspecting that the two bhikkhus were spies. Where some would spin what ensued as an adventure tale of escaping a near-death experience in an exotic locale, Zach instead goes into the Dhamma wisdom derived from that terrifying encounter. His fascinating story explores a range of topics: the conditioning of the mind, modern and traditional forms of monkhood, living in nature, the purpose of the Vinaya, complacency, the value of practice, and what happens within the mind when the concept of death becomes an imminent reality. If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us. Also make sure to check out our website: https://insightmyanmar.org/

How is the coronavirus pandemic impacting monastics in Myanmar? This is precisely the question we set out to answer in this very special “Monastic Edition” of our COVID-19 in Myanmar series. The guests include:·     U Viveka, a Canadian monk studying under Sayadaw U Tejaniya, who is using the pandemic as an opportunity to examine his fear of death.·     Ashin Sarana, a Czech monk who was teaching in the USA when the pandemic hit, and returned to undergo a mandatory (and then self-imposed) period of quarantine at a Burmese monastery.·     Pabhassaro Bhikkhu, a Polish monk who found his ideal monastery just north of Yangon—only to be told he had to leave the country for visa reasons, but realizing this instability and unreliability is a core teaching of the Buddha.·     Ashin Dhammosadha, a German monk who finished his studies at Yangon’s Buddhist University before staying at Mahasi monastery, and who eventually found his way to a small monastery north of Yangon to begin an extended self-meditation retreat.·     Bhante Mokkhita, a German monk who runs the Mudita Foundation, supporting poor local families impacted by a loss of income due to the pandemic, and who reflects on the different ways that Westerners and Burmese approach the inevitability of death.As part of this new series, in upcoming episodes we will explore how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting Burmese monastic society, and how it is impacting meditators around the world, and pushing meditation teachers to respond in new and innovative ways to the crisis as it unfolds. In this time of uncertainty and insecurity, we hope the voices that follow provide information and insight, and help awaken the seeds of wisdom within you.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

In the second installment of our ongoing COVID-19 in Myanmar series, we present the Women’s Edition. So often at times of crisis and at key moments in world events, it is the voices of men who make the news. This is certainly no less true in Myanmar, where speeches from revered Sayadaws and male meditation teachers dominate the Dhamma discourse. For this reason, this episode will highlight those voices and experiences of female practitioners, who discuss how they have responded to the current pandemic.The guests include:·     Katie L’Estrange, a British teacher, fundraiser, and meditator who left her Mandalay home with her young son, just as the pandemic was exploding to return to Wales.·     Sayalay Piyadassii, a Lithuanian nun hunkering down at the Shan State Buddhist University in Taunggyi.·     Dominica Bastrzyc, a Polish backpacker-turned-meditator who found shelter at a monastery north of Yangon when the pandemic hit.·     Inga Bergman, a vipassana meditator from the S.N. Goenka tradition who organized a donation drive from her home in Chicago to feed Yangon monasteries unable to procure food from alms rounds.As part of this new series, in upcoming episodes we will explore how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting Burmese monastic society, and how it is impacting meditators around the world, and pushing meditation teachers to respond in new and innovative ways to the crisis as it unfolds. In this time of uncertainty and insecurity, we hope the voices that follow provide information and insight, and help awaken the seeds of wisdom within you.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c.

In this inaugural episode of our ongoing "COVID-19 in Myanmar" series, we present the Burmese Edition, where we hear from the four local voices who present their perspectives on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in Myanmar. They reflect on how their Buddhist faith and practice has played a role in helping to them to understand and respond to the crisis. The guests include:·     Zaw Win Htet, a local historian and monastic school supporter in Chaung Oo.·     Dr. Jenny Ko Gyi, a Buddhist professor and translator.·     Inda Aung Soe, a former monk and founder of an organic composing organization.·     Nay Zaw Tun, a safety and security manager at a Yangon corporation.Similar themes run through these discussions: personal karma in contrast to world events, Myanmar’s close proximately to China, praise for the Burmese government’s handling of the crisis, and affirming the power of mettā, or living kindness.As part of this new series, in upcoming episodes we will explore how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting Burmese monastic society, and how it is impacting meditators around the world, and pushing meditation teachers to respond in new and innovative ways to the crisis as it unfolds. In this time of uncertainty and insecurity, we hope the voices that follow provide information and insight, and help awaken the seeds of wisdom within you.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo, via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV, by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT, or at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

In this inaugural edition of the “Myanmar Dhamma Diaries,” Joah tells the story of an alcoholic Airbnb guest from Europe who disrupts his Yangon home. Learning that the guest had chosen to stay there as a cry for help in battling his addiction problems, Joah arranges for him to meet two foreign monks to begin to learn about Dhamma, and eventually helps him to stay for several weeks under the care of Ashin Mandala at Webu Sayadaw Monastery in Ingyinbin village, in northern Myanmar. There the guest is given sensitive, personal guidance in meditation and the Dhamma, and his mind starts to quiet down for perhaps the first time in his life. Joah and Zach close by discussing what this anecdote tells us about the possibilities for spiritual practice in Myanmar today, and contrasts this experience with opportunities found in the West.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, via PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar, or by credit card by going to www.insightmyanmar.org/donation. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us. And to donate for our special “Coronavirus In Myanmar” episodes, please go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/coronoavirus-podcast-episodes-in-myanmar.

Swe Win’s journey has taken him from a love of British literature to the pits of solitary confinement in Insein Prison in Yangon, where he escaped harsh conditions and toxic anger by taking up a meditation practice. Since being released, he has become a serious vipassana meditation student in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, and has continued his activism by becoming one of Myanmar’s leading investigative journalists. In this episode we explore the remarkable life of one compelling figure.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, via PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar, or by credit card by going to www.insightmyanmar.org/donation. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

The provincial upbringing that characterized Maria Alejandra Amaya V’s childhood in the Colombian countryside outside of Bogotá could scarcely have predicted her later interest in Vipassana meditation in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, nor her eventual life in robes of a Buddhist nun at Pa Auk Monastery. “Sometimes I think [my story] is like a very good romantic story in Theravada Buddhism,” notes Sayalay Khanticari, as she is now known by her Paḷi nun name. “[Yet], at that time I didn’t see what was happening.” She tells how a backpacking trip around South America with her husband led to a growing interest in meditation, landing them at Dhamma Giri in Mumbai, India before an eventual stay in Myanmar. There they enjoyed extended stays at Panditarama and the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University (ITMBU), before her eventual ordination. Sayalay Khanticari’s journey through continent and spirituality is a fascinating one, and inspiring for any meditator on the path.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, via PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar, or by credit card by going to www.insightmyanmar.org/donation. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

Ashin Sarana may be one of the most well-known foreign monks in Myanmar today. He conducts his own meditation courses and routinely gives Dhamma talks in fluent Burmese. But did you know that his earliest monastic influences was a kung-fu movie and a book on magic? In this talk, U Sarana traces his spiritual journey from his native town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic to the Buddhist and Pali University in Sri Lanka, to full bhikkhu ordination in Myanmar in 2012. He talks about falling in love and yet choosing monkhood over marriage, and discusses the recent controversy he stirred up in Myanmar when he suggested that lay supporters should not donate to monks who touch money.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, via PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar, or by credit card by going to www.insightmyanmar.org/donation. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

Daniel is senior vipassana teacher (Acharya) in the S.N. Goenka tradition, in addition to being a licensed acupuncturist. He was appointed a Center Teacher (CT) originally for Dhamma Santi in Brazil, and then a Coordinating Area Teacher (CAT) “to serve the Rest of Africa.” A native Argentinian, he described going into self-exile after Juan Perón’s return to power, which led him first to Paris and then to India, where he took up meditation under Goenka-ji’s guidance. After being appointed a teacher, he undertook Spanish translation of all discourses and instructions, and conducted courses across Latin and South America, in many cases for the first time. This interview coincided with his return to Burma for the first time in exactly 40 years, when he had first visited in order to ordain as a monk at the International Meditation Center. Daniel also shares his memories about the early days of Goenka-ji’s vipassana courses in India and how they have since spread around the world.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, via PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar, or by credit card by going to www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

At a time when foreigners were only granted seven-day visas to Burma, then one of the most closed countries in the world, Alan Clements arrived in 1977 and managed to stay nearly five years, training directly under Mahasi Sayadaw and then Sayadaw U Pandita, despite enduring repeated forced disrobings, deportations and eventual blacklistings. Despite this, Alan has returned to the Golden Land whenever and however possible, including a 1995 trip in which he was permitted to interview Aung San Suu Kyi, then temporarily released from house arrest. In this discussion, he reflects on his personal experience comprising over four decades of Dhamma practice and activism in the country that he so loves. If you find the Dhamma interviews we are sharing of value and would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give monthly donations on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, or one time donations on PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

We caught up with Sayalay Piyadassii in Yangon, between time in her native Lithuania and as a student at Shan State Buddhist University in Taunggyi. She shares how her initial enthusiasm taking silent vipassana retreats in the tradition of S.N. Goenka led to nunhood in Myanmar in 2013, and she has remained in robes ever since. A number of themes are brought up in her spiritual biography, such as finding an appropriate balance of study and practice, the somewhat discriminatory treatment of nuns in Myanmar as compared with monks, and the benefit that Burmese culture has had on her spiritual life. If you find the Dhamma interviews we are sharing of value and would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give monthly donations on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, or one time donations on PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

Thabarwa Sayadaw has had a meteoric rise in Myanmar. After weathering a series of crises that threatened the very existence of his monastery, the Burmese monastic’s mission is now expanding at an unprecedented rate across not only the country but the entire world. And then there is his monastery itself, which is redefining the role of monasticism and the shape of Burmese Buddhism in the 21st century. In this inaugural interview, Thabarwa Sayadaw shares his biography from layman to monastic, as well as the early start of his monastery.

We are proud to present the inaugural episode of the Insight Myanmar podcast! Our host, Joah McGee, will first give a brief introduction about the podcast’s mission and background, followed by short previews of each of the first six interviews we’ve conducted so far. The full-length podcasts will be aired once weekly and feature (in order of appearance on the trailer):Alan Clements, an American yogi, activist, and author, describes his time as a monk during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Myanmar.Sayalay Piyadassi, a Lithuanian nun, discusses her early years as a nun in Myanmar and her joy in simplicity.Thabarwa Sayadaw, a leading Burmese abbot, shares the stressful early years of trying to establish his monastery and the crises they faced.Ashin Chanda, a Bangladeshi monk, tells how the early heartbreak of losing his mother set him on a path in search of inner peace that ultimately led to his ordination.Sebestien Le Normand, a French meditator, reflects on a special visit to International Meditation Center (IMC) in Yangon.Ashin Sarana, a Czech monk, describes why he is so concerned with the problem of Burmese monks touching money.We invite you to rate, review, and share our podcasts, as every little bit helps. You can subscribe to the Insight Myanmar podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or however you get your podcasts; or, you can listen and download right off the web at https://insightmyanmar.captivate.fm/. If you cannot find our feed on your podcast player, please let us know and we will ensure it can be offered there.We would also like to take this time to thank everyone who made this podcast possible, especially our two sound engineers, Martijn Comes and Thar Nge; Zach Hessler, content collaborator and part time co-host; Michael Alahouzos, who assisted in our fund-raising efforts; and Ken Pransky, who helped with editing. Finally, we are immensely grateful for the donors who made this entire thing possible. We also remind our listeners that the opinions expressed by our guests are their own and not necessarily reflective of the host or other podcast contributors. If you find the Dhamma interviews we are sharing of value and would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give monthly donations on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/insightmyanmar, or one time donations on PayPal at www.paypal.me/insightmyanmar. If you are in Myanmar and would like to give a cash donation, please feel free to do so.