Softening the heart and inspiring the practice...
“For quite a few years it has been a sincere wish of mine to visit the Golden Land, steeped in Dhamma history and practice. It was also important to me to share this experience with my spouse and mother, meditators who have never traveled in Southeast Asia. Joah, Ma Khaing, and all the staff at Myanmar Pilgrimages helped make this a remarkably inspiring reality. This is not a typical tour company. From the early planning stages where a 10-day itinerary tailored to our interests was presented, up until our final lunch with Joah and his partner at a local, Wa food restaurant in Yangon, Myanmar Pilgrimages professionally and sincerely helped make our visit personal, rewarding, and memorable on a very reasonable budget. Our accommodations were very nice. All the drivers were on time, safe, and caring. Our guide in Mandalay and surrounding, Lwin, was knowledgeable, dedicated, and adapted to our energy level and interests. Lwin’s smile and laughter were infectious! But it was more than the professionalism that struck me. All of the staff were sincerely dedicated to helping us experience Myanmar’s unique history and culture. For example, in the middle of our trip, we spontaneously organized an early morning Sangha Dana almsgiving in front of Ma Khaing’s home. The experience of serving monks young and old, quietly and peacefully accepting whatever was offered in the dark of dawn inspired deep tears of gratitude from me. Ma Khaing welcomed us into her home as friends, and fed us a scrumptious home-cooked meal. We visited and meditated at sites of historical importance to me as a Vipassana meditator: Sayagyi U Ba Khin’s International Meditation Center in Yangon, Saya Thet Gyi’s monastery in a rural village outside of Yangon, one of Webu Sayadaw’s monasteries outside of Mandalay, and Ledi Sayadaw’s monastery in Monywa. Were it not for the planning provided by Myanmar Pilgrimages, I would not have known how to visit most of these sites. Myanmar Pilgrimages helped us to have a number of moving interactions with monks, providing translation and background information so that we could respect local norms.
My visit to Myanmar softened my heart and inspired my meditation practice. Myanmar Pilgrimages provided the essential basis for this remarkable experience.”
— MARK HOEFER, USA
“For quite a few years it has been a sincere wish of my husband’s to visit the Golden Land, steeped in Dhamma history and practice. Our visit to Myanmar was remarkable and Myanmar Pilgrimages provided the essential basis for this.”
— JILL PILON, USA