A Webu Sayadaw pilgrimage in the Golden Land

We at Myanmar Pilgrimage specialize in being able to customize Dhamma trips to meditators according to their specific interests and aspirations while in the Golden Land. Many of our clients, understandably so, want to see the main Buddhist sites of the country, mixed in with important sites from their particular tradition, so many pilgrimages tend to look more or less the same.

This was not the case with a recent request we received several months ago.

Two Western meditators had a particular reverence towards the great 20th century monk Webu Sayadaw, and wished to have us plan a full pilgrimage in which they went strictly to sites related to him, and him only. This narrow focus was a wonderful challenge to our team. We spent nearly 6 weeks doing research for the trip. While we were well acquainted with the three main monasteries in Shwebo, Ingyinbin, and Kyaukse that Webu Sayadaw established, we had less familiarity with those sites and influences that played a substantial role in his life, and we felt strongly that a visit to such places would help the visiting meditator gain a deeper appreciation into the life and work of this great teacher.

Our research led us to, you can say, the "before" and "after" sites related to Webu. The "before" sites are those which helped develop the young Ashin Kumara, as he was known in his earlier years. For example, although almost all of the time Webu spent deep in forests remain a near total mystery, we do know for certain that he stayed for some time with Shwebo Pathein Sayadaw and Nyaung Lon Sayadaw, and so a visit to both contemporary meditation monasteries today have been arranged.

Then there are the "after" sites, or those which follow the legacy of Webu's teachings today. These include contemporary meditation teachers in Myanmar who were inspired or taught by Webu, and continue in his tradition today.

After such meticulous planning, we were very pleased that we were able to provide such a special plan for our guests. For 22 days, they will exclusively see all aspects of the great arahant's life! What a wonderful way to spend your vacation in the Golden Land.

Seen here is a photo of what looks to be an ordinary wooden structure. However, there is nothing ordinary at all about it. It is from this platform that Webu would go to each evening, and from which, so we are told today, where he would give Dhamma discourses to all the invisible beings that would assemble below each evening to hear him.