The fighting inches closer to Webu Sayadaw Monastery

Several days ago we updated the practitioners community about the terrible violence and lack of necessities (such as food and medicine) that Webu Monastery in Ingyinbin was facing. While this report was specifically prepared by our local team in order to inform meditators around the world how one very special monastery was managing, it is sad to report that the region around Ingyinbin has now come into the national spotlight.

Those yogis who have visited the village may recall how the public bus does not go as far as the remote monastery, but only manages to reach the closest town, known as Khin U. Yesterday, soldiers have descended upon this Khin U in force, and the little information we have heard is simply devastating.

Several families have been detained under suspicion of giving donation to CDM employees, and over a dozen youths have been gunned down in broad daylight (refer to the table below for the names of the fallen, prepared by Myanmar Now). The following image shows two young boys from Khin U trying to escape into the fields, killed in stride as they were still holding hands.

Our local team is trying once again to establish contact with Webu Monastery to inquire about their safety and proximity to the Tatmadaw assaults. For those yogis who have been fortunate enough to make it to this special site, which includes the very hut where Webu is believed to have reached full enlightenment, it is upsetting beyond words to think of the current instability that villagers and monastics alike are now facing. After all, this is a monastery that survived World War II, the infighting of the 1950s, and over a half century of dictatorship and oppressive military rule. The head monk is a gentle soul who ordained under Webu when he was just 17 years old, and who has experimented with artistic ability in drawing portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Please continue to hold Ingyinbin in your thoughts, metta, prayers, and good wishes. And for those who might like to do more, consider a donation.