Burma Day 17: A Day in Mingun
One can read about the previous days in the Sagaing Hills here, and to see how the following yatra group enjoyed Mingun, see here. You can also consider joining a later pilgrimage in Burma yourself. Kory Goldberg continues to record in his personal journal about the current pilgrimage now underway in Burma:
Pilgrims pause at the very well where the "floating knife" and the Vow of Truth took place in the life of Taung Phi Lar Sayadaw |
"After a quick morning meal of congee and beans we were off
to visit the sites in and around Mingun. We all piled into a pick-up
truck-cum-mini-bus for the pleasant, yet bumpy country drive. On the way we
stopped for our morning meditation session in a cave that once belonged to the 18th century monk Htut Khaung Sayadaw, the renegade monk who
freed himself from monastic convention to pursue an unfettered and disciplined
yogic life in the forest. The Sayadaw became famous not only for his dismissal
of traditional obligation, but for his respect for nuns and willingness to
teach them and provide a space for ascetic practice. This cave, where Venerable
Htut Khaung resided for much of his life, still teems with energy as a handful
of bhikkhus continue to practice here regularly. It’s incredible how fast an
hour flies by at such locations.
One of the pilgrims pays respect to a monk at the original site of Htut Khaung Sayadaw's 18th century monastery |
Our Sangha Dana today was at the monastery founded by the
late Mingun Sayadaw, the first Tipitika-dhara in modern history. Mingun Sayadaw
was made famous in the 1950s on a global scale for his ability to memorize the
entire Buddhist canon, approximately 18,000 pages long. He was even admitted
into the Guiness Book of World Records for this incredible feat. Today, nine of
his students have achieved the same textual mastery, keeping the words of the
Buddha close to their hearts and minds. At first glace, spending up to 10 hours
a day for years on end to memorize each and every word that the Buddha taught
may seem like a waste of one’s life. However, upon deeper reflection, we see
that doing so leaves very little space in one’s mind for the mundane and the
useless, and serves as a form of meditation practice that purifies the mind,
making space for such unique activity to take place (although he did say that
he does quiet the mind every morning upon rising and every evening before
retiring). The Mingun monk we met today did seem a little robotic in his
mannerism, yet he also seemed quite calm and other-worldly, not bothered by the
day-to-day inane issues that plague the average person’s mind. Although he did
admit that despite his super-human ability to commit the Buddha’s words to
memory, he still does misplace his glasses from time to time!
The group poses for a group photo at Mingun Monastery |
After the visit we struck the Mingun Bell (the second
largest in the world), visited a touristy pagoda, shopped and drank coconut
water. To return to Sagaing we took a pleasant 90-minute boat along the
Ayerwaddy River, seeing where Goekaji’s ashes were released and merged back to
nature. The boat ride was very peaceful, affording everyone a moment to relax
and recuperate from all the intense inner and outer journeying. Before retiring
at the Sitagu Academy, we mediated at a nunnery overseen by a 50-something
year-old saint named Daw Nu Kati who has been in robes since she was nine. She welcomed this
strange group of travelers into her compound, smiling wide, yet unsurprised by
this unlikely event. After meditating, she patiently and gladly answered some
of our questions about the life of not only a nun, but of a renowned meditation
master, a rarity for a woman in Buddhist Asia. She served us snacks, engaging
all the tastes: salty crackers, sour amla, sweet bananas, bitter tea. Her
presence was soothing and inspiring; totally present, yet not there at all.
Once again, a rare and precious moment not to be forgotten! As one pilgrim put
it, “it’s like Christmas every day!” Every day while on pilgrimage in such a
holy land is certainly a gift. But alas, these daily miracles will soon come to
an end, or rather, they will be replaced by other, less evident daily miracles.
The challenge is to see these subtle blessings with appreciation and gratitude
in whatever form they may take. Doing so will reveal how much we have really
learned on this journey through the Golden Land. Let’s see…"
To read about the final days, go here.
Pilgrims embark the boat in Mingun that will take them along the Ayeyarwaddy towards Sagaing, and over the place where Sayagyi U Goenka's ashes were scattered just months before |
After a long day, five smiling Burmese girls wait on the pilgrims at Sitagu Academy to offer an evening fruit plate |