A Visit to Ingyinbin
The blogger “riverflows” describes a pilgrimage two years ago to Webu Sayadaw monastery in Ingyinbin, an inspiring read for meditators who one day wish to visit here. (Note that there are some grammatical and factual errors in the essay which have not been altered)
Every since I was young, Burma had intrigued me, and I wasn't sure it was because, perhaps, I was just interested because it seemed such a mysterious place because tourists weren't allowed to enter.
However, it is said that those who practice dhamma in previous lifetimes will be attracted to it in the next, and I like to think that this is the case. It certainly was the case for my best friend, who has been practicing Vipassana, or Insight, meditation for 18 years now and is a senior teacher at the centres. When her and her husband invited us come to Burma with them, we jumped at the chance. Travelling with those who have spent a lot of time in the country you're travelling to is clearly advantageous, and they were also travelling with a Burmese Nun who lived in Sydney but returned every year. We'd travel with them for part of the journey and then go off on our own to Bagan and Lake Inle. Here I'm just focussing on our trip to Ingyin Bin monastry and village.
Our journey began after a day in Yangon. We were immediately struck by how faith permeated Burmese life, from beautiful stupas or pagodas to monks going about their day to day business. The Shwedagon pagoda was one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen in my life, and I've travelled quite a bit. I'll talk more about this in another post as I really just wanted to focus on Ingyin Bin, but I will share a couple of photos anyway as I can't resist.
We travelled straight up to Ingyin Bin Monastry, some two - three hours north of Mandalay. This particular monastery was part of a pilgrimage of sorts because Webu Sayadaw, who was born and raised in this town, was a wonderful meditation teacher and enlightened monk, whose teacher was U Bha Kin, who was also the teacher of Goenke. U Ba Khin had recalled the ancient prophecy that 2,500 years after Buddha, the insight teachings would return to India in their undiluted form, and from there, would spread across the entire world. At the time Burmese nationals weren't allowed to go, but Goenke was born in India, so it was up to him to fulfil U Bha Kin's wishes.
Some of you may have heard of Vipassana meditation because you have heard of the ten day silent retreats that are held in centres all across the world, and there are many here in Australia. The idea of silence is horrifying for some, but the practice is far more than that. Some liken their first day sit to childbirth - it's certainly painful physically and mentally as you deal with sensations that arise. Goenke Ji, the monk who brought Vipassana to the west, describes it very well.
The training involves strict moral conduct (it seems fairly easy really to abstain from killing or stealing in that environment, but for some, intoxicants or sexual activity might be more of a challenge) which helps calm the mind to prepare for self observation. Then, anapana is practiced - fixing the attention on the ever changing flow of breath as it enters, and leaves, the nostrils. By Day 4, the mind is calm and ready for the real practice of vipassana - observing sensations in the body, understanding thier nature, and learning not to react by practicing equanamity. Lastly, on the course, students practice metta or loving kindness toward all, sharing it with all beings. It's an incredible practice and I think everyone should sit at least one course in their lifetime. I know I'm mentioning my father alot in my steeming but I sat a 10 day course in the Blue Mountains with him and as he's struggling through chemo, he swears that this course changed his life and that he got an incredible amount of value in it that was helping him through his illness. I can honestly say the same - it was life changing, making me understand on a cellular level the nature of impermanence and the nature of my thoughts that would help me through anxiety and depression.
As we entered the monastry we were greeted by children, one of which was wearing the most incongruous shirts I'd ever seen (look closely at the kid on the far left) The children were fed and schooled in the monastry and it was an honour for the villagers to send them there. They were fascinated by the new arrivals - as the village is remote and they don't see many westerners (my friend estimated they have about 40 - 50 foreigners arrive each year, not as conventional tourists but meditators) they followed us around laughing and joking.
Althugh Webu Sayadaw died some time ago, his spirit is very strong in Ingyin Bin, where they deeply venerate and practice gratitude toward the Sangha or the monk community. The villagers loved him because he was loyal, as even though attained spiritual greatness, he still came back willingly to help the villagers get established in dhamma. This was seen as compassionate, as it helped them out of karmic suffering that had resulted in their poverty. The entire landscape seemed to celebrate and honour events from his noble past, vibrating with deep reverence.