... and what about the foreign meditators?

This blog is largely dedicated to bringing Burmese Dhamma to Western meditators. Sharing inspiring stories, possibilities of practice, teachers and teaching traditions, etc. Although admittedly far down on the list of casualties inflicted by the military coup, the question does perhaps arise: how will this ultimately impact foreign meditators attracted to Burmese traditions?

The worst case answer is, the Golden Land will be completely and entirely closed to foreign monastics and lay meditators. This is not hyperbole and this is not conjecture. This is recorded history, dating not so long ago, fresh in the minds of an older generation. Throughout parts of the latter 20th century, foreign practitioners, even those under the umbrella of the most respected teachers of their time (Mahasi, U Pandita, Goenka, U Ba Khin, Taungpulu, etc) could at times not even enter the country, at other times were subjected to visas as short as a few days to a week.

It’s not just foreign meditators being blocked from coming in. It’s also Burmese Dhamma being blocked from going out. And scholars being blocked from studying the lives of these greats, and preserving them, and putting them in context. All of which only serves to further stunt the spread of Burmese masters, now and in the future, and coming at a time just when this very access was beginning to flower as never before.

All closed.

As painful as it may be for foreign meditators to realize that study, practice, ordination, and pilgrimage in Myanmar may, in the not-so-distant future, be an impossibility, this is nothing compared to what the Burmese people see in store ahead of them. So let’s just be clear on that.

So any gratitude you’ve ever had from a Burmese-based tradition… any spiritual transformation you’ve passed through along the path as a result… any teacher whose feet you’ve ever bowed down towards… any pagoda you’ve felt moments of peace passing through… any inspiration you’ve gained from being aside a monk or nun here… any lesson you’ve learned by being a part of Burmese Buddhist society… any moment of freedom you’ve felt by wearing the robes yourself… realize that this is what’s at stake now, for you and for the ones after you.

Do what you can, on and off the cushion. Find the balance of engaged Dhamma— enough practice to take the edge off of those drowning emotions, and enough connection with the world to avoid spiritual bypassing the tough realities before us. And about that latter— yeah, please realize how infuriating it is to hear yet another privileged Western meditator say, “I just sit on my cushion and send metta and it’s all karma anyway, so just be equanimous.”

But, do send metta. And do whatever else you can to help the Burmese people in their time of need, and keep open this portal of access to the Dhamma land.