Seeking Liberation
Coming Soon…
This interview was conducted with the Czech monk, Ashin Sarana, in January, 2020 in Myanmar. Much has changed in the subsequent years: he escaped the country after finding himself in the military’s crosshairs, and then chose to disrobe. During this past discussion, he discussed the projects he was overseeing at the time. While the status of these projects are currently unknown, the insight gleaned from them are as relevant as ever.
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As a young adult, as can be heard in an earlier episode, an interest in magic and psychic powers had led Ashin Sarana to learn about the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, which inspired him to take robes. He initially envisioned living life as a monk in Sri Lanka. However, a Burmese monk he met in a Sri Lankan village monastery changed the trajectory of his path. The monastic’s kindness, patience, and self-sacrifice left a lasting impression. “I had never seen a human like that,” Ashin Sarana later wrote, and that experience compelled him to turn his focus to Myanmar.
His original intention was to ordain at a remote forest monastery in rural Myanmar, where there would be no other foreigners, in hopes of minimizing distractions so he could fully immerse himself in practice. However, bureaucratic limitations funneled him to instead stay at Shwe Oo Min Monastery. This well-known meditation center had a substantial foreign contingent, which allowed them to more easily provide Ashin Sarana with a meditation visa. Though he was hesitant at first, he eventually received full ordination there and committed to staying five years with his preceptor, as prescribed by Vinaya (the Buddhist monastic code).
During those years, Ashin Sarana built relationships with several Sayadaws (monastic teachers), most notably his preceptor, from whom he learned Vinaya (the monastic discipline), and Sayadaw U Tejaniya, whose teachings he explored extensively. Although his relationship with Sayadaw U Tejaniya began with some ideological divergence—Ashin Sarana initially wished to focus on mettā (loving-kindness) rather than the vipassanā (mindfulness) practice emphasized at Shwe Oo Min—the two developed mutual respect. Ashin Sarana translated U Tejaniya’s book, Dhamma Everywhere, into an audiobook and eventually received permission from him to teach meditation, provided he did so outside the monastery’s grounds.
This marked a turning point. Ashin Sarana began accepting students—both local and foreign—and gradually became one of the only Western monks in Myanmar offering Dhamma instruction in Burmese and English. Though he downplays his uniqueness, his role is undeniably rare and significant. His Burmese fluency, deep understanding of monastic discipline, and ability to teach in multiple languages make his position distinctive.
Ashin Sarana describes how his teaching career was not planned as a public endeavor, but it developed organically into one. He shares how it all began: several years ago, he had posted a picture of his father and himself on Facebook, taken on his return visit to the Czech Republic after 10 years in Myanmar, and wrote about how their relationship had improved. The post went viral because of its emotional and human appeal, and the image of a monk (especially a foreign one) reconnecting with his family touched on themes of filial piety, transformation, and reconciliation; values that Ashin Sarana explains hold a special cultural and religious weight in Myanmar. Ultimately, this single post attracted many Burmese followers to his account. This sudden increase in audience evolved into a forum where followers began asking him questions about the Dhamma, with more and more people expressing an interest in learning meditation and Buddhist study from Ashin Sarana. This, in turn, grew into a larger platform, and he began answering Dhamma questions online, sharing video teachings, and creating a vibrant stream of questions and answers on social media. In essence, then, this became Ashin Sarana’s introduction to Burmese Buddhist society. As one of the most recognizable foreign monastics in Myanmar, he acknowledges the pressures that come with visibility. “It's not like I want to be viral… It's more like I have here the Dhamma. You want to hear it? Okay, so here you have it.”
A central strength that Ashin Sarana carries is his remarkable ability to communicate across languages, reflecting his belief that spiritual growth must be rooted in cultural context. For Ashin Sarana, mastery of the language of the scriptures, combined with fluency in the vernacular of his Burmese teachers, mentors, and peers, is vital for a deeper understanding of the teachings. He views culture as integral to spiritual practice and, having navigated multiple cultural worlds himself, recognizes how this unique perspective enriches his capacity to teach both Burmese and non-Burmese students with effectiveness and insight.
Ashin Sarana next goes into his many projects. Chief among these is his Video Meditation Course—a mammoth undertaking that aims to present all 62 Theravadan meditation practices, comprising 40 samathā (concentration) techniques and 22 vipassanā (insight) methods as described in the Satipaṭṭhāna and other suttas, and the Visuddhimagga. His vision is to make a “video encyclopedia” that can reach modern audiences, including those with little or no prior exposure to Buddhism, showing how technical innovation can be used to modernize traditional Dhamma teachings and make them seem more relevant.
To make it engaging and thorough, Ashin Sarana and his team have produced hundreds of paintings in the Burmese style, commissioned animations, and filmed in lush forest settings for aesthetic impact. He emphasizes that it's not just about content, but delivery: “I want to make it so interesting that people who really don't want to know anything about Buddhism, if they happen to start to watch this, they will be so interested that they will watch more and more.”
The project is ambitious not only in scope but in scholarly rigor. Each script is checked by senior Burmese Sayadaws and Dhamma experts to ensure fidelity to the texts. “I have already given the lectures to these great monks for checking, and they said there is not a single mistake!” Ashin Sarana proudly notes. The lectures exist as drafts now, with printed materials available for his in-person yogis, but broader public release is pending completion of animations and technical work. Ashin Sarana is particularly interested in breaking the mold of what he views as the typical Western approach to Buddhist meditation, which he feels is overly centered on the observation of breath—a practice which he has come to feel is challenging for many yogis is hard to concentrate on. He hopes that displaying the full breadth of Buddhist meditation practices in this engaging format will inspire meditators to find more conducive ways into the practice, so they don’t prematurely give up.
Another project Ashin Sarana is deeply involved in is the subtitling and translation of 20+ hours of original recordings by Sayagyi U Ba Khin, the teacher of S.N. Goenka. Though the recordings are largely discourses rather than meditation instructions, Ashin Sarana is fascinated by the depth of their content, which includes scriptural references and anecdotes about the various foreign yogis who came to learn at his center. He was struck by U Ba Khin’s insistence that students should never misrepresent one’s practice to one’s meditation teacher—a refrain that appears repeatedly across talks—and by his disciplined, no-nonsense tone. Ashin Sarana’s methodology is meticulous. He is currently training a team to subtitle the original Burmese recordings before personally checking the texts for accuracy. Once the Burmese transcript is verified, he will then begin English translation. “Only when I'm really sure that this is the best transcript possible,” he explains, “then I will be more interested in translating it.”
Ashin Sarana has also co-created bilingual dictionaries, written extensively on Dhamma topics, collaborated on the Shwe Lan Ga Lay meditator’s guidebook, and taught in Thailand and Singapore at the request of Burmese communities. Like his larger projects, all of these endeavors also require the support of volunteers dedicated to the teachings and working as part of collaborative teams, which Ashin Sarana explains is key in spiritual work; he says that the Buddha himself stressed the importance of community and interdependence.
Another fascinating part of Ashin Sarana’s work is his personal quest to locate living Arahants (fully enlightened beings) in Myanmar. Spurred by reports of such teachers in the forest, he made several trips to remote monasteries, guided by recommendations from his online following. However, his encounters often left him skeptical. In one case, he asked a reputed Arahant whether those who are fully enlightened can fall asleep. The monk replied that they could. Ashin Sarana, puzzled, pointed out that such a view contradicts the canonical teaching that enlightened beings retain continuous mindfulness.
Ashin Sarana makes clear that he isn’t trying to disprove claims of enlightenment; rather, he’s searching for a scrupulous and principles model he himself wishes to emulate. He is seeking a figure whose presence, behavior, and understanding fully embody the ideal of an awakened life. Thus far, he says, he’s met monks he believes to be non-returners (third stage of enlightenment), but not yet a convincing Arahant.
This distinction matters to Ashin Sarana, not just as a personal aspiration, but because he believes the role of a teacher in Theravāda Buddhism should be reserved for those who are spiritually accomplished or at least deeply versed in scriptures. He references the Sandaka Sutta, in which the Buddha outlines how disciples should spend time with a teacher and check them thoroughly—not rushing to judgment but observing over time.
Even with his rigorous schedule and intense output, his curiosity and dedication to lifelong learning, Ashin Sarana remains grounded in a meditative lifestyle. Though often overwhelmed with responsibilities, he insists meditation gives him the clarity and energy to continue. “Meditation helps a lot,” he says simply, adding that his real aspiration is to return to the forest. He notes how he found his ideal site in Sagaing’s vast Maha Myaing forest, at a monastery called The Phyu, or “White Sand Monastery.” There, monastics live in individual huts scattered through the jungle, and even deeper into the forest if they choose. Ashin Sarana acknowledges that it’s his dream location, and he plans to resume a life of intensive meditation there once his current responsibilities are complete. Even the projects he’s involved in, while outwardly for the benefit of others, lead to that same goal, he explains. Through his study, teaching, and translation work, he refines his understanding and prepares for the time when he can withdraw again into solitude and practice deeply.
“I want to be an Arahant who always has mindfulness [and] who never falls asleep.”