Episode 28: Voices: Burmese Theravada in a Catholic Land, Part 2
This is the second episode in our series exploring Filipino meditators drawn to the Dhamma of the Golden Land. If you haven’t heard the previous show, we recommend you take a moment to do so now. In this episode, we tell the story of just one Filipino meditator: Raymond Rivera, or Mon for short.
This episode is sponsored by Moe Thu, and he dedicates it to the families and colleagues of Royal Dutch Shell company.
While there are thousands of Filipinos living throughout Myanmar, most are working in some capacity or other, with only a small minority traveling there primarily for the Dhamma. Mon is one of those few, and this is his story.
Like many Filipinos, Mon was raised Catholic, and so for many years was highly skeptical of trying out any form of Buddhist meditation. His first experiences of contemplation came in the form of Christian meditation, with which felt more comfortable given his background. Alongside this, he began to practice martial arts, and eventually became interested in Asian spirituality.
His first taste came in the form of a ten-day vipassana course as taught by S.N. Goenka. Mon was especially interested in this tradition because he was able to enroll a course with no fear of religious conversion, given the secular emphasis of the organization. He was immediately hooked, and estimates that for the following several years, he took more courses than any one else in the Philippines.
In order to associate with a Buddhist community in a country with so few other vipassana meditators, Mon started to sit with another Buddhist group. Even though he continued to just meditate with anapana during those times, the local vipassana center accused him of practicing another technique, and he was banned from attending future courses. This sudden shock set Mon off to find other forms of Dhamma practice, and as he had been learning a Burmese tradition, he felt that Myanmar was the natural place to go.
It all turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as Mon used this setback to explore another course forward in his meditation. Eventually, he spent extended, valuable time in the Golden Land at an array of monasteries, and describes the Dhamma treasures he learned at each of them. At Mogok Monastery, he shares his gratitude for receiving specialized English instructions and discourses from Sayadaw U Asabha. At Thabarwa, he was deeply moved by the sense of service they promote and practiced meditation in the morgue. He had never applied himself with so much vigor as he did at Sun Lun under the instruction of Sayadaw U Wara, and marveled at how much energy the hard breathing technique provides. Chan Myay Myaing was a time to focus exclusively on mettā meditation, followed by a start in understanding the Mahasi style of vipassana. He cherished the more relaxed methodology of Sayadaw U Tejaniya in the Shwe Oo Min method. And finally, in a kind of coming home, at the International Meditation Center, he learned from Sayagyi U Khin Zaw, the only living student of Sayagyi U Ba Khin; he contrasts the vipassana instruction he was given there with the instructions given at Goenka centers.
Mon doesn’t see his spiritual journeys and newfound knowledge as only a personal benefit to himself, but has a great desire to share it for the value of his fellow Filipinos. He now serves as kind of the nexus of Dhamma activity in the country. Mon regularly guides younger spiritual aspirants, and hopes to one day organize a pilgrimage to Burma and other Buddhist countries. Through the several Facebook pages and group forums he manages, he answers questions, shares information, and encourages others in his community to make their spiritual journeys. He has also arranged for the travel of many renowned Buddhist monks to come and teach in Manila, and hopes to one day found a Theravada monastery as well.
And to bring the story full circle, Mon reports that his status as a vipassana meditator in the Goenka tradition has recently been re-instated, so he is able to continue sitting ten-day courses in the Philippines.
Mon is a special person, and we were so privileged to get this much of his time to hear his story unfold!