Contrasting Mahāsī Sayadaw and Sayagyi U Ba Khin
“Mahāsī Sayadaw was unlike U Ba Khin, who isolated on basic phenomena, primarily sweeping the body [with the attention]. What appealed to me about Mahāsī Sayadaw’s understanding and presentation of Satipatthāna mindfulness practice was called the ‘all-posture meditation.’ Sitting, standing, walking, reclining, lying down, and then ‘everything in between.’ The emphasis wasn’t so much on sitting as it was [on] being mindful in all activities. It took the pressure off of, I would call it, ‘postural Apartheid.’ Many people think that sitting or standing is the priority of how you get concentrated, [that] if you’re not singular on your nostrils and the sensations, the ānāpāna, [then] samādhi won’t really become focused. But there, they were saying, ‘This is a wisdom center; approach the day, when you’re not sleeping, as a day of awakening. Take it [the focus] off of [merely] sitting, standing, walking, or lying down.’ We were encouraged for a long time to eat every mouthful of food as if it were our first and our last. Constantly, the instruction was [to] take the speed out of what you’re doing.”