In Myanmar, a journey of renunciation
As the news in Myanmar continues to be grim, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on some of the many gifts that the Golden Land has offered the world. Foremost among them are the teachings of the Buddha, guiding a spiritual path towards full liberation. In a remarkable interview before the coup (and the pandemic) with Sayalay Khanticari, she described how she and her husband came to Myanmar after some time of meditating at the vipassana centers of S.N. Goenka. In the following excerpt, she describes the path that took the couple to their eventual renunciation.
“Deep in my heart, I went to Colombia say goodbye, and to tell them that I was fine. I was happy in Myanmar, and I wanted to continue my studies and my life there.”
Sayalay Khanticari: At that time, we were already more than one year living in Myanmar. And so that meant more renunciation from our lives in Colombia.
Host: So there was a fear was based on renunciation?
Sayalay Khanticari: Well, more than renunciation, it was like seeing how our lives were changing so dramatically and just maybe like, to make a pause in the life we were building in Colombia. So we paused, but then my family always wants to know what happened with me, like, ‘I didn't teach you this!’
My family said like this all the time, they were very worried. ‘Oh, you should come back! What are you doing? This meditation, how many years it will take you to learn? Why is this so long?’
So, all these fears. It was difficult to stop thinking in the future. In my case, I was raised to be something, and in whatever this thing I was, I was thought to be successful. So, now I was a little bit out of this stream, maybe as the Buddha described, as the Dhamma is always against this stream of society.
With this fear though, we did take the choice that yes, we will learn the Dhamma here. And actually one of the entrance questions at the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University in Yangon, during the interview with monks and then they asked me, ‘Do you know what the difference between pariyatti, patipatti, and pativedha?’ And I didn’t!
But they accepted me as a student, maybe because I didn’t know anything. So we we went and did a one year diploma class and then we start learning about the vinaya. And then exploring more about monastic life and then the suttas, the discourses of the Buddha… all of these are so deep. Here in Myanmar you meet people with really deep dedication to study! For some, all the life is dedicated to these Dhamma studies. Abhidhamma was one of my favorite classes, and my husband and I continued that for one and a half years more, so at the university I did two and a half years of study in total.
And then we did some months of Pali study, beautiful months! At the same time, I continued my practice at Panditrama meditation center. We used to go on the weekends between classes. They have a beautiful library over there.
Later on, I went back to visit my family in Colombia, because I promised them to be in for Christmas. At this time it was already two years in Myanmar. Yet deep in my heart, actually, I went to say goodbye, and to tell them that I was fine. I was happy in Myanmar, and I wanted to continue my studies and my life there.
Host: Did you go back home to Colombia alone, or were you with your husband?
Sayalay Khanticari: No, I went alone. Yet during that same time, my husband was very interested in temporary ordination as a monk. We already had a one ordination in Panditarama, each for one month. When I went to Columbia, he ordained as a monk back in Myanmar. And when I came back, actually, he was still a monk. Two months later, I also ordained.