Introducing S.N. Goenka to Sayagyi U Ba Khin

“Mr. Goenka thanked my father, [saying] that it was the only way that this migraine left him, because of his meditation. And now we know that he has set up so many centers! He's doing such good things for the Buddhist world by talking about his own experiences, and what [Dhamma] is.”

So says Sunda Khin on a recent podcast episode, whose father, U Chan Htoon, first suggested to that young Indian businessman, S.N. Goenka, that he should try a meditation course with Sayagyi U Ba Khin.

Sunda Khin talks at length about her father, an esteemed figure in Burmese history. He became the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and was entrusted by General Aung San with drafting Burma's inaugural constitution after it gained independence from Great Britain. U Chan Htoon was also very close to U Nu, the first Prime Minister of Burma, and was the head of the World Fellowship of Buddhists from 1958 to 1963.

Regarding U Chan Htoon’s friendship with Goenka, it began through their shared attempt to limit the slaughter of cattle during the ‘Eid holiday, after which Goenka became a regular guest in their household. Goenka later expressed great gratitude for U Chan Htoon's guidance in introducing him to Vipassana meditation. “My good friend (Kalyan Mitra) U Chan Htoon guided me to Sayagyi U Ba Khin,” he would say. “I shall always remain grateful to him and shall keep on sharing with him all the merits that I accumulate while treading this Noble Path.” For their part, U Chan Htoon, along with his daughter, Sunda Khin and the rest of the family, watched the growing success of Goenka’s global vipassana mission with a mixture of amazement and pride that that they had played some small role in kickstarting it.