Diligence in Meditation

“The Burmese people would flood into monasteries and meditation centers [during] holidays. I was blown away by their diligence in meditation, their ability to meditate with eyes closed and cross legged for hours at a stretch, straight from their ordinary day-to-day life.”

These are the reflections of the Buddhist nun Venerable Canda, a British meditator who found her spiritual home in Myanmar. She took robes over a decade ago in the Golden Land, and in this interview reflects on her time in the country and what she has gained through the depth of teachings and monasteries to be found here.

Ven. Canda's observation is a common one for many Western yogis. The experience of meditation is certainly not an easy one. A myriad of thoughts, fears, discomforts, along with an array of uncomfortable mental states and physical pains arise when taking an intensive meditation course for the first time. For most, it is a life-changing experience, but that does not mean it is by any means without its challenges! Yet as tumultuous and disruptive the experience of intensive meditation is for many Westerners, Ven. Canda observed with a sense of awe how integrated these teachings were within so many communities in Myanmar, to the extent that practitioners could leave behind their worldly life to almost seamlessly enter into a deep meditative state, a transition which would be almost unimaginable for many foreign yogis.