On the Ropes

In looking back at the turbulent recent history of her country, Sayalay Chandadhika, a Burmese Buddhist nun based in Germany, sees a never-ending spiral of destructive patterns that continue to produce the same disastrous results. How to disrupt this disturbing trend? In her words, the response is clear: “We need another method, and I cannot see another method rather than mettā.”Speaking to us from Germany, Sayalay Chandadhika affirms that mettā, or the practice of loving kindness, is not merely some optimistic or naïve way to engage with a difficult situation like Myanmar’s present circumstances, it is actually the very spirit we are seeing right now on display during the country’s daily protests. As an example, she describes a particularly tense standoff between protesters and police, which was defused by civilians offering the officers cool water on a hot day. She notes that this wasn’t merely a clever tactic to trick the police towards gaining some tactical advantage, rather it was a simple and generous action borne out of a mind trained in mettā.Through examples like these, Sayalay Chandadhika describes something truly stunning: a people whose lifelong spiritual practice of cultivating wholesome tendencies now finds itself facing the aggression of a professionally trained military with just those positive qualities of mind, like mettā, as their “weapon” of choice for self-defense. In her description, we can see how the non-violent struggle of the Burmese people today —in large part grounded in their Buddhist practice and identity—has firm connections with the Civil Rights Movement in America and Gandhi’s crusade in India.A note about our mission here at Insight Myanmar Podcast. While it usually takes us several weeks at minimum to produce an episode, we feel that the current moment demands a faster turn-around, and we are working to get out episodes now within just days. However, this can be challenging for a primarily volunteer organization, especially one with limited funds. We hope to continue bringing interviews on this topic, but we need your support to do so. If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

22 Feb 20211h 34min

“We are already in the danger. So we don’t care anymore. The dawn won’t be that much darker than the midnight. And we are already in the midnight, so the darkness can’t be much worse. We are at the peak of the darkness.”These were the words of Inda Aung Soe as military tanks were rolling past at the start of our free-flowing and open interview, when asked if he felt safe talking to us from the chaotic streets of Yangon. Inda’s brave response echoes a resilience exemplified by the Burmese people during the shocking events of this month, and kicked off his description of the growing protest movement taking shape across the country. Having been a Buddhist monk himself for many years, Inda is able to reflect not just on the mood of lay protesters, but also at monasteries and among his monastic friends.Despite these harrowing experiences, Inda affirms a strong set of values that protesters have committed themselves to, in particular non-violence, refusing to cause harm to other beings even in the face of the military’s and their proxies’ aggressions. Inda notes that the military’s attempts to sow dissention among the Burmese people is failing in part because of this value.And according to Inda, commitment to non-violence is not the only thing the military has not understood about the current moment. He shares there is no single leader organizing the movement, so the military can’t stop it by hunting down specific activists, as they have done in the past. Instead, Inda describes an entire population that has stepped up as one to claim its basic freedoms and human rights. He and Zach share a laugh that the usually chaotic and disorganized Burmese society has somehow, overnight, formed itself into a plastic, integrated structure capable of quickly responding as a whole to the most sophisticated attacks—physical as well as psychological—from a professionally trained military.Inda closes by thanking the foreign community for its generosity and support during these difficult times, from both inside and outside the country. We also would like to encourage you to share it widely to help make Inda’s and the Burmese people’s struggles more widely known. The light in the Golden Land is still on, but faint and in danger of flaming out; it is happening in real time.A note about our mission here at Insight Myanmar Podcast. While it usually takes us several weeks at minimum to produce an episode, we feel that the current moment demands a faster turn-around. However, this can be challenging for a primarily volunteer organization, especially one with limited funds. We hope to continue bringing interviews on this urgent topic with Buddhist practitioners, teachers, and scholars, but we need your support to do so. If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

16 Feb 202152min

“The Dhamma is so central to this culture, and [yet] not understood by the people who write about this place in the media from overseas. So all those sorts of things get reported from a vacuum of understanding about how incredibly important it is, for this whole culture.”So says Daw Viranani, an American Buddhist nun based in Chan Myay Myaing Monastery in northern Yangon. We were able to talk with her just before a nationwide Internet black-out hit the country. Since the military coup on February 1st, Myanmar has been one of the trending topics and major stories across news networks and social media platforms. And yet, as Daw Viranani points out, the core Buddhist practice animating much of the country’s spiritual life is barely mentioned in foreign reporting, let alone understood. In this interview, we address the current situation, but avoid the usual angles of analyzing politics, history, or biographies of the major players. Instead, Daw Viranani brings a Buddhist perspective to bear on the current events. She shares the teachings that resonate with her in this difficult moment, and talks of the power of practicing mettā-bhavana, or loving-kindness meditation, and radiating these good wishes to all beings—even those we have difficult feelings towards.A note about our mission here at Insight Myanmar Podcast. While it usually takes us several weeks at minimum to produce an episode, we feel that the current moment demands a faster turn-around, and we managed to release this episode after just 36 hours. However, this can be challenging for a primarily volunteer organization, especially one with limited funds. We hope to continue bringing interviews on this topic with Buddhist practitioners, teachers, and scholars, but we need your support to do so. If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

6 Feb 20211h 19min

Antonio Costanzo and his team may never solve all the mysteries of the life of the great Italian monk U Lokanatha, but they are certainly trying!Even the little we know of U Lokanatha’s spiritual resume puts him in rarefied air. A forerunner of the Buddhist modernist movement, he took up a meditation practice before it was commonplace and was one of the first to talk extensively about the connection between scientific thought and the Buddha’s teachings. His life intersected with many of the great figures of his day, and just to name a few: General Aung San considered abandoning the nationalist struggle to ordain under him; the President of Sri Lanka considered him a close friend; Ambedkar relied on his advice before bringing several million Indians into Buddhism; U Lokanatha attempted to convert both the Pope and Mussolini to Buddhism; he was close to such Buddhist luminaries as the Pāḷi scholar de Lorenzo and Sun Lun Sayadaw and Webu Sayadaw; and his teachings and meditation practice may have influenced Sayagyi U Ba Khin and S.N. Goenka.And yet despite all this, somehow U Lokanatha managed to practically disappear from the historical record within a half century (during a time of mass media to boot), his name almost lost to contemporary generations of Buddhist and mindfulness practitioners and scholars alike. But Antonio and his team have something to say about this, and in this episode, he explains how he came on to take on this research project, and what contemporary meditators can learn about this inspiring figure.Please note that this episode was produced before the February 1st coup that took place in Myanmar. We hope to bring upcoming shows responding to this event by conducting interviews with Dhamma practitioners based in Myanmar. Please consider supporting our effort with a donation. We can be found on PayPal, CashApp, Venmo, Go Fund Me, and other platforms by searching "Insight Myanmar," and also accept credit cards on our website.

2 Feb 20211h 8min

“And then there was a particular moment in the meditation where it was almost as if awareness separated out from the rest of the objects of consciousness.” So begins David Sudar on sharing about one of his most powerful meditation experiences, which occurred during one sitting at Shwe Oo Min Monastery in Yangon.David describes how in this transformational moment, he was able to maintain a clear awareness even as the process of thinking continued, and that this was the first moment he was able to observe his thoughts and feelings without becoming entangled in them. As he goes on to say, “I was just like, oh my goodness, this is what I get fooled by, these tingling sensations throughout the body, these piercing sensations, these impulses. And now, it was so obvious that all of that was optional, that wasn't a ‘given’ in my experience, that I would have to get entangled, or identified, or grasp on to things.”The talk unfolds with David describing this experience in further detail, as well as what conditions led it to arise and how his meditation practice and spiritual awakening unfolded after that moment of insight.We then go on to discuss a wide range of topics, including the personality and methodology of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, the evolution of mindfulness training across traditions, the role of thinking in formal practice, and the prevalence of the Mahasi technique in Myanmar.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

24 Jan 20211h 21min

Today’s episode explores a journey from the fashion runway to the meditation hall. An actress, model, and beauty queen, Luissa Burton discusses the circuitous route that ultimately brought her to meditation practice in Myanmar.Luissa’s career trajectory did not follow the conventional narrative of the fashion industry. From childhood, she was stricken with two serious skin conditions, eczema and psoriasis, and struggled with eating disorders throughout her modeling career. Luissa certainly has a unique perspective from which to reflect on her struggles and celebrity. Today she is helping reinvent what it means to be a social influencer in the 21st century, advocating for young people to focus more on self-love and inner acceptance instead of distorting their personality and body image in a quest to become popular or conform to society’s messaging. An inner focus on healthy living and non-harm to all beings ultimately led Luissa to meditation, which was further motivated after passing through a “dark night of the soul.” Following an inner voice compelling her to come to Myanmar, she enrolled in a ten-day course in the tradition of S. N. Goenka at Dhamma Joti, and then followed up the retreat with an eco-tour around the country.The talk covers a number of key topics, including the contrast between being a dedicated meditator and a famous international fashion model, the definition of “beauty” in contemporary Western society, and how meditation practice disrupts a dualistic understanding.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

15 Jan 20212h 19min

What place does engagement in social justice issues have, if any, within vipassana meditation centers in the tradition of S.N. Goenka? That is question Clyde Ford is asking, and is at the heart of a training session he led for teachers and students at Dhamma Kunja, a vipassana center in Washington state.In addition to being a corporate trainer on racial justice, Clyde is himself a dedicated vipassana meditator in the Goenka tradition. He is also a software engineer, a chiropractor, a psychotherapist, an environmentalist, a 12-time, award-winning author, and currently a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow. He has appeared on Oprah and NPR, among other shows, to share his expertise.In this episode, Clyde shares what led to his ground-breaking training at Dhamma Kunja, and what topics he covered in the session. We talk about spiritual bypass, past attempts at targeting courses for African American communities being blocked by the US leadership, proactive outreach opportunities to communities of color, ensuring that vipassana centers are more inclusive, the appointment of Black teachers, and finding a balance between spiritual practice and worldly affairs.This fascinating discussion provides an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look at how one North American vipassana center in the tradition of S.N. Goenka is exploring ways to transition into greater sensitivity in the second decade of the 21st century.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

6 Jan 20211h 55min

This is the second episode in our series exploring Filipino meditators affected by the Dhamma of the Golden Land. Here, we tell the story of just one Filipino meditator: Raymond Riveria, or Mon for short.Mon was attracted to martial arts, but being raised Catholic, he was initially skeptical of Asian forms of religious practice. His first formal practice came in the form of Christian meditation, and he was then intrigued by the secular framing of the vipassana organization in the tradition of S.N. Goenka.Mon took a course, and was hooked, going on to sit so many subsequent courses that he speculates he might have been the most experienced Filipino meditator in this tradition at the time. His growing interest led him to visit other monasteries, however, which through a misunderstanding earned him a ban from attending any other courses in the Goenka tradition.Disappointed, Mon looked for a silver lining, and found it in the form of constructing his own personal pilgrimage to Myanmar. There, he visited six different monasteries and meditation centers: Mogok, Thabarwa, Sun Lun, Chan Myay Myaing, Shwe Oo Min, and the International Meditation Center. Sharing insight and personal experience, Mon traces his journey into these different spiritual traditions, highlighting the strengths of each teaching.At a time of pandemic when so many of us are locked down and unable to go outside, let alone travel, join us on a virtual pilgrimage through the different meditative traditions of the Golden Land!If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

27 Dec 20201h 23min