This booklet written by Roger Bischoff is intended to offer a short history of Buddhism in Myanmar from its origins through the country's loss of independence to Great Britain in the late nineteenth century.
Every country or every race has its own moral culture which is the characteristic of that country or that race. As for Myanmar, it has its own culture which is based on Buddhism. This text is concerned with Buddhist moral manners, namely: courtesy (Polite manners), gentleness in speech (Verbal politeness) and good thought (Mental politeness).
Information on Chanmyay Yeiktha, Mahasi Yeiktha and other popular centres in Myanmar, their abbots and teachings.
Thabarwa Center is open full-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week without recess. It is the sanctuary for persons from all regions of Myanmar who seek refuge for care and attention and desire to practice meditation.
The center provides sanctuary for more than 2,400 yogis (as of February 2014) including aged persons, sick, infirm, blind, deaf, disabled, mental cases, homeless and helpless. Sanctuary is provided without discrimination or restriction as to number, time, age, health condition, nationality, social status, religion, etc.
Food, lodging and teaching are provided free of charge.
It is the place where volunteers can donate their skills, time, energy, labor, money and materials to gain merit and practice meditation for a worthy cause, and to look after the welfare of the residents taking refuge at Thabarwa Center. Thabarwa channels the money and materials received in donations to provide a peaceful venue for people to practice Dhamma without worry.
The meditation practiced at the centre is Vipassana Meditation or Mindfulness Meditation based on Sattipatthana Sutta and the Mahasi Sayadaw method. Meditators meditate from 4.00h a.m. until 9.00h p.m. Sitting and walking meditation are alternated. The rest of the time will be filled with an attentive and slow performance of daily routines such as getting up, washing, getting dressed, eating, taking a shower and so on. It is very important to create a continuous and uninterrupted attentiveness at all times and during every possible activity.
The instructions, interviews, and Dhamma talks of Sayadaw U Indaka are translated into English. When Ven. Virañani is present, she can provide instruction in English, and also understands French. When Ariya Baumann is at the centre, she gives talks in English and can also offer one-on-one instructions in Swiss German, German, and French.
Chanmyay Yeiktha ('Peaceful Hermitage') is a Buddhist meditation centre in Rangoon, Myanmar (Burma) where the teachers are senior Buddhist monks who teach Vipassana (Insight) meditation in Myanmar and English languages. Anyone who takes a keen interest in mental development can practise meditation here, regardless of sex, race, nationality and religion.
Sayalay Dīpaṅkara generously extends her good conditions to other practitioners by conceptualizing, designing, and overseeing the construction of what is now the Brahma Vihārī Meditation Centre at Maymyo, Myanmar. Meditators benefited from her deeper intentions and abided unknowingly in the conditions, true to the Visuddhimagga and the Tipiṭaka.
In devoting her energy in sharing the Dhamma worldwide, students are able to stay within Brahma Vihārī for longer retreats through acts of dana. The rest of the year, Sayalay travels to the people who wish to learn, leaving little time for herself for self-practice and rest.
Sayalay teaches the forty kammaṭṭhāna leading to samādhi and vipassanā practice, and many other qualities a Buddhist needs to know and embody.
The Golden Path, or Shwe Lan Ga Lay, is a unique guide for Dhamma seekers who wish to develop in paṭipatti (practice) and pariyatti (theory) while in Myanmar, as well as to gain an appreciation of Burmese Buddhist and monastic life. Helpful logistical information is supplemented with yogi anecdotes, historical background, scholarly research, authentic local voices, Burmese proverbs, original artwork, inspiring photographs, and wisdom from some of the country's foremost monks, nuns, and meditation teachers.
Panditārāma Shwe-taung-gon Sasana Yeiktha is a meditation and study monastery. Established in October 1990 by Venerable Ovadacariya Sayadaw U Panditabhivamsa, this centre follows the great lineage of the late Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw.
The method of meditation taught here is observation of body, sensation, mind and general objects like seeing, hearing, smelling, etc. Rise and fall of the abdomen when sitting, and steps when walking are main objects to observe.
Pa-Auk Forest Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in the Theravāda tradition, with emphasis on the teaching and practice of both Samatha (tranquility) and Vipassana (insight) meditation. Situated in a forest along the Taung Nyo Mountain range in Mon State, Myanmar, the monastery provides a conducive setting for the practice of long-term, intensive meditation. Presently, there are over 100 foreign meditators, originating from over 20 countries, residing in the monastery.
Buddha Sasana Nuggaha Organization was founded in 1947 in Burma (now Myanmar) with the object of propagating the Buddha Sasana (i.e. Teaching of the Buddha) through scriptural learning and practice of Vipassana (Insight) meditation.
This meditation center was opened two years after the establishment of the above Organization, with the most Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw as its Principal Preceptor.
This modern meditation center built on over 6 acres of land, a vision of Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, was constructed by the generous donations of many. The first hall was completed in February 1999 with many additional buildings being added through 2004. Far from traffic and people, in the shade of the forest rests this center, a place to live in the joy of the Dhamma.