Meditation Masters

Yetkan Sintaung Sayadaw	The benefits of Meditation Meditation is the act of focusing your mind on a given object. This object may be the name of "God" or "Buddha" or "Allah" or the physical attributes of your body or mind. There are forty methods of meditation in Theravada Buddhism. Some Theravada Buddhists count their beads by saying "Arahan" for each bead. Arahan is one of the attributes of the Buddha. It means "He who is worthy of the highest veneration. He who is venerated by devas, brahmas and men." Doing meditation does not make you a Buddhist. In fact meditation is just a method that can be used by anyone for controlling stress, upgrading your will powers or gaining more insight into the workings of your mind. You do not need to sit still to do meditation. You can do meditation in the subway, in your office before you begin your day's work or even while doing your daily chores. The good thing is that it is free, nobody knows that you are meditating and the more you do it, the more you feel better. However for serious meditation, it is better to have a quiet place where you will not be disturbed by anyone. After your meditation, you will feel light, your mind will be clearer and your will power will increase day by day. Kyaw Myaing
Meditation on the body	Annica, Dukkha, Anatta ..... Impermanence, Suffering, No control
Meditation on the mind	Annica, Dukkha, Anatta .... Impermanence, Suffering, No control

BaKhin2.jpg (111129 bytes)

Sayagyi U Ba Khin, one of the famous meditation masters in Burma. He was the founder of the International Meditation Center and was one of my teachers. Sayagyi's teacher was Anagan Saya Thetgyi. Sayagyi was my second teacher, my uncle being my first teacher. I attended meditation courses at the International Meditation Center when I was in the 10th standard in 1961. I have very fond memories of Sayagyi and Sayamagyi. I was introduced to this center by my aunt called Kyi Kyi Gyi which in Burmese means great aunt. We had to wake up before dawn and meditate the whole day for ten days. Each course lasted ten days. The meals were vegetarian and I liked the breakfast very much which consisted of steamed white rice, pei-byoke or beans and coffee. We all did ana-pana meditation to get concentration and then were asked to concentrate on the top of the head and then shift our attention to other parts of the body from the head to the toes. It was very intense. After the ana-pana we did meditation on the three characteristics of mind and matter. We focused on annica - impermanence.

In the evening, Sayagyi would give us a religious lecture on meditation techniques mixing it with the Buddha stories he had read and his personal experiences. At night we would all gather near the Seti (Chedi) and enjoy light conversation as well as the cool breeze. I can still feel the peaceful atmosphere and the rustle of leaves of the bodhi nyaung tree near the Seti. It was a wonderful experience.

I am proud to be a disciple of Sayagyi.

There are now many meditation centers operated in his tradition. For the International Meditation Centers run in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin please see this link: (http://www.webcom.com/~imcuk/)