The Pa Auk Sayadaw
This is the 2nd day of a chronicle of a 14-day meditation retreat at the Pa Auk Tawya in Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar. Published days are available via the links below:
Day Five — The Power Sublime Abiding
No need to read in order. Depending on what interests you, there will be days that you definitely don’t want to explore. Today I took a moment to present the teachers I met yesterday.
Note: In editing my chronicle, I have added supplemental information about Pali terms and Buddhist concepts to attempt to make the experience easier to read. Please check the links and do further research always. There is a lot to understand and I still consider myself among the Dhamma uninitiated.
3:00 AM — Alarm sounded. This is the time I usually wake in Korea. For the last couple of months, I have had to get my mindfulness of breathing training done in the early morning. When I am in Korea, that’s 3 AM. That’s the quietest period of the day.
I decided to let the alarm snooze. There was loads of time to get to the meditation hall. It was freezing and a shower would not be necessary.
4:10 AM — I exercised poor judgment. The hike took a bit longer than I anticipated. I am late and chanting already started.
Chanting
I was never big on chanting. The Gregorian-type stuff was cool with me, but Theravādin-type chants are not pleasing to the ear. Perhaps that was by design. There is no arousal of the senses. This is excellent for a sense fast.
To this day, I wonder why the forest monks chant. Adherents of the “Doctrine of the Elders” (that’s what Theravāda means) are so serious. They don’t cook, they don’t laugh, they don’t dance. They are a dry as ancient parchment paper, especially in comparison to their colorful, Mahāyānan colleagues.
I wager chanting is used to aid recollection of important details. Perhaps early monks didn’t carry a pen and paper, yet they need to keep specific things in mind for their daily practice.
7:30 AM — I ate too much. I love temple food. I went back for a second helping of rice. I have no shame.
11:30 AM — My greed has no bounds. I ate so much my stomach looks like a bhikkhu’s pindapata bowl. Certainly, not restraining my sense desire.
However, it was time to run to my kuti and take a shower. I want to train super-fresh style. Particularly, since I have the blessing to interview directly with the Pa Auk Sayadaw (or “Sayadawgi”).
Interviews
Yesterday, Bhikkhu Kusala Dhamma was not only happy to show me the ropes, but also share as much of the Dhamma (see explanation below) with me as he could. In showing me the ropes, he informed me that there were two respected teachers (or “sayadaws”) at this temple. Then he took me to the first sayadaw.
Lo and behold, it was Sayadawgi. He was in Pyin Oo Lin, and I was invited to interview with him. What great fortune!
One blessing that I didn’t explain in yesterday’s chronicle was the importance of the interview. The interview period is the one occasion when a student can divulge his struggles and question the meditation master for help.
Choosing a monastery (or meditation center) for a meditation retreat is very important, but finding a great meditation teacher is the most important thing.
The Pa Auk Sayadaw is the Mestre Suassuna of Samatha Meditation practices like Ānāpānasati. Mestre Suassuna is the most respected Capoeira teacher in the world. The Pa Auk Sayadaw is the most respected samadhi teacher in the world. Samādi is a Pali word that essentially means concentration.
Like Mestre Suassuna, he’s largely retired from teaching. Sayadawgi is essentially a professor emeritus of samadhi. Yet somehow, by some lucky star, I get the blessing of being able to interview with him!
I’m not inclined to faith. Trusting a teacher is challenging for me. However, when the teacher has a proven track record of making fantastic student after student into masters, then my mind is more inclined to follow their counsel.
Faith in your teacher is essential for success in ānāpāna mindfulness. According to revered Buddhist texts (the Pariyāya Sutta of the Samyutta Nikaya), for those aspiring to concentrate at the absorption level, doubt is the fifth hindrance to achieving your goal.
As a Capoeira teacher, I know that the students that struggle the most with Capoeira class are the ones that don’t have faith. They don’t listen. They progress slowly, if at all.
That is not likely to be my samadhi fate. I trust Sayadawgi to teach. I thought he’d be in Mawlamyine (where Pa Auk is really located), but I am overjoyed that he’s in Pyin Oo Lwin with me.
4:00 PM — Another treat was in store for me… The second Sayadaw that Bhikkhu Kusala Dhamma introduced me to was the venerable U Kumarābhivaṃsa. I had just undertaken a study of the Abhidhamma and, fate would have it that my supplemental meditation teacher would be the most excellent U Kumarābhivaṃsa Sayadaw.
The Pa Auk Sayadaw is adorable, but he can be a bit terse. The young, talented 43-year old U Kumarābhivaṃsa Sayadaw is much more generous in instruction. Moreover, he has been a master of the Dhamma (or “dhammacariya”) since he was 28.
The Dhamma
Dhammacariya is Pali for “teacher of the Dhamma”, and that title was bestowed upon him when I was still perfecting basic Capoeira kicks. The Dhamma is essentially the phenomena that we can’t know through our senses.
Anyway, that man is essentially a walking library. The Burmese Ābhivaṃsa qualification is supposedly equivalent to Ph.D. degree in the study of the Dhamma (the Pali of the Abhidhamma Pitaka, Vinaya, and Sutta Pitaka).
While struggling to get my MBA at Wharton, I spent time with some brilliant Ph.D. candidates at the University of Pennsylvania. I also met some outstanding minds while at the University of California at Berkeley, but I’d never met any walking, talking libraries until today.
Yes my friends, if you are in search of the Dhamma, run to Pyin Oo Lyin. There is treasure here! Don’t take my word for it though. Go and do the research.
It will blow your mind to know that the most venerable U Kumarābhivaṃsa Sayadaw looks up to the Pa Auk Sayadaw in the same way average men (like me) look up to U Kumarābhivaṃsa Sayadaw.
Professor Zumbi is a certified Capoeira teacher. He received his teaching qualification in the presence of great Capoeira masters like Mestre Suassuna and Mestre Acordeon. Zumbi organizes Capoeira Retreats that conclude with an introduction to Ānāpānasati at a highly acclaimed meditation center.
Professor Zumbi is not a meditation teacher and this is not a meditation guide. Zumbi’s meditation articles are written to share thoughts and personal experiences. Please find a qualified teacher if you want to undertake Ānāpānasati. Follow your teacher and forget everything you’ve read here.
