Entries for July 2009

Bruno Voyer spent some time with the Buddhist Sangha as a young man, and cherished a dream of again being with the monks who dedicate their life to Dhamma. After many years of hard work he traveled to meet his long-time friend, Venerable Jagara, now in Myanmar (Burma).

"Myanmar was a revelation for me, like finding a hidden treasure. It is the cradle of the second Sasana, with Dhamma being present almost everywhere you go, and in the hearts of so many. You can see how a people and culture can be deeply imbued and transformed by over 2,000 years of strong Dhamma presence," said Voyer. In Myanmar, he was given the opportunity to visit places where famous meditators have lived, learned and taught Dhamma, stay with the present-day Sangha community, and learn some of the language and culture.

"Every Dhamma journey to Myanmar has been a transformative experience. I am forever grateful." He hopes to bring back other inspiring testimonies of Dhamma ancestors like the Venerable Webu Sayadaw. Voyer lives in Montreal, Canada. He began practicing Vipassana in 1982 at age 17, with S.N. Goenka.

Rare film footage of the Most Venerable Webu Sayadaw made its way from Myanmar to Pariyatti this year and can be viewed online or downloaded from our website. Webu Sayadaw (1896-1977) was one of the outstanding Burmese meditation masters of the last century, believed by many to be an arhant, a fully liberated being. He resided at three forest monasteries: in Ingyinbin, the small village in upper Burma where he was born, and also in nearby Shwebo and in Kyaukse, south of Mandalay.

In 1941 Sayagyi U Ba Khin was near Kyaukse and he came to pay his respects. The next day, as U Ba Khin was departing, Webu Sayadaw exhorted him to begin teaching Vipassana, saying "Give the Dhamma. Do not wait." With this strong urging, he began immediately. (In the 50s S.N. Goenka became Sayagyi's student and studied with him for 14 years before leaving to teach in India.)

For the first 57 years of his life, Webu Sayadaw stayed in upper Burma. In 1953 he accepted an invitation from U Ba Khin to visit the newly established International Meditation Center in Yangon, making the first of what would become regular visits to lower Burma to teach and give talks to large audiences. These talks reveal Webu Sayadaw's simplicity, wit, patience and humility (the book The Way to Ultimate Calm includes eight discourses and a chapter on the Dhamma relationship between Webu Sayadaw and U Ba Khin).

The film came to Pariyatti via Bruno Voyer. While in Myanmar last January he was introduced to U Myint Than, the nephew of the kapiya (lay assistant) of the late Webu Sayadaw. U Myint Than was a young boy when he first met Webu Sayadaw. His uncle the kapiya traveled to various places with Webu Sayadaw, and took many pictures and some video footage of him, both in Myanmar and when traveling on pilgrimage to Sri Lanka and India.

Voyer relates: "U Myint Than invited me to his house to show me the old picture albums, which contain many  photographs of Webu Sayadaw (including one at the dentist!). Then U Myint Than brought an old reel of film probably dating from the 50s or 60s. He explained that many years ago his uncle got the help of a friend at the local Myanmar television station, which had a 16mm film projector, to convert some of the old film to digital format. I had seen some footage on VCD (video compact disc) and now understood where it had come from. Unfortunately, the 16mm film projector was now broken and so they could not pursue the digital conversion of the remaining old films. Seeing that such treasures were at risk of remaining unknown, I told U Myint Than that there must be a 16mm projector in the West, and someone should be able to convert the rest of the films. He readily thought it a good idea and gave me the reel he felt was most intact."

A Pariyatti volunteer and board member was able to arrange the conversion and then post these videos for all to see. Additional reels of film will, we hope, be brought from Myanmar for conversion, and we may discover new treasures for inspiration.

With Pariyatti's new Facebook page it's easy to share and comment on favorite books and let others know about Pariyatti's resources, including the Daily Words of the Buddha email and Treasures. Find it by going to www.facebook.com/Pariyatti

The July Pariyatti podcast is a talk by S.N. Goenka recorded July 24, 2002, in Ottawa, Canada, at Southam Hall during his tour of North America. Talk followed by Q&A, 69 minutes. This and previous podcasts can be heard or downloaded here.

Several new and reprinted titles have arrived at Pariyatti from the BPS, Sri Lanka.

The Anguttara Nikaya Anthology, translated by Ven. Nyanaponika Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi, contains 154 selected discourses from the Pali Canon.

Sacred Island: A Buddhist Pilgrim's Guide to Sri Lanka, by Ven. S. Dhammika, features lively descriptions and lovely, four-color photographs.

Banner of the Arahants, by Ven. Khantipalo, outlines the development of the Sangha from Buddha's time to the present.

A Thinker's Notebook: Posthumous Papers of a Buddhist Monk, translated Ven. Nyanaponika Thera, are writings of the English scholar-monk Ven. Nanamoli, one of the foremost translators of Pali Buddhist texts into English. His most signal work is the translation of the Visuddhimagga or Path of Purification.

These and all the other new titles can be viewed at www.pariyatti.org on the new titles pages.

A new BPS title, The Manual of Light and the Manual of the Path to Higher Knowledge, by Ledi Sayadaw, went out of stock quickly but more are on the way. You'll be notified as soon as the new shipment arrives if you order it now.

On sale for $5 each while supplies last: VHS videos including Doing Time, Doing Vipassana (in English, Spanish, French or Mandarin); Changing from Inside, Introduction to Vipassana (in Hindi or English) and more.

>>Sale Videos

The June Pariyatti podcast is a 90-minute talk by S.N. Goenka July 20, 2002, at the Cardinal Carter Academy in Toronto, Canada. This and previous podcasts can be heard or downloaded here.