So after our week long love affair with Bagan we head South to Yangon to start our 10 day silent retreat only to find that we’re not the only ones with this idea in mind…
To make matters worse it was also then that it came to light that the 10 day retreat is actually a 12 day retreat and that there was a slight oversight on our side in terms of our flight booking 🙁
So upon arrival; surrounded by fellow travellers from every conceivable corner of the planet, all with the same intention of learning more about meditation and Buddhism we’re told that with us having to leave 2 days early we can’t enrol at all 🙁
So with our enthusiasm curbed only a mere 10 minutes later we were left stranded with 10 days to kill 🙁
So strongly believing that “everything happens as and when it should” this of course was only the beginning of our truly authentic experience 🙂
We had no idea what we were in for and what magical experience we were about to embark on and all of which was of course being pre-empted by a simple question from one of the other tourists as to “why we are so special…”
So after clearing out our locker and being sent on our merry way again we walk to the next centre where we were advised that they might be more lenient to let us stay for less days to still have the experience we were craving…This centre however much larger and with almost no one that’s able to speak let alone understand English and with no other Westerners in sight…
So its here at Mogok Vipasanna Meditation Centre that we start our roller coaster ride starting with the centres management trying to find a translator to assist us in our quest…And that’s how we met Dr. Jenny Ko Gyi one of the many teachers to guide us along our journey 😉
As fate would have it though Dr. Jenny’s busy schedule at the Buddhist University in Yangon where she also teaches and do her own research, limits the time she has to spend with us and again leaves us to our own device…Of course again it’s just destiny playing it’s part and gently nudging us towards the teachers we needed to meet along the way 😉
Each playing their part in guiding us through this beautiful journey of self discovery and learning more about the Buddhist way of life done the traditional Myanmar way. Including of course having to renounce all luxuries and having to exchange a comfy bed for a wooden bench – one of the 8 precepts to be adhered to during the retreat…
Also having to get well accustomed to the local cuisine consisting of mostly noodle and rice dishes with very basic selection of vegetables and greasy chicken and some dried fish and shrimp to top it off…Which became surprisingly tasty after getting over my initial reservations…
So for the next 8 days we followed a rigours program which started with meditation as early as 04h30 daily followed by breakfast at 06h30, some more guided meditations in Burmese; which obviously became a challenge without our resident translator, follow by dinner at 10h30…And no, it’s not a mistake on my side but yet another precept we had to follow in only eating 2 meals a day and fasting from 12h00 onwards each day…
With an hours break we then got to roam around the complex exploring and acquiring our new attire to wear during meditations – introducing the “logie”which resembles the shape of a tunic and worn by both men and women, however worn in a slightly different fashion. This was followed by some more recorded sermons from their master and most holy monk Mogok Sayadaw which after accenting after having reached enlightenment only to leave some incredible and unexplainable relics proving he’s finally reached Nibbana.
It’s during one of these sessions we were approached by a lady and given a donation of some books with the english translations of the sermons which made it much easier to learn and understand. However, being translated directly from Pali and Burmese we quickly found majority of the reading became quite technical and confusing and was rather frustrating without any guidance…
That’s where our friend Joe came to the rescue and being much more confident in speaking English approached us to find out if he could help or assist with anything…Only to snowball the amount of people who started approaching us to not only teach us more but also to learn more about us and why it was that we were there…
That’s where we also happened to meet Melvyn our 81 year old yogi who took it on himself to teach us the basics about Buddhism and the process of meditation 🙂 So every morning we’d be greeted by Melvyn singing the infamous “Waka – Waka” World Cup 10 made famous by Shakira of course announcing that “It’s time for Africa”…
As with all things this extreme, the isolation from the outside world and our newly acquired diet and sleeping arrangements started taking its toll and it was here where the real self investigation and reflection started. Also faced with extreme heat during day and night and troubled by pestering mosquitos after lights out at 21h00 every night, each day became a little more challenging but was all part of the process and it all leading up to our next adventure…
So with two days left and our yogi having to baby sit his niece we decide to maybe consider leaving early only to be approached by a rebel Buddhist nun that wasn’t really allowed to be seen talking to us. But she secretly met with us and asked to take us somewhere and this is where we decided to pack our bags yet again and go on an adventure to another retreat…
Situated about an hour out of Yangon we found our true purpose and magic. A community of refugees from all over the country, ranging from orphans, to elderly and frail, to disease ridden stray dogs and cats and everything that need food and shelter…on the outskirts of the city lies a haven for all created by one of the local monks as a community project where he feeds and helps the community by building infrastructure ranging from paved roads to clinics and homes for the elderly. Supported with about 140 monks daily making their rounds to collect food donated by the community and assisted by about 100 nuns they keep this boat a float…
If nothing else this project really touched my heart and soul and will have me returning to Myanmar and it’s beautiful people…But for now it’s “Thwa-meh-naw”Burma, until we meet again 🙂
Next stop Kaula Lumpur and then we head north again for our second last destination on our itinerary…the reknowed Siam or better known Thailand 😉
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