The Theravadha Tradition

 Dr.Sayadaw Silananda from Myanmar

Venerable Sayadaw U Silananda (pictured above) was the founding Dhamma adviser and meditation teacher of MLA. He was born in Mandalay, Burma (now known as Myanmar) on Friday, December 16, 1927. He was the chief compiler of the comprehensive Pali-Burmese Dictionary and one of the final editors of the Pali Texts, Commentaries, and Sub-Commentaries at the Sixth Buddhist Council, held in 1954.

He was an outstanding disciple of the world-renowned Mahasi Sayadaw. He was one of the very few Burmese meditation masters capable of teaching Dhamma and VIpassana meditation in fluent, clear, and precise English. He was the author of many books in Burmese and in English. He taught Dhamma and led retreats since he came to the U.S. in 1979 until he passed away in 2005. He was loved by his students as a skillful, patient, knowledgeable, compassionate, and most respected teacher.

EXCERPTS FROM DHAMMA TALKS BY
SAYADAW U SILANANDA

(edited by Jessica Chung)

First, let us look at the meaning of the word “Vipassana.” The word “Vipassana” is translated in English as “insight meditation.” It is probably translated as insight meditation because Vipassana meditation gives insight into the true nature of mind and matter. But the literal meaning of “Vipassana” is a little different. You should know the literal meaning also. The literal meaning of the word “Vipassana” is “seeing in many ways.” The word “Vipassana” is composed of “vi” and “passana,” so two parts. “Vi” is a prefix with many meanings; here it means “in many ways.” “Passana” is a verbal noun meaning “seeing.” “Vipassana” therefore means “seeing in many ways.” Here, “in many ways” means seeing mind and matter, or the five aggregates or conditioned phenomena as impermanent, suffering, and devoid of soul. So, as the name implies, when you practice Vipassana, you must see the impermanent, suffering and non-soul nature of the object you observe. Only when you see these three characteristics can you truly say that you are practicing Vipassana meditation.

Vipassana meditation was discovered by the Buddha and taught by him to all beings. You know he was practicing austerities in the forest for almost six years. Towards the end of those six years, he was still far away from his goal [of complete enlightenment] so he reviewed his practice, and he came to the conclusion that what he had been practicing was wrong. Then, he discovered the Middle Way, which is the practice of Vipassana. He practiced it, and he got the best results from that practice, that is, he became the Buddha. For 45 years after his enlightenment as the Buddha, he taught many things, and he taught Vipassana or Satipatthana meditation many times.

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Vipassana can only be understood and practiced when there is a Buddha in the world or when his teachings are still available in the world. Whether the Buddha's teachings or the Buddha's dispensation are present or not, people can practice samtha meditation. Only when the Buddha's teachings exist is it possible to practice Vipassana meditation. Only Vipassana meditation can lead to the penetration of the true nature of mind and matter and to the realization of the Four Noble Truths.

During the time of the Buddha, and also for about a thousand years after his death, Vipassana seemed to be practiced by many people. About a thousand years after the death of the Buddha until recently (and by “recently,” I mean until the turn of the 20th century), however, Vipassana seemed to have fallen into disuse. That is because in the Commentaries, which were written about a thousand years after the death of the Buddha, we find accounts of people practicing meditation and getting enlightenment. Later, after that, the instances of people practicing meditation and getting enlightenment became rare. So Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw said that the practice of Vipassana fell into disuse or not many people practiced Vipassana from about a thousand years after the death of the Buddha, until recently. That does not mean nobody practiced Vipassana during that time, but it was very rare and very difficult to find a person who practiced Vipassana meditation. Vipassana meditation was thought to be only for monks, and then only for monks who lived in the forest, so monks in the city usually did not practice Vipassana.

In the ancient records, we find occasional occurrences of those who are supposed to be Arahants. If they were truly Arahants, then they must have practiced Vipassana meditation, so although there were very few who practiced Vipassana meditation, the practice was not dead. Those who practiced Vipassana meditation in those days just practiced it for themselves, and they did not teach Vipassana to many people. They taught it only to their close pupils or their close friends, so very few people got the opportunity to first understand how to practice and then actually practice Vipassana meditation.

About 100 years ago, there were Sayadaws in Burma who tried to revive the practice of Vipassana meditation. The systematic practice of Vipassana, as we do it now here, began, I think, with a Sayadaw who was known as Mingun Jetavan Sayadaw. From his biography, we learn that Sayadaw wanted to practice Vipassana meditation, but he did not know how to, so he searched for a teacher who could teach him Vipassana meditation. Fortunately, he met one Sayadaw in the place called Mingun. It is across the river from Mandalay. That Sayadaw who lived in Mingun was a student of Thee-Lon Sayadaw, who was reputed to be or renowned as an Arahant. According to the verbal records, that first Sayadaw could be a Non-Returner because it is said there was a meeting of many Sayadaws at one time. The other Sayadaws asked that Sayadaw to give a Dhamma talk to them about the practice. And so he said, “I will give you a Dhamma talk as far as my practice goes,” or something like this. Then he talked about the practice of meditation up until the third stage of enlightenment. If that record is to be relied upon, then that Sayadaw was an Anegemi (a Non-Returner). That Sayadaw did not have many pupils because he lived in the forest, and not many monks could live there. That Sayadaw who lived in Mingun was the student of that first Sayadaw, so he knew how to practice, he practiced, and he may have also been an enlightened person. So Mingun Jetavan Sayadaw met that Sayadaw and requested that Sayadaw to teach him or explain to him the practice of Vipassana meditation. But that Sayadaw did not teach him in detail. He just said, “There is a discourse, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, and there are Commentaries and Sub-Commentaries. You just go and study this discourse and the Commentaries.”

So, Mingun Jetavan Sayadaw studied the discourse along with the Commentaries and Sub-Commentaries. It is said that he came to know how to practice, so he practiced. Maybe he got some instruction from that Sayadaw. We don’t know. But he practiced, and it is said that he was able to reach some kind of stage, and that he was satisfied with his practice. That happened about 1908, so it was just at the turn of the 20th century.

After he got satisfaction from his practice, he wanted to teach other people how to practice meditation. So, he began giving Dhamma talks at Mingun, but nobody wanted to listen to him. His talks were so strange in those days that people just criticized him and made fun of him. For example, he talked of knowing “when I am going, I know I am going” or “when I am sitting, I know I am sitting.” They made fun of him, saying, “We also know we are going when we are going. We also know when I am killing a fish, I am killing a fish,” and so on. So, nobody wanted to hear him. He went back to his native village because he thought that people in his native village, his relatives and others, would want to listen to him. He went back to his native village and again gave Dhamma talks, and nobody wanted to listen to him. He got the same ridicule.

After about two years, he went back to Mingun and kept persevering. He again gave talks. At that time, a couple from Mandalay listened to him. They were interested, and they wanted to practice meditation under his guidance. So, they practiced following his instructions, and they also got satisfaction from their practice. Little by little, the number of meditators increased. Later, he was able to establish a meditation center in one town. That was in 1911. From that time on, meditation centers were established in many towns.

Ultimately, in 1914, he went to the city of Thaton in lower Burma and established a monastery there, giving it the name Mingun Jetavan Monastery. That is why he is known as Mingun Jetavan Sayadaw. Many people came to him to practice meditation, so his fame spread far and wide. He had students or pupils who practiced with him, and then who later on carried on his practice of Vipassana meditation. Many people, both monks and laymen, went to him to practice meditation. Many of his students became meditation teachers in his tradition.

One of his pupils, Sayadaw U Visuddha by name, established a center in Rangoon and began teaching Vipassana in the Mingun tradition. That center still exists in Rangoon, not far from Shwe Dagon Pagoda.

In 1932, another student monk went to Mingun Jetavan Sayadaw and practiced meditation under his guidance. That student monk practiced about four months with him, and then he had to go back to his monastery. That student was the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw. After practicing Vipassana under the guildance of Jetavan Sayadaw, Mahasi Sayadaw began to teach Vipassana in 1938. He went back to his native village and gave Dhamma talks. There were people there, including his cousins, who wanted to practice meditation. He eventually went back and forth between the city of Thaton and his native village, which is in upper Burma. In 1949, he was invited to Rangoon by Mahasi Yeiktha of Rangoon Meditation Center to teach Vipassana medtation there. Ever since that time, Mahasi Sayadaw lived in the meditation center in Rangoon until his death in 1982.

Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw was very successful with spreading Vipassana meditation. One reason why he was so successful was because he was supported by the then Prime Minister of Burma, U Nu. When the Prime Minister went to the center to practice meditation, many people went along with him. So he was very successful in spreading Vipassana meditation, not only in Burma but also abroad. Mahasi Sayadaw had among his students those that were conversant in the English language, so his talks and some of his books were translated into English and distributed abroad. People in other countries also got to know about Mahasi Sayadaw’s teachings and his method of Vipassana meditation. In Burma, many meditation centers were also put up, and thousands and thousands of people have practiced Vipassana meditation in those centers. In Thailand and in Sri Lanka, meditation centers were also established, and many people practiced meditation there too.

Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw was not the only meditation teacher in Burma. There were many other Sayadaws who taught Vipassana meditation. Although all these Sayadaws taught Vipassana meditation, however, their techniques differed from one another in some respects. Generally every Sayadaw who taught Vipassana meditation based their practice on the teachings contained in the Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw was invited to the United States to lead retreats, teach, and give talks on Vipassana meditation by the Insight Meditation Society in 1979. Sayadaw visited the U.S. and led retreats in different places. When he left, he left me (Sayadaw U Silananda) behind to carry on his Vipassana propagation work. Now, you have other Sayadaws here teaching Vipassana meditation in the tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw, such as Sayadaw U Paoeita, Sayadaw U Kundala, and Sayadaw U Dhammapiya. Also, in New York, there is Sayadaw U Indaka. These students of Mahasi Sayadaw are now spreading the practice of Vipassana in this country.

I want to share this report from: http://www.mlausa.org/silananda_talk.html

 

I am representive of this report from mindful living alliance.