"If you have gratitude to S.N.Goenka you will have gratitude to Sayagyi U Ba Khin"
- Sayagyi U Goenka, at a gathering of Vipassana meditators during the construction of the Global Vipassana Pagoda
For progress in Vipassana meditation, a student must keep knowing anicca as continuously as possible. ...Continuous awareness of anicca, and so of dukkha and anattā, is the secret of success. The last words of the Buddha just before he breathed his last and passed away into mahaparinibbāna were: “Decay (or anicca) is inherent in all component things. Work out your own salvation with diligence.” This is, in fact, the essence of all his teachings during the forty-five years of his ministry. If you will keep up the awareness of the anicca that is inherent in all component things, you are sure to reach the goal in the course of time.
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Anicca when properly developed will solve almost all your problems. It might not even be necessary for you to ask questions for answers. As the appreciation of anicca grows, so will the veil of ignorance fade away. When the way becomes clear for right understanding, doubts and fears will disappear automatically. You will then see things in the true perspective.
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A balanced mind is necessary to balance the unbalanced mind of others.
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The Dhamma can stand the test of those who are anxious to do so. They can know for themselves what the benefits are.
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Just as the light of a candle has the power to dispel darkness in a room, so also the light developed in one man can help dispel darkness in several others.
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The world is facing serious problems. It is just the right time for everyone to take to Vipassana meditation and learn how to find a deep pool of quiet in the midst of all that is happening today.
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To imagine that good can be done by the means of evil is an illusion, a nightmare.
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Dhamma eradicates suffering and gives happiness. Who gives this happiness? It is not the Buddha but the Dhamma, the knowledge of anicca within the body, which gives this happiness. That is why you must meditate and be aware of anicca continually.
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The more one is attached to self, the greater is the suffering.
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Only those who take to meditation with good intentions can be assured of success. With the development of the purity and the power of the mind backed by the insight into the ultimate truth of nature, one may be able to do a lot of things in the right direction for the benefit of mankind.
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Anicca is inside of everybody. It is within reach of everybody. Just a look into oneself and there it is. ...for householders, anicca is the gem of life which they will treasure to create a reservoir of calm and balanced energy for their own well-being and for the welfare of society.
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What is happiness? For all that science has achieved in the field of materialism, are the peoples of the world happy? They may find sensual pleasures off and on, but in their hearts of hearts, they are not happy when they realise what has happened, and what may happen next. Why? This is because, while man has mastery over matter, he is still lacking in mastery over his mind.
From the Vipassana Research Institute newsletter, Vol. 21, No. 1: 19 January 2011.
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Sayagyi U Ba Khin on Vipassana (on anicca)
A short discourse that Sayagyi U Ba Khin had recorded for his foreign students, who were unable to return to Myanmar for further practice and guidance:
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Passing away of Sayagyi U Ba Khin
(text and photos courtesy Dhamma Maṇḍa, Northern California Vipassana Center)
On the 19th of January 1971, Sayagyi U Ba Khin passed away. He had been suffering for some time from diseases of old age and had been hospitalized three times. In the end he was rushed to the hospital and died of internal hemorrhaging. His physician Dr. Ohm Prakash said about him, “He could face disease bravely and well, was an intelligent and cooperative patient. He never took a pessimistic view of life, was always optimistic and took a hopeful view of life. He took suffering and disease as a result of past Karma and said it is the lot of one who is born in the world. The symptoms of disease also he would minimize and never complain(ed).”
Sayagyi U Ba Khin and Goenkaji
At that time Goenkaji was teaching a course at the Burmese Vihara in Bodhgaya. It was his 27th course after coming to India. On the third day of the course Goenkaji received a telegram from Burma that Sayagyi had passed away.
At the 6 pm group sitting Goenkaji announced that, “A light has gone out in Burma.” That being the passing of Sayagyi. The next day at 2:30 there was a special sitting. It was simultaneous with the cremation of Sayagyi in Burma. Goenkaji spoke during the sitting and described how the body was being placed on the fire and how the body was being consumed by the fire. A student who was there described this as a very powerful sitting that is still clear in his mind 47 years later.
When asked later how he knew the body was on the fire, he said that he felt the fire within himself. He knew the body had been consumed when he felt the cool breeze of Metta.
Sayagyi’s ashes were taken by a group of his oldest students by boat to the confluence of the Irrawaddy River with the sea. There they were immersed in the water by the students.
in the Irrawaddy
where it meets the sea
This was the passing of a great man. He changed perceptions of meditation by introducing Vipassana to the world via his students. He saw that the time was ripe for Vipassana to spread around the world. Sayagyi said, “The time clock of Vipassana has struck,” meaning that the time for Vipassana to spread around the world had come. He wanted to go himself, but because the government would not give him a visa Goenkaji became the vehicle that made this huge impact.
Goenkaji never forgot Sayagyi. He always paid tribute to him, downplaying his own work and emphasizing the importance Sayagyi’s work. “My life is fulfilled. From the abundant compassion of my respected Teacher, I have received incomparable sustenance, and I continue to receive it in such abundance. The rejuvenating medicine of Dhamma gives me confidence to move firmly on. It continues to benefit me so much and uplifts so many others also. Pondering this, a spark of gratitude toward my respected Teacher rekindles in my heart.”
Today all his students have a great debt to this man who gave householders around the world an opportunity to learn Vipassana meditation. Each time a new student receives Dhamma for the first time, each time an old student sits down to meditate, they reap the benefit of Sayagyi’s efforts.
