My Life Will Go On (37) - Those 18 Days

(Sunlun Vipassana Meditation Centre, 7th Miles, today)


There are three meditation sessions daily at 7 A.M in the morning, at 12:30 noon, at 6 P.M in the evening at the Sunlun Vipassana Meditation Centre, 7th Miles. The people could come at the time they liked and practised meditation. At every session we had to sit still for 100 minutes (50 minutes for breathing (in and out) hard, and another 50 minutes for watching the sensation of pain on the body. (I wrote in detail about the Sunlun Method of Vipassana Meditation under the labels concerned.).

I went there to practice meditation 2 or 3 times per week regularly with my father at the morning session under the guidance of Sunlun Sayadaw U Wara, and the watchful eyes of the meditation masters. My brother also did meditation after his work for 90 minutes every night at home. He said doing meditation in the monastery is better than doing meditation at home.





(Sayadaw U Wara encouraged us to sit extra hour, and try to follow the sensation … )

On the 30th November of 2018, I saw the announcement on the blackboard with chalk that concerned all the yogis. It said that meditation sessions here would be only a temporary close for 2 weeks from 19th December to 1st January 2019, and would restart on the 2nd January 2019. The head of the Sunlun Meditation Monastery, Sayadaw U Wara planned to go to Kyaukpadaung (a town in Mandalay Region in Central Burma) to give His kind regards as a Meditation Master during the days of the meditation session there. That visit was a regular trip. Now there was only 18 days left for us to do meditation at the monastery.





(The announcement; All the meditation sessions here would be closed for 2 weeks.)

It was a happy moment for me looking forward to the holidays. This time we decided to go and do meditation in the monastery every morning from the 1st December to the 18th December instead of 2 or 3 times per week, before the day of closing. This time I sat an extra 10 or 15 minutes by the alarm from my wrist watch. Sitting extra minutes was not an easy work. I met a lot of pain in the body. But I did not move nor open my eyes or stop until my alarm tickled. I told myself that I would not come to the monastery for 2 weeks. So those extra minutes from those 18 days might cover the absence of next 2 weeks.

(The Good, the Bad, and ……. the ugly.)

(Drawing credit to my brother, Maung Yit.)

Those 18 days passed quickly like a wind. On the last day of 18th December 2018, I gave a final look to the gate of the Sunlun Vipassana Meditation Centre for this year, and sent my wishes with my heart to all; Their journey will be successful, and return save-and-sound.



(‘Touch- Awareness-Mindfulness’
‘Sunlun Vipassana Meditation Centre’)

Farewell, and Happy New Year!

I will miss you all!