Almost all modern vipassanā groups were founded by schismatic monks, and although there is no recorded case where one of them declared himself enlightened, being prohibited by the monastic code, many were considered by his disciples, and by the general public, like they had reached arahantado or almost. The modern hagiographies that have grown up…
Etiqueta: burma
Vipassana (II). The Heresy
Before entering the subject, it is necessary to make clear the basic ideas about the «Buddhist apocalypse», that is, the arrival of the expected Metteyya (Maitreya in Sanskrit) thanks to which, Enlightenment can be achieved. According to the «Burmese prophecies», the new Buddha would come 5,000 years after the Gotama Buddha. Half of 5,000 years…
Vipassanā (I). The Genesis of a Deception
One of the most recognizable commercial products of modern theosophical Buddhism is, without a doubt, the so-called » vipassanā meditation «. To begin with, we must understand that meditation was not something recognizable in the real Buddhism of the mid-nineteenth century in the countries of South Asia. The only devotional practice were the songs of suttas in community,…
Revival (III). Burmese Buddhism
89% of Myanmar’s population practices Buddhism, and is predominantly of Theravada tradition. It is the most religious Buddhist country in terms of the proportion of monks in the population and the proportion of income spent on religion. It is very likely that Buddhists are among the dominant Bamar people, Shan, Rakhine, Mon, Karen, Zo and Chinese who…