Sacred Symbol of Gratitude

　　- by S. N. Goenka

　　The magnificent Global Pagoda being built near Mumbai is a sacred symbol of our boundless gratitude–towards Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha; towards Emperor Asoka and his teacher Arahant Mogalliputta Tissa, who held the third and final Synod in India on 326 AD, 218 years after the mahāparinibbāna of the Buddha. Like the previous two Synods, the words of the Buddha were ratified and established again in the authentic form. Along with Vipassana meditation, they sent this authentic literature with Emperor Asoka”s son Arahant Mahinda and daughter Saṅghamittā to Sri Lanka. Similarly, they sent the arahants Soṇa and Uttara to Suvaṇṇabhūmi (Myanmar and Thailand).

　　What if they had not sent Vipassana and the words of the Buddha outside India

　　 Within fifty years after Emperor Asoka, an unscrupulous commander usurped the throne at the capital of Magadha, Pataliputra, and together with some conspirators started to destroy the teaching of the Buddha and its teachers. They killed most of the teachers who had memorized the entire Tipitaka and almost all Vipassana teachers. Those who survived fled to the neighbouring countries to save their lives. Thus, the original words of the Buddha and Vipassana both became extinct in India.

　　If Emperor Asoka had not sent the words of the Buddha and Vipassana to the neighbouring countries, they would not have survived anywhere in the whole world. Fortunately, some wise bhikkhus of Sri Lanka and Myanmar as well as of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos preserved the Dhamma literature in its pristine purity through the teacher-student tradition for more than two thousand years. Similarly, meditation teachers preserved the technique of Vipassana in Myanmar until recent times. If they had not done so, the theory and the practice would have been completely lost.

　　We are grateful to the eminent bhikkhu Ledi Sayadaw, who foresaw that within the next 100 years, the first Buddha Sāsana of 2500 years would come to an end, and at that time, the Saddhamma preserved in Myanmar would return to its country of origin, India, and from there, it would spread throughout the world. He also realized that this important mission could only be fulfilled by a householder.

　　Therefore, after centuries, the Venerable Ledi Sayadaw opened the door of Vipassana to householders. He taught Saya Thetgyi and established him as the first lay Vipassana teacher in modern times. Saya Thetgyi fulfilled this responsibility with great dignity, skilfulness and competence. He was accepted by many lay people as well as bhikkhus as a lay Vipassana teacher.

　　Saya Thetgyi taught Vipassana to Sayagyi U Ba Khin, who was also recognized and accepted as an accomplished lay Vipassana teacher. Sayagyi U Ba Khin had complete faith in the traditional belief that on completion of 2500 years of the first Buddha Sāsana, this technique would return to India and from there, it would spread throughout the world. He believed that Myanmar was indebted to India and had to repay this debt. The time had come to return this invaluable technique to the land of its origin.

　　Nineteen fifty-four was the last year of the first 2500-year Buddha Sāsana and 1955 was the first year of the second 2500-year Buddha Sāsana. Sayagyi U Ba Khin became very happy when an unpolished stone came in contact with him in this year. For fourteen years, by diligent cutting and rubbing, this skilled sculptor transformed this ugly stone into a beautiful statue and adorned it so that it may prove to be a worthy exhibit of this great master”s skill. Sayagyi U Ba Khin was like a philosopher”s stone that had come in contact with a valueless piece of metal, which, by its constant touch was not only transformed into valuable gold but into a valuable…

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