A Golden Memory

Emanuel Flores is a vipassana meditator in the tradition of S.N. Goenka who visited Burma in 2019, and became a monk. He describes part of his story here:

“The feeling I got from meeting the Burmese lay followers at the monastery, at alms round, at my uncle’s residence or at their homes was that they were all ‘special.’ I know everybody is special in their own way, but not everyone glows with radiant smiles! And that was a really common sight there. Even among the most unexpected people.

This contributed to a feeling I had there, that I was living in the richest country in the world. I recall telling my parents this by phone. While I’d never been so poor I never felt so rich in my life. Isn’t it funny?

The first room that they gave to me was an old wooden building with a metallic rooftop and big air passages. It was very near to my teacher’s bamboo hut. I remember waking up before dawn to meditate and suddenly hearing him chanting. The melodic sound of the Pali language irradiated from his room. A while later he would get up and start walking around the compound while still giving blessings through his voice. He’d do this every day. This is another beautiful memory I have.

I know much has changed since the military coup. It’s a shame to see a country ruled by violence and terror, instead of keenness and sagacity. Anyways, the wheel of Dhamma is still turning in Myanmar. Monks, nuns and lay people are still practicing generosity, virtue, meditation and wisdom. It’s not that easy to uproot the Dhamma to such a devoted land. 

May Burma receive all the attention and assistance it deserves. May we not forget about it. I dare to say humanity should be grateful for the existence of the Golden Land and its people.”