2022, Vol. 8, Issue 2, Part A

Myanmar is one of the Theravāda Buddhist countries and the meditation practice also is very influence among Buddhist people. Therefore, there have been a lot of meditation centers, many scholars of meditation techniques. All meditation centers are followed the methods of Buddha by Theravāda view. The main aim and objective of this study are to criticize and analyze the meditation, such as Samatha meditation and vipassanā meditation by the focusing of the traditional ways to practice the meditation in Myanmar. The practice of meditation is to eliminate the defilements (kilesas) and to attain nibbāna (liberation). The research problem is to point out the situation of traditional meditation and how the practice was developed and how to reduce the stress of the people in Myanmar.

According to the historical Canonicals, meditation practice started on the Buddha’s time. In Myanmar, Ledi Sayadaw who wrote a lot of books (Dīpanī) started to practice meditation in the Centre. Then, Mahasi Sayadaw established the Meditation Centre in Yangon. The technique is the intensive of vipassanā practice. Another one is Pa- Auk Taw Ya Meditation Centre and the founder is Sayadaw U Āciṇṇa. The practical method is based on the concentration meditation (Samatha bhāvana). Here, many Meditation Centers are left in this study because of time situation. So, I will explain these three meditation teachers as much as I can. Therefore, to reduce all the stress, meditation practice is very famous for Myanmar Buddhism who follows the traditional ways. If someone has used to practice the meditation, the environment was very peace and the people were unity.