Sayagyi U Ba Khin

Sayagyi U Ba Khin (1899-1971; Rangoon, Burma) was a key figure in the regeneration of the Buddha Sasana (dispensation of the teachings of the Buddha) in the 20th century.

He was a senior Burmese civil servant and a highly developed meditation practitioner-teacher. He was the first Accountant General of the newly independent Burma (1948) and founder of the International Meditation Centre, Rangoon (1952).

Sayagyi U Ba Khin started to practice Vipassana meditation in 1937 under Saya Thetgyi, student of the renowned Buddhist monk Ledi Sayadaw. Saya Thetgyi was one of the first lay meditation teachers in Burma (Myanmar), as up until then the practice of meditation was mainly reserved for monks.

Sayagyi shared this aspiration to teach lay people the Dhamma; he had a strong conviction that 'the time-clock of Vipassana had struck' for the worldwide revival of the Buddha's path to liberation; he had the vision that Vipassana would spread from Myanmar back to India and from there, around the world. He directed his considerable energy towards its fulfillment. It was Sayagyi who taught our late teacher S.N. Goenka the Dhamma and instructed him to teach; first in Hindi and later in English, to Westerners in India (and again later worldwide). With that, Sayagyi U Ba Khin was the progenitor of over 200 Vipassana meditation centers internationally.

Sayagyi's extant writings and audio recordings in English are few and invaluable.

Find more on Sayagyi U Ba Khin in the Treasures of Pariyatti section.