Venerable Ñāṇa Cāgī U Tejalankara Sayadaw (With an Open Mind)

This Sayadaw was Ñāṇa Cāgī U Tejalankara (1900–?), a Burmese monk whose life marked an important turning point in modern Vipassanā practice.

Time: 9:00 a.m., September 1938, Full Moon Day

Place: Bhi-lū Island, Gwan-the Village, Lower Burma

At that time, he was thirty-eight years old and serving as a village monk-teacher. Unexpectedly, he picked up a Dhamma book that belonged to an upāsaka who used to bring it to the monastery. The book was Ditthadhamma Vipassanā, written by disciples of Saya Thet.

As he read a few pages, his interest grew rapidly. He reflected:

“This Dhamma is not written from book knowledge. It comes from direct experience and practice. It is deeply inspiring. I must try it.”

Immediately, he put the book down and began practicing ānāpāna meditation. Because of his accumulated pāramī, in that single sitting he directly experienced the taste of Dhamma. He completely lost awareness of time, continuing to sit without even hearing the sound of the wooden drum calling for the meal.

After some time, his disciples came and informed him of the missed schedule.

From that day onward, for one full week he stopped formal teaching. Together with the monks and novices, he practiced ānāpāna meditation continuously. After this intensive week, he resumed teaching during the daytime while continuing meditation practice at night together with his students.

From 1938 to 1978, over a period of forty years, he established many meditation centres throughout Burma and trained more than six hundred thousand yogis.

It appears to me that Ñāṇa Cāgī Sayadaw never met Anāgāmi Sayā Thet, who passed away in 1945. At that time in Burma, it was considered taboo for a layperson to teach meditation to monks.

On Teachers, Lineages, and the Spread of Dittha-Dhamma Vipassanā

To this day, no female meditation teachers have emerged in Myanmar. In Thailand, however, there were already a few notable women practitioners before, and possibly continuing into the present era, such as Mae Chee Kaew (1901-1991), Naeb Mahāniranon (1897–1983) and Khun Ki Nanayon (1901–1978).

[We can find their names in K. Tiyavanīch's “Forest Recollection”: Neb Naeb Mahāniranon and Ki (Kee) Nanayon.]

At the beginning of Saya Thet’s teaching, some monks strongly opposed him. However, he was able to overcome this resistance. In later years, not only laypeople but also monks came to him for meditation practice.

Ñāṇa Cāgī Sayadaw sometimes spoke humorously to his Dhamma listeners, saying:

“If Saya Thet had not appeared, I myself would have become a ghost— a great kind of monastic ghost.”

The text Dittha-Dhamma Vipassanā became so popular that it was published seven times while Saya Thet was still alive. Regarding its practical content, the book included essential Dhamma principles drawn from Ledi Sayadaw’s teachings, methods from well-known Sayadaws, and Saya Thet’s own direct meditative experience. It was written in simple and clear language, making it suitable for people of all backgrounds.

Another Western teacher associated with U Ba Khin’s tradition was John Coleman, who wrote about his spiritual journey in a book titled The Quiet Mind. Before this, he had worked for the CIA. While in Thailand, he practiced Vipassanā at Wat Mahādhāt, which taught the Mahāsi system.

After some time, however, he found that this method was not suitable for his temperament, and he continued his spiritual search elsewhere. He later came to Burma and practiced under Sayagyi U Ba Khin. During his first encounter, he did not experience significant progress, yet he maintained strong faith and perseverance.

He then continued searching and met two other teachers: Dr. Suzuki (Rinzai Zen) and Jiddu Krishnamurti (the Indian teacher). However, remaining with them involved many practical difficulties. Consequently, he returned again to Sayagyi U Ba Khin, and on this second attempt, he achieved success in his practice.

John Coleman thus made the right decision. Had he stayed with the other two teachers, his spiritual quest might not have borne fruit. This illustrates an important principle: each person must search for a teacher and a meditation system that is genuinely suitable for their own character and disposition.

---

• Content of With an Open Mind-- Dhamma Talks by Sayadaw Jhaneyya
• Content of Publications of Bhikkhu Uttamo

---

• MP3 and Youtube

---

According to the translator—Bhikkhu Uttamo's words, this is strictly for free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma—Dhamma Dāna. You may re-format, reprint, translate, and redistribute this work in any medium.