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Aloha, friends,
The Vipassana Hawai‘i/Mettadana team recently returned from another lovely year in Burma. We would like to share our updates and experiences with you.
 The retreat
Twenty yogis participated in this year’s Dhamma Fusion Retreat at Kyaswa Monastery with Sayadaw U Lakkhana, another success. Steven Smith returned to lead the teaching team, assisted by Jake Davis and Mia Tremblay.
Wachet Village School
In 2013, Mettadana Project funds allowed us to contribute in numerous ways. We provided uniforms for all teachers and students for the third year in a row, and gave teacher bonuses as well as classroom materials. Two annual traditions were able to continue: Mettadana covered a special meal for the entire school, and, at the end of the retreat, all yogis visited the school and participated in offering Mettadana contributions. The visit gave yogis an opportunity to witness firsthand the joy that comes from generosity. Wachet students had a chance to express their gratitude as we visited each class.
Wachet Jivitadana Sangha Hospital
The hospital continues to thrive with the support of several local and international medical teams and supporters, including the Mettadana Project. This year, the acupuncture team began implementation of thetrain-the-trainer program, which seeks to train Burmese acupuncturists to teach acupuncture themselves. As in the past, our acupuncture team also spent a week at the hospital working with Burmese acupuncturists from across the country in treating patients who had come from far and wide. In addition, the full team traveled to the village of Kadaw for several days of treating patients in a rural setting. James Unsworth, who was part of the team, wrote a follow-up letter to share further news. It is included at the end of this newsletter.
Nunneries
The three nunneries that the Mettadana Project supports are also thriving. In addition to our regular offering to the nuns individually and to a shared medical fund, we were able again this year to provide funds for needs that may arise unexpectedly. At each nunnery where we offered, we asked the nuns to impart their wisdom prior to the gifting ceremony. The nuns offered encouragement for the wholesomeness of our practice of generosity and shared their heartfelt gratitude for our support for their continued study and practice.
Elders Give-Away
During the final days of the retreat, for the second year in a row, Sayadaw invited all yogis to participate in a big community give-away honoring the elders of the local village. With the community bearing witness, Sayadaw gave away blankets, food and numerous other gifts to all the people in Wachet who were over eighty years old. He asked the yogis to do the actual giving, and thus we were all able to participate in his generosity. This was another beautiful opportunity to see the joy that our generosity makes possible and all the ways it touches the community.
In Closing
Being part of each of these experiences brought home the value and beauty of our wider sangha’s generosity for all the Mettadana Projects over time. Each year, Sayadaw offers the gift of inviting those yogis who are part of the year’s retreat to be the ones to do the giving. It creates an opening for each individual to feel the joy and care that fills the long river of generosity that we are all a part of. It’s a river that flows in many directions. We want everyone in the West who supports the Mettadana Project programs to be reminded of the goodness that you generate - in Burma and in your own karmic heritage. The invaluable and ongoing support of our friends and colleagues in Wachet makes the fruit of our efforts blossom. We are indebted to them for their diligent work in putting our resources toward the maximum benefit for all.
Thank you again for all your support. Please click here if you would like to donate toward our Mettadana Project programs. Visit our website if you are interested in learning more about our humanitarian programs.
Check out our Facebook page soon for photos from this year’s work.
A Note from our Acupuncture Team: Myanmar 2014
I have now been back in the UK for some weeks and the memory of the clinical time in Myanmar has both receded somewhat and at the same time had enough time to sink in.
 Having first been a part of the programme in 2013 it was a real pleasure to return to continue the work. As before the programme was divided into two parts, although this year the Acupuncture Clinic was located in a new purpose built clinic opposite the main hospital.
We carried out the majority of treatments here – treating a range of conditions, from frozen shoulder and all manner of structural complaints, most patients presenting with sciatic pain, back pain and knee pain alongside whatever else they may have brought for treatment. We also encountered other common Western illnesses like migraine, diabetes, hypertension and emotional stress.
In this group clinic setting there are always surprises in how patients respond, whether it is the power of the group or some other extraneous factor I am not sure, but all the same the method of the medicine can be particularly powerful. For example I witnessed my colleague Liz treat an elderly lady for severe kyphosis (marked curving of the upper back, preventing sufferers from walking upright) and the following day the lady returned to the clinic for follow on treatment and in front of us, stood up straight and threw her hands in the air, for the first time after years of walking bent over… how can you not be touched by these moments?!
We are both glad to be able to have been a part of the programme and it was made possible through donations raised in the UK and through the help we received from Vipassana Hawaii. We carried out over one thousand treatments during the hospital and outreach clinics and I hope helped the very competent Myanmar acupuncturists to be more self-assured in their talents.
With Metta
James Unsworth. Devon, UK
March 2014
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