Episode #110: Ariya Baumann’s spiritual journey began far away from the tropical surroundings of the Golden Land. She grew in a small town in Switzerland, among the snowy Alps. Raised in a Christian home, she began to ask herself existential questions about God. As she began to investigate possible answers, she came across some writings on Buddhism, and was immediately intrigued by the promise of meditation.

Ariya tried on her own for a while, but wanted to take a more formal retreat, so she took off on a trip around the world. In Thailand, she joined a course at Wat Suan Mokkh, and then several Tibetan retreats in India. Two years later, she fell in love with an Australian man, and ended up following him back to his country, where she learned about an upcoming visit from Chan Myay Yeiktha Sayadaw U Janaka, a teacher in the Mahasi tradition. U Janaka encouraged Ariya to slow down her movements, so as to be able to observe every moment of mental and physical action. She found the results “stunning.” She had found her way.

It was 1992, and very hard for foreigners to get visas for extended periods in Myanmar, but U Janaka managed to get her a six-month visa. She decided to ordain temporarily as a nun. But as months stretched into years, Ariya stayed in robes. She was amazed by what she experienced. “With the meditation, mindfulness, and concentration, and looking carefully, just like becoming an electronic microscope, we see more and more deeply into the true nature of this body of physical processes.”

Over time, she picked up the Burmese language, which eventually led to her role as translator for Chan Myay Myaing Sayadaw U Indaka. She moved from the Yangon branch to the Hmawbi monastery, where longer meditation retreats were held, and became the foreign manager, and eventually, a teacher there. Her teaching career only grew from here. Alongside Daw Viranani and Chan Myay Myaing Sayadaw, she began offering intensive mettā retreats in English. Before COVID, the course was so popular that yogis would fly from all over the world to attend, and it was usually filled just days after registration opened.

Today, Ariya is heartbroken about the current coup. “My heart is bleeding, and I'm so sad about what is happening in Myanmar right now,” she says. But as the devastation from the conflict continue to wreak havoc in the country, Ariya comes back to how much gratitude she has for the priceless spiritual lessons she learned there. “The fact that in Burma, the practice of meditation is respected and understood as something very precious. This makes Burma so special!... I find many people who have come to Burma have felt the same.”

The End of Friendship, with Jennifer Senior