Episode #318: Lynne Bousfield grew up in Australia, and led a fairly conventional life. But in 1975, when she was a student at the university, she received a postcard from her brother in Thailand. The picture of golden stupas stirred something stirred something deep within her.
After some adventures in Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and India, she still felt she had not found what she was seeking. But she had to replenish her coffers, and so went on to Iran to find work. While there, an expat she met told her about a meditation retreat in Bodghaya taught by someone named Munindra. That was it! Lynne dropped what she was doing and headed back to India. There, under Munindra’s guidance, she embarked on her first meditation retreat, a transformative experience that set her firmly on the path of Vipassana meditation. This practice, deeply rooted in the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition, became the cornerstone of her spiritual journey.
Lynne’s commitment to the practice grew stronger with time, leading her to spend extended periods in Burma, where she deepened her understanding under the tutelage of some of the most respected meditation masters. She also met many Western seekers like herself, who became well-known Dhamma teachers in their own right. Returning to Australia, Lynne helped establish a retreat center, where she has long been a teacher. She also went back to school to become a licensed therapist. Way ahead of her time, she began integrating mindfulness practice in her therapeutic work.
Today, Lynne sees a huge loss in the closing off of Burma and the violence and destruction there. She feels the world is losing access to the wellspring of authentic meditation teachers that had set her on her path. “I think meeting people like Mahasi Sayadaw, you’re in the presence of something that is very hard to describe. There’s some kind of recognition with it, but to try to describe it would make it sounds like nothing… but that was trustworthy and true.”