Passing away of Sayagyi U Ba Khin

On the 19th of January 1971, Sayagyi U Ba Khin passed away. He had been suffering for some time from diseases of old age and had been hospitalized three times. In the end he was rushed to the hospital and died of internal hemorrhaging. His physician Dr. Ohm Prakash said about him, “He could face disease bravely and well, was an intelligent and cooperative patient. He never took a pessimistic view of life, was always optimistic and took a hopeful view of life. He took suffering and disease as a result of past Karma and said it is the lot of one who is born in the world. The symptoms of disease also he would minimize and never complain(ed).”

At that time Goenkaji was teaching a course at the Burmese Vihara in Bodhgaya. It was his 27th course after coming to India. On the third day of the course Goenkaji received a telegram from Burma that Sayagyi had passed away.

At the 6 pm group sitting Goenkaji announced that, “A light has gone out in Burma.” That being the passing of Sayagyi. The next day at 2:30 there was a special sitting. It was simultaneous with the cremation of Sayagyi in Burma. Goenkaji spoke during the sitting and described how the body was being placed on the fire and how the body was being consumed by the fire. A student who was there described this as a very powerful sitting that is still clear in his mind 47 years later.

When asked later how he knew the body was on the fire, he said that he felt the fire within himself. He knew the body had been consumed when he felt the cool breeze of Metta.

Sayagyi’s ashes were taken by a group of his oldest students by boat to the confluence of the Irrawaddy River with the sea. There they were immersed in the water by the students.

This was the passing of a great man. He changed perceptions of meditation by introducing Vipassana to the world via his students. He saw that the time was ripe for Vipassana to spread around the world. Sayagyi said, “The time clock of Vipassana has struck,” meaning that the time for Vipassana to spread around the world had come. He wanted to go himself, but because the government would not give him a visa Goenkaji became the vehicle that made this huge impact.

Goenkaji never forgot Sayagyi. He always paid tribute to him, downplaying his own work and emphasizing the importance Sayagyi’s work. “My life is fulfilled. From the abundant compassion of my respected Teacher, I have received incomparable sustenance, and I continue to receive it in such abundance. The rejuvenating medicine of Dhamma gives me confidence to move firmly on. It continues to benefit me so much and uplifts so many others also. Pondering this, a spark of gratitude toward my respected Teacher rekindles in my heart.”

Today all his students have a great debt to this man who gave householders around the world an opportunity to learn Vipassana meditation. Each time a new student receives Dhamma for the first time, each time an old student sits down to meditate, they reap the benefit of Sayagyi’s efforts.