Dear reader,
I hope you are doing well . . . at a time when so-called leaders – and talking heads in so-called media – are pushing fear and phobia for anything and everything.
‘Be islands unto yourself, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge. With the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge.’ (Digha Nikaya 16, The Last Days of the Buddha, part 2, verse 33)
In our country’s tradition, this is Holy Week, when we can pass through spiritual death and rise from death. Easter is the feast of resurrection.
In this newsletter:
1. Changes in the Board
2. Annual Account and Annual Report 2024
3. Locations for 2026
4. 15-day retreat with Sayadaw U Vivekananda and Sayalay Daw Bhaddamanika
5. Earthquake in Burma
6. Agenda
With warm regards,
Guus Went
www.mahasi.net
1. Changes in the board
In 2019, the year of his retirement, Guus established the Mahasi Sayadaw Foundation. In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on finding its own permanent location, in the Netherlands or elsewhere on the continent of Europe. The two board members Sanne and Jerome, given the changes in their private and work circumstances, cannot contribute much to this at the moment, and therefore they have indicated that they wish to resign their positions. We thank them for their stimulating support in recent years.
Dave and Francien, both very serious yogi’s, are willing to take these places.
Dave’s ambition is to establish a meditation center, which fits perfectly with the goals of the foundation. His age (41) is another gift, as it frees Guus (72) from the question of how to proceed with a center when he is no longer there. Francien (51) is very dedicated to the idea of an own centre.
2. Annual Account and Activity Report 2024
The Annual Account and Activity Report 2024 have been published and can be viewed.
A positive result of € 14,367 increased the equity of the Mahasi Sayadaw Foundation to € 71,813. In addition, there is an earmarked reserve of € 125,000 for a retreat center. There is now € 200,000 in the savings account.
3. Locations for 2026
We enjoyed coming to Abbey Guesthouse in Doetinchem for many years, and the appreciation was mutual. In fact, four more retreats are planned this year. So it is really only because of ever-increasing costs that we started looking for a cheaper location for the longer retreats. We have found that for 2026 at Centrum Savita in Sauerland, near Winterberg, Germany.
The 5-day retreats in 2026 will take place at Hoeve Wetermans in Olst.
4. 15-Day Retreat with Sayadaw U Vivekananda and Sayalay Daw Bhaddamanika
After a very successful 10-day retreat in June 2024 with Sayadaw U Vivekananda and Sayalay Daw Bhaddamanika of Panditarama Lumbini, our invitation to come again in 2025 unfortunately reached the teachers too late. Some of last year’s participants have gone to Lumbini in recent months; others will go to Switzerland or France this spring, where the teachers conduct retreats. See the Agenda.
We are delighted that they have agreed to come for as many as 15 days in 2026: May 15 – 30.
5. Earthquake in Burma
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Burma (Myanmar) on March 28 was a huge disaster for the country that has been ravaged by civil war for years. The population needs everything: shelter, food, medical care. The authorities don’t seem to be very cooperative. On behalf of the foundation, I have already transferred $500 to Better Burma.
If you want to give something, there is also another possibility. Our friends from Dhammaramsi in Belgium currently have two Buddhist nuns as their guests. One of them, Daw Gandhasobha, is Burmese and will return to Burma on April 30. There she will deliver your donation directly to a reliable relief organization.
On April 25, I will be going to Dhammaramsi for a week-long personal retreat and I will be able to take your donations with me then. (Bank: IBAN: NL 63 RABO 0149 0892 79, BIC: RABONL2U, Mahasi Sayadaw Foundation ‘for Burma’).
6. Upcoming English spoken retreats – for International, see CALENDAR
The right column (International) of the Calendar includes where Sayadaw U Vivekananda and Sayalay Daw Bhaddamanika are teaching this Spring (Switzerland and France).
A selection:
October 11 – 25: 14-day retreat with Guus Went, Satipanya UK.
May 15 – 30, 2026: 15-day retreat with Sayadaw U Vivekananda and Sayalay Daw Bhaddamanika of Panditarama Lumbini at Center Savita, Winterberg, Germany.