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about with discipline. When one eats, one must eat with discipline. When one drinks, one must drink with discipline. When one sits, one must sit with discipline. When one speaks, one must speak with discipline. When one showers, one must shower with discipline. When one goes to the bathroom, one must do it with discipline. When one puts on attire, one must wear it with discipline. Even when one takes off one's sandals, one must arrange them with discipline. When one walks one must walk with discipline. One must throw away trash, as well, is an orderly fashion. There are trash baskets placed all over. One must not spit in an inappropriate place. One must not smoke or chew betel.
That kind of discipline is present in other places, too. At the Shwe Taung Gon Sâsana Yeiktha there are not only local but foreign yogis as well. There are yogis of many nationalities, both Eastern and Western. They come from many nations and from many strata of society. They come because they want to practice the Satipatthâna meditation from Myanmar. Sayadaw is concerned that when they come, they will look down on the people, the nation, and the Buddha Sâsana of Myanmar. Sayadaw has been on many trips to many nations, both in the East and the West. They have discipline in some foreign countries. He knows well the discipline they follow. That's why he doesn't want to see them look down on the people, the nation, and the Buddha Sâsana of Myanmar.
Foreigners don't like it to be noisy. So he pays special attention to making sure that his meditation centers are quiet. When people who come to offer meals get to talking loudly, from time to time Sayadaw himself reminds them to speak quietly. Foreigners don't just throw trash wherever they happen to be. They only put it in wastebaskets. As for Myanmar people, they mostly just throw it out wherever they happen to be. So at the Shwe Taung Gon Sâsana Yeiktha, having put trash cans all over the place, he has everybody put trash only in them. Those from foreign nations are very neat and clean. Since those from Myanmar are not like that, Sayadaw really has to make a lot of corrections. Sayadaw does not relax the discipline concerning neatness and tidiness at all. Actually, that is really good. If he did relax it, the foreigners would surely become disdainful. There is strict prohibitions against smoking and chewing betel at the meditation center. There are many Myanmar people who spit and blow their noses without discipline.
The author once went on a Dhamma mission to the U.S. with Sayadaw. The author, who is prone to car sickness, became sick while riding in a car and had to throw up again and again in the car. I had to throw up into a sick bag. That road we were travelling on went through the woods for the most part. Nobody lived there. In Myanmar, if one was on forest road, they would just toss a sick bag like that out the window. There, they don't just toss it. They wait to throw out trash until they find a trash can to put it in. We were on a forest road where nobody lived! Realizing that nobody is around, they don't even toss trash, let alone pass water. We shouldn't look up to everything that is done in foreign countries. However, there are many things to admire and emulate. One should take what is good, whether from one's own nation or another's, and follow it.
Sayadaw, who has gotten to realize the way foreigners are, has laid down good discipline and has it followed and practiced so that neither locals nor foreigners have
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