Biographies of Sayagyi U Ba Khin and Mother Sayamagyi Daw Mya Thwin. 

Sayagyi U Ba Khin was born in Yangon, Myanmar, on 6th March 1899.

Though he had been a brilliant pupil throughout elementary and secondary school and passed the

university entry exams, he did not go to university. His parents were not well off and he

felt that he had to earn an income as soon as possible to support them.

He entered the British administration and through diligent work and study became one

of the highest ranking local civil servants. When Myanmar gained independence he was

named the first Accountant General of Burma.

Sayagyi U Ba Khin started to practise meditation under Saya Thet Gyi, who was a

disciple of the famous Venerable Ledi Sayadaw, and one of the first lay meditation

teachers in Myanmar. Sayagyi U Ba Khin was also urged by the Webu Sayadaw –– who

was believed to have reached arahatship –– to pass on the Buddha’s teachings as he

knew and understood them.

Sayagyi U Ba Khin’s aspiration was to give lay people, who lead busy and often

unsettled lives, a tool to understand the teachings of the Buddha in practice. He knew

that a working person would not be able to devote long periods of time in the forest to

meditation. Therefore he designed a technique, within a ten-day course, which could

enable a diligent student to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha up to understanding

the ultimate truth and Nibbāna.

Sayagyi U Ba Khin showed through his life that meditation can very successfully be

integrated into and greatly benefit one’s day to day life. The power of mind he gained

through his practice allowed him to run up to four major government departments

simultaneously at the same time as teaching meditation courses. Sayagyi U Ba Khin

passed away on 19th January 1971.

Mother Sayamagyi Daw Mya Thwin was born in Moulmein, Myanmar, on 12th March

1925. Her mother died soon after her birth, and she was brought up by her maternal

grandparents. Through her husband, Sayagyi U Chit Tin, she came into contact with

Sayagyi U Ba Khin in 1953 and soon became his leading disciple. Mother Sayamagyi

was always present when Sayagyi U Ba Khin was teaching and she assisted him with all

his disciples, both Myanmar and foreign.

After Sayagyi U Ba Khin’s demise, Mother Sayamagyi taught at the IMC in Yangon

until she and Sayagyi U Chit Tin left Myanmar in 1978 to teach in the West. It had

always been Sayagyi U Ba Khin’s deepest wish to teach meditation to the people of the

West, but circumstances beyond his control prevented him from leaving his country.

Mother Sayamagyi and Sayagyi U Chit Tin renounced their life in Myanmar in order to

fulfil this wish of their teacher. Travelling and teaching all over the world for more than

30 years, they established five meditation centres with pagodas for meditation and many other national groups and associations worldwide. 

Mother Sayamagyi passed away at IMC UK on 28th January 2017.