According to Theravada orthodoxy, even the Buddha’s teachings are subject to impermanence. That is to say, there will be a day when the dhamma disappears from the world.
For many Burmese Buddhists, it appeared that day was quickly dawning during the British colonization of Burma in the nineteenth century. For one particularly brilliant monk, scholar, and meditation master, Ledi Sayadaw, this was cause for great consternation.
Prior to colonization, the Burmese monarchy was seen as the country’s principal protector of the dhamma. As Christian missionaries threatened to erase Buddhism in Burma, Ledi Sayadaw believed that it was now everyday people’s collective responsibility to preserve the teachings.
As Burma’s most famous monk, Ledi Sayadaw contributed in key ways to a countrywide revival of Vipassana. According to scholar Erik Braun, when Ledi Sayadaw began proselytizing in 1903, “he undertook a program of nearly ceaseless travel throughout Burma, traveling thousands and thousands of miles, from the far north to the far south and to the borders on the east
