Interview with Patients seeking refuge at ThaBarWa Centre
(with English Sub-titles)
Interview with Sayalay Amara
This is an interview with Sayalay Daw Amara, a full time dhamma volunteer and one of the dhamma teachers of Thabarwa Center in Thanlyin, Myanmar.
She was diagnosed with an ovarian cancer mainly due to her stressful career. But after joining a 10 day meditation retreat with Sayadaw Ashin Uttamasara at Thabarwa Centre, her intense pain as well as cancer suddenly disappeared.
She resumed her stressful career after the retreat. Due to the stress and tension, the cancer came back more seriously and aggressively 2 years later.
While confronting with death, she went back to meditate intensely under the guidance of Ashin Uttamasara and the cancer disappeared again. From that time onwards, she calmly detach her career, possession and whatever attachment she has and has been living at Thabarwa Centre as a permanent resident, volunteer and subsequently as one of the dhamma teachers.
Liver Cancer Surviver
While Ms. Tin Tin Aye, age 69, was working at the Ministry of Agriculture in Myanmar, she was confronted with serious health problems.
After manifesting various symptoms and a result from a biopsy, that she was told that she was suffering from a liver cancer.
Since that time, she has been living with the dreadful liver cancer for more than 25 years, without going through a single operations as well as standard western medical cancer treatments.
Tin Tin Aye maintains her live by meditating, eating the right food and herbal remedies.
She learned various methods of vipassana insight meditation from teachers all around Myanmar, she also practiced intensively samatha concentration meditation at Pa Auk Monastery.
Now she focuses exclusively on vipassana insight meditaiton, while residing at Thabarwa Center in Thanlyin, Myanmar.
The Late Dr Swe Swe Aung (liver cancer)
The late Dr Swe Swe Aung, a veterinarian doctor, suffered from a chronic diabetes (diabetes hereditary disease). Due to her chronic diabetes, she was totally bedridden at the age of 58.
Due to her weak immunity, she had suffered from tuberculosis (TB) for three times the first time being at the age of 16. She had also suffered from the side effects of strong medicines prescribed for her assortment of diseases.
Sick and tired of the sickness and the condition which she was in, she had decided to spend her remaining days with dhamma contemplation and to practice vipassana insight meditation under the guidance of ThaBarWa Sayadaw Venerable Ottamasara and thus moved in to ThaBarWa Meditation Centre as a full-time yogi.
Since that time onwards, her health improves slowly but steadily to the condition of the time of this interview. Her improved health condition was due to dhamma contemplaion and daily vipassana insight meditation under the guidance of Venerable Ashin Uttamasara.
However, her very petite, frail and weak body finally scummed to the dreadful chronic diabetes and tuberculosis (TB) and finally rested peacefully at Thabarwa Centre in early 2015.
We are so saddened by the passing of Dr Swe Swe Aung, a great fighter who never once uttered a word "defeat or give up" but fought the very tough battle till her last breath.
Rest In Peace sister ....