2.1.15

Lesson 2.1.15 Phussattheragāthā – 2500 Years Are Over! The Clock of Vipassana Has Struck! Make Use of This Rare Opportunity!

In his inspirational essay ‘The Essentials of Buddha-Dhamma in Meditative Practice’ the meditation teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin compellingly advises those interested in the teaching of the Buddha to take to the practical aspect of meditation (paṭipatti). He was certain that ‘The time clock of Vipassana has now struck!’ and based this unshakable conviction on the strong Burmese belief that the period had arrived, where Burma had to pay back its gratitude to the country of its origin – India. According to this credence, the Buddha-sāsana was to last 5000 years, and after half of this period the aspect of insight wisdom (paññā) was to be revived. Along with it, the practical application of Vipassana would return to India and spread around the world. This firm Burmese belief is based on the textual source of the Phussattheragāthā. Phussa Thera had achieved deep insight with Vipassana and was renowned for his foresight. The selected verses in this lesson present parts of his prophecy. The commentary, also presented in this lesson, later elucidated and analysed this duration by dividing the 5000 years into two halves of 2500 years with each half marked by five periods of 500 years.