Episode 32: The Mystery of U Lokanatha
There was something larger than life about the great Italian monk, U Lokanatha. He was a kind of forerunner of the Buddhist modernist movement, taking up a meditation practice before it was commonplace and being one of the first to talk extensively about the connection between scientific thought and the Buddha’s teachings, he hobnobbed with some of the most powerful figures of his day, and he actively preached world peace during an era terrified of the atomic bomb.
Yet even so, there are so many unanswered yet intriguing questions about U Lokanatha’s story. For example, to what extent did his meditation practice influence the teaching of Sayagyi U Ba Khin and S.N. Goenka? Did he really believe he could convert the Pope or Mussolini to Buddhism? What role did he play in convincing Ambedkar to go ahead with a mass conversion of millions of Dalit (Untouchables) into Buddhists? How did he convince the recluse and reputed Arahant, Webu Sayadaw, living in his small hut in northern Myanmar, to visit the Presidential palaces in Sri Lanka, where he ultimately received Buddha relics? How did he survive walking alone those many miles between Italy and India in his search for Dhamma? What supernatural powers or spiritual attainments did he achieve? How on Earth did this dedicated monastic come to be a presence in 1950s Hollywood? What would have happened if General Aung San had chosen to follow his dreams and had given up the cause for independence and instead ordained under U Lokanatha and devoted his life to spiritual, rather than national, liberation? Where in northern Myanmar did U Lokanatha actually meditate for so many years, and how was he even able to find a way to practice in an era where so few were doing so? And finally, how did such a revered figure in Myanmar, one known around the world, manage to practically disappear from the historical record within a half century (during a time of mass media to boot), his name almost lost to contemporary generations of Buddhist and mindfulness practitioners and scholars alike?
If any of these questions piqued your interest, then you have some idea of the mystery that lit a flame under Antonio Costanzo and his team of collaborators in their project, a quest to hunt down, collate and disseminate information on U Lokanatha’s life, for the purpose of writing a biography of the venerable monk. On the first of three podcast episodes about this great Italian monk, Antonio joins us from his current home in Iceland, and shares a general overview about how his team came to take on their project. Two subsequent episodes will feature interviews with other team members, the second probing his life and biography, and the third examining his teachings and practice. These episodes will be a part of two separate Insight Myanmar Podcast series: Media Corner and Deep Dive.
It all started for Antonio when he was reading Shwe Lan Ga Lay, or The Golden Path, and his attention was piqued by two short references to U Lokanatha, particularly one in which he was promoting vegetarianism. In starting to learn about him, Antonio became amazed to find that he was from a town only 40 kilometers away from his own home, and so thus began an informal inquiry into this mysterious monk. But what started so casually soon grew into a multi-continent, multi-member team project!
Antonio also discusses how much his own life and practice was affected by undertaking this research, and how moved he became when he learned about the extent of U Lokanatha’s courage, as well as his commitment to mettā. Similarly, he feels there is so much of value in the story of U Lokanatha for other foreign meditators today. For instance, Antonio notes that in a day where mindfulness opportunities are only a click away, some practitioners might take for granted the power in being able to access these teachings of liberation; but with U Lokanatha we are reminded of a powerful example of one man willing to risk everything to follow this path.