S. N. Goenka received his training in Vipassana meditation in Myanmar, under the guidance of the lay meditation master Sayagyi U Ba Khin. This Burmese teacher, who was also a government official, became the pivotal figure in transmitting the technique to Goenka. The setting of Myanmar, with its long-preserved Theravāda meditative heritage, formed the backdrop against which this transmission unfolded. In this way, Goenka’s encounter with Vipassana was not an isolated event, but part of a living lineage rooted in Burmese practice.

Under U Ba Khin’s tutelage, Goenka undertook an extended period of disciplined training. Over many years, he immersed himself in the systematic practice that his teacher embodied and conveyed. The relationship between student and teacher thus became a vessel through which an ancient contemplative discipline was carried forward. Goenka’s later role as a major proponent of Vipassana can be understood as an organic outgrowth of this apprenticeship in Myanmar, where the technique was received, refined in personal experience, and then prepared for wider sharing.