Mote Seik Phone Gyi

by Hla Min

Updated : May 2025

Reverend Friedrich Lustig
Estonian Buddhist monk

• He was born on 26 April 1912 in Narva, Estonia.
• He passed away on 4 April 1989 in Rangoon, Myanmar.
• He and his mentor Karlis Tennisons (Buddhist Archbishop of Latvia and Sangharja for Estonia and Lithuania) lived for many years in a monastery on “A Le Pyit Sa Yan” အလယ် ပစ္စယံ of Shwe Dagon Pagoda.
• He went for alms round every day, and was fondly known as “Mote Seik Phone Gyi” (named after his beard).
• After his mentor’s demise, he inherited his master’s titles. He shaved his beard and became ordained as a Theravada monk with the name “Ashin Ananda”.
• He was a Poet Laureate. He wrote poems in English. He also translated Burmese poems (including Anandathuriya’s kabyar) into English.
• He would review my poems.