Mon Sayadaw

by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

U Thilawunta (1912 – 2011)

• Known fondly as “Mon Sayadaw မွန်ဆရာတော်”
• Dat Paung Zon Sayadaw ဓာတ်ပေါင်းစုံ ဆရာတော် from 1949

DPZ Pagoda

• In 1948, my father, his siblings and dhamma friends (e.g U Kyaw Myint) built the Dat Paung Zon Pagoda and Monastery.

• My elder brother was ordained as a novice. He volunteered as a Construction Helper.

DPZ Sayadaw

• He served as the Chief Abbot of the Dat Paung p Aung Min Gaung monastery on Windermere Road, Rangoon, Burma from 1949.

Trip to USA

• At the invitation of U Thant, Sayadaw traveled to the US (via the ocean liner – predating the days of air travel) and built a pagoda on the Allegheny Mountains.

Ananda Bodhi

• In 1958, Leslie Dawson, Canadian of Irish and Scottish descent, asked Mon Sayadaw to be his mentor.
• Dawson traveled to Bodh Gaya, India to rejoin the Sayadaw and received ordination as a samanera (novice monk).
• He continued on to Burma where he was ordained as Anandabodhi bhikkhu at the Shwedagon temple, Rangoon (21 Dec 1958).
• Ananda Bodhi had followers in Canada and New Zealand, most of whom have visited Sayadaw and the Dat Paung Zon pagoda. Two of them also ordained as Buddhist monks with Mon Sayadaw as preceptor.
• Ananda Bodhi became a Tibetan Master with the name Namgyal Rinpoche in 1971, but continued to preach dhamma from Theravada, …

Pagodas around the world

Mon Sayadaw built pagodas in the several countries including USA, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Suggested Reading

Details of Sayadaw’s dhamma duta missions can be found in the official biography (in Burmese and English) and the web pages of his disciples (e.g Dr. Steven K H Aung).