by Hla Min

Updated : June 2026

Alphabet

Burmese Alphabet

• Ka, Kha, Ga …

English Alphabet

• Upper case; A to Z
• Lower case : a to z

Greek Alphabet

• Alpha to Omega
• Used in Science texts

Pali

• Spoken language
• Written in various scripts including Burmese, Thai and Sinhalese.
• PTS (Pali Text Society) uses Romanized Pali.

Pyu Alphabet

Bhamaso Taya

• Metta
  Loving Kindness, Unbounded Love
• Karuna
  Compassion
• Mudita
  Altruistic Joy, Sympathetic Joy
• Uppekkha
  Equanimity

Buddhism

Buddha

• The Blessed One, the Worthy One, and the Fully Enlightened One
• Nine Qualities of the Buddha

Dhamma

• Teachings of the Buddha
• Tipitaka (Three Baskets) ; Vinaya, Sutta, Abhidhamma
• Five Nikayas
• Six Qualities of the Dhamma

Sangha

• Monastic Order of the Buddha
• Nine Qualities of the Sangha

Vinaya

• Monastic Rules of Conduct

Sutta

• Discourses

Abhidhamma

• Ultimate Reality

Pali Texts

• Canon
• Commentary
• Sub-commentary

Buddhist Councils

• Six — According to the Theravada tradition
• First, Second and Third — Oral tradition (held in India)
• Fourth — Written texts (Compiled in Ceylon / Sri Lanka)
• Fifth — Mandalay (to celebrate 2400th Sasana Era)
• Sixth — Kaba Aye, Rangoon (to celebrate 2500th Sasana Era)

Books

• What the Buddha Taught
  by Dr. Rahula Walpole
  Translation by U Kelasa
• In His Own Words
  by Bikkhu Bodhi
  Course / book by U Silananda

Burmese

• Burmese Language
  Spoken Burmese (Myanmar Sagar)
  Written Burmese (Myanmar Sar)
• Burmese Department
  Myanmar (Burma)
  Overseas
• Burmese Sayas
  U Pe Maung Tin,
  U E Maung,
  U Wun
  U Thein Han
  U Chan Mya
• Khit San Sar Pa
  ICS U Sein Tin (Theikpan Maung Wa)
  U Thein Han (Zawgyi)
  U Wun (Minthuwun)
• Burmese Language Commission
  Bohmu Ba Thaung
  U San Lwin
• Text books
  Kindergarten
  Primary School
  Middle School
  High School
  University
• References
  Dictionary (Abhidan)
  Encyclopedia (Swel Sone Kyan)
  Grammar (Thadda)
  Proverbs (Sagar Pone)
  Spelling (Thutt Pone)
• Publications –
  Cartoons
  Comics
  Journals
  Magazines
  Newspapers
  Novels
  Sar Saungs

Calendar

• Old Roman Calendar
  Ten “working” months (from March to December)
• Later Roman Calendars
  Twelve months (from January to December)
• Julian Calendar
• Gregorian Calendar

Child

• Khalay
• Khalay Ah Thinn (Association)
• Child Psychology
• Piaget

Fun

• Fun with Learning
  Facebook group
• Fun with English
  Definitions
  Palindrome
  Tongue Twister
  Word Games (Crossword puzzle, Lexicon, Scrabble, Anagram, Jumbled phrase)
• Fun with Mathematics
  Paradox
  Puzzles
• Fun with Physics
  Online course

Maths

• Saya U Aung Hla
  In 1950 – 52, Saya U Aung Hla was Dean of Arts. He was also Professor of Maths. He is an expert in music, and wrote notes for selected Burmese songs. His spouse Daw May Than is a vocalist. His son U Mya Than is a Guitarist and Pianist.
• Maths Department
  In the early days, the Maths Department was under the Faculty of Arts. Later, Maths Department was under the Faculty of Science.
• Options (offered in different periods) at Rangoon University
  Pure Maths
  Applied Maths
  Double Maths : Pure & Applied
  Triple Maths : Pure, Applied & Statistics

My Contributions

• Five decades as Volunteer of various organizations and projects
• 26 years as Founder & Chief Editor of RIT Alumni International Newsletter
  Silver Jubilee in 2024
• Member, HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education). U Ohn Khine and I compiled the CD Supplement for the HMEE Book in 2012
• 220+ Videos (on selected topics) : Broadcast in 2019 and 2020
• 3000+ Articles
  in my web site hlamin.com
• Former Moderator of RU Centennial Facebook Group
  Overview of RU Centennial Group (Posts)
  Countdown to RU Centennial (Posts)
  Photo Essays and Photo Albums
• Memories
  Memories of PPBRS (Private Primary Boundary Road School)
  Memories of SPHS (St. Paul’s High School)
  Memories of RIT (Rangoon Institute of Technology)
  Memories of UCC (Universities’ Computer Center)
• Contributor
  Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife
• Language Expert
  Burmese Language Project, NFLC, University of Maryland at College Park
• Contributing Editor, Dhammanda Newsletter
• Contributing Editor, “Homage to U Silananda”
• Contributing Editor, Souvenir Magazine for RUBC 90th Anniversary
• Contributing Editor, BAPS Newsletter
• Bilingual Author
• Wrote and translated Poems and Articles
• Interpreter, Meditation Retreats
• Edited books of Sayadaws and colleagues

New Year

• Gregorian Calendar
  January 1st
• Lunar New Year
  aka “Chinese New Year” and “Tet”
  January or February
• Persian New Year
  aka “First day of Spring”
  around March 21
• Myanmar New Year
  aka “Thingyan”
  Mid April
  cf : Songkran in Thailand
• Karen New Year
• Bringing in the New Year
  Celebrations of New Year’s Eve (December 31)
  e.g. Dropping the ball at Times Square in New York

Olympics

• Ancient Games
  Mount Olympus, Greece
• Modern Olympic Games
  proposed by Pierre de Coubertin
  Early period : amateurs only
  Later : commercialized (sponsors, hosts, professional athletes …)
• Summer Olympics
  Breaks during the World War
  Postponed during the Pandemic
• 1936 Berlin
• 1948 London
• 1952 Helsinki
• 1956 Melbourne
• 1960 Rome
• 1964 Tokyo
• 1968 Montreal
• 1972 Munich
• 1976 Montreal
• 1980 Moscow
• 1984 Los Angeles
• 1988 Seoul
• 1992 Barcelona
• 1996 Atlanta
• 2000 Sydney
• 2004 Athens
• 2008 Beijing
• 2012 London
• 2016 Rio de Janerio
• 2020 Scheduled for Tokyo
  Postponed to 2021 due to pandemic
• 2024 Paris
• Winter Olympics

Sleep

• Conventional
  8 hours (for adults)
  more (for infants)
• Could/ should vary with person
  e.g. my uncle slept 4 hours, but he had power naps in the day
• Rationale for sleep
  Rest
  “Clean up garbage” in the brain
  Activities by the Subconscious (e.g. problem solving)
• Sleep studies
  Dream
  Sleep Apnea (Breathing difficulties)
  Monitor brain (for a specified period)
  Effect of duration (too little, too much)
  Effect of rhythm (specified time to go to sleep)
• Miscellaneous
  Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise
  The story of Pauk Kyaing
  

Thet Kyee Sayas and Alumni

• Sayagyi U Ba Toke
  Phwa Bet Taw of Rangoon University in December 1920
  Book about his life and achievements by Dr. Khin Maung Swe (Maung Thin Char, GBNF)
  Saya of our sayas
  Passed away on December 2, 2020 (the day after the RU Centennial Celebrations) but a few days short of his Centennial on December 26.

• U Thein Han (96 years)
  Worked as Systems Engineer for IBM Burma
  Active doing exercises and sharing memories / posts
  

• U Tin U (96 years)
  Joined Rangoon University in 1946 along with Dr. Pe Nyun, Dr. Pe Thein and U Sein Hlaing.
  Former part time Lecturer at Civil Engineering Department;
  Oldest and Most senior among Past Captains of Rangoon University Boat Club that are still alive;
  Opened the RUBC Centennial Ceremony in December 2023,
  Past Captain of Rangoon Golf Club;
  Lost his beloved spouse Dr. Daw Khin Nyunt, his eldest son Dr. Khin Tun (Peter, MRCP, Former Associate Dean of Oxford University) and his son-in-law U Tin Tun within a few months (late 2019 to May 2020)

• U Ba Than (94 years)
  Won Collegiate Scholarship in 1947;
  Gold Medalist for highest score in Intermediate Examinations for 1948 and 1949;
  Retired as Professor and Head of Mechanical Engineering;
  Early supporter of HMEE-2012 (History of Myanmar Engineering Education)
  Now GBNF

• Other Thet Kyees
  Several of my sayas, sayamas, relatives and friends are 90+ years young.

Time

• Clock / Watch
  Mechanical, Electro-mechanical, Electrical, Atomic
• Calendar
  Various types
• Time and Motion Study
  Kenneth and Lillian Gilbraith
• Time Management
• Five minute biographies
• One minute manager
• Early responder
  within 4 or 5 minutes
• Gettysburg Address
  less than 2 minutes
• TED Talk
  less than 18 minutes
• Toastmaster Speech
  typically 5 to 7 minutes
• Sports
  Timing
  Records

To Err Is Human

• “To err is human, but to make blunders use a computer indiscriminately.”
• Some software “auto-corrects” words incorrectly.
• In our younger days, there was a good Scrabble player named James Thet Wai (Proof Reader for the Guardian newspaper).
• Burmese publications have language experts (Burmese, English, Pali).
• Before the Internet, the production of a good book requires the expertise of editors and reviewers. Even then, some typos and discrepancies can appear.
  e.g A reference book described Rajiv Gandhi as the “younger” son of Indira Gandhi.
• Note that articles on the Internet / Social Media — with lax reviews — can have typos and errors.
  An entry on Dr. Ba Than lists Dr. Aung Than as his son.
  Another article claimed that Prof. U E Maung was “Bagyi Aung”.
  One author did not know the time line / order of Arzani Nay and the assassination of ICS U Tin Tut.
• It is important to check facts (especially historical dates & events) and provide correction.

YMBA

• Young Men’s Buddhist Association
• Illustrated History of Buddhism
  Mahagandayone Sayadaw Ashin Janakabhivamsa (Author);
  Saya U Ba Kyi (Artist)
  First edition : Myanmar text
  Supplement : English text
  Reprint: Theravada Buddhist Society of America

YMCA

• Young Men’s Christian Association
• N. Smith — Invented Basketball
• Dale Carnegie — How to win friends and influence people; How to stop worrying and start living;
  How to improve your diction
• Dr. Ralph Smedley — Public Speaking and Leadership; Precursor to Toastmasters International

Zero

Numerals

• Hindu-Arabic numeral : 0
• No such Roman numeral

Miscellaneous

• The Dawn of Nothing
• Positional number system
• 0-based numbering
• Nil; Null; Nothing
• Often used to represent “False” in two-valued logic.
• Absolute Zero (temperature)
• Ground Zero
• Zero in

Zoom

Lens

• Photographers and Videographers often use Zoom lens for special effect.
• The more we grow older the more we have to avoid “zoom camera” to our face.

Zoom In and Zoom Out

• We zoom in when we want to see things in detail.
• We zoom out when we need to see things in the bigger picture.

Teleconferencing

• Zoom is a system for teleconferencing.
• Usage grew dramatically during the pandemic
• Free version; Deluxe version

by Hla Min

Updated : June 2026

February

• According to “Ripley’s Believe it or not”, a graveyard inscription had February 30th.
• Julius Caesar’s followers took a day from February to make July (named in his honor) have 31 days instead of 30.
• Augustus Caesar’s followers took a day from February to make August (named in his honor) to have 31 days instead of 30.
• February became the shortest month of the calendar year with 28 days. It was given back an extra day on a leap year.
• The earth takes about 365.2422 days to revolve round the sun, so the discrepancy between a solar year and the calendar year became 0.9688 day every four years (or 97 days in 4 centuries). The first correction was to designate a year divisible by 4 as a Leap Year.
• In Gregorian calendar, a leap year is defined as a non-century year that is divisible by 4, and a century year that is divisible by 400. This is more accurate than the first correction.

Grandma

Latin terms for student

• Alumnus : male student
• Almuna : female student
• Alumni : male students
• Alumnae : female students

• In modern usage, “alumni” applies to all students.
• We sometimes use alum as a short form for alumni.

Synonym

• Synonyms are words which have almost the same meaning for the given context.
• Since some words have multiple meanings, one must specify the meaning associated with a synonym.
• For example, Dictionary, Thesaurus, Lexicon and Vocabulary are synonyms.
  Their usage depends on the context. In general, Lexicon is a body of knowledge (or dictionary) of Latin and Greek.
  At one time, Lexicon is a card game where players create words and score points. It was superseded by Scrabble.

Antonym

• Antonyms are words which have almost the opposite meaning for the given context.
• Since some words have multiple meanings, one must specify the meaning associated with an antonym.
• For example, Love and Hate are antonyms.
• In Pali, the antonyms of Lobha (Greed), Dosa (Anger or Hatred) and Moha (Ignorance of Delusion) are Alobha (Non-greed), Adosa (Non-hatred) and Amoha (Non-ignorance or Wisdom).

Homonym

• Homonyms are words which sound the same.
• Examples
  rain, rein, reign
  air, heir
  throne, thrown
• A puzzle based on homonyms :
  “What is the difference between the Prince of Wales and a cricket ball?” The Prince of Wales is HEIR to the THRONE. A cricket ball is THROWN to the AIR.