My Poem from the commemorative Sar Saung for SPZP-2007
S ingapore-2007. We’ll gladly come. W e’ll puzaw sayas, meet friends, have fun E njoy Swe Daw Yeik Sar Saung, that’s second to none.
D azzling displays, beauty, elegance, grace A h Nyeint, duests, jokes, dances, …, spectacular plays W ill bring back fond memories of the [RIT] Swe Daw Yeik days
Y oung alums bear torches of mentors wise and old E nergetic, international family members — more precious than gold I nnovators, entrepreneurs, …, philanthropists, we are told K nowing how to strike rich and share wealth as opportunities unfold.
Note
In my later posts, I use Swel Daw instead of Swe Daw.
First native Professor of Mechanical Engineering at RIT.
Studied at Lehigh University and a Canadian University.
Moved to Canada.
Gave the go-ahead signal for SPZP-2000
Wrote articles for RIT Updates & HMEE
Trip to Windsor, Canada
In July 2015, Ivan Lee (M69) provided his car & gas for a whirlwind trip to Canada and East Coast of USA.
Fred Thetgyi (M69) drove most of the trip & also took photos.
With Saya & Ivan Souvenir
Visited Saya U Aung Khin (Former Professor of Mechanical Engineering) in Windsor, Canada
Saya not only prepared breakfast for us but also gave us mementos.
(2) Saya Allen Htay
Highlights
SPZP-2000
Leader, SF Bay Area Alumni
Founder & President of RIT Alumni International, which hosted SPZP-2000
Wrote, “Brother, can you afford $500 and more?” — resulted in Golden Sponsors for SPZP-2000
In Saya’s Memory
Donation
Daw Mu Mu Kin donated saya’s books to YTU Library.
She also provided financial assistance to eligible YTU students
(3) Saya U Aung Hla Tun
Highlights
U Aung Hla Tun
Chief Editor of RIT Annual Magazine
Associate Professor of Metallurgical Engineering
Resident Elder of the Church of Holy Christ
Leader, HMEE Project & Book
Published two books. He won National Literature Award for the first book.
In Saya’s Memory
U Nyunt Htay (Met73) & team published a book honoring Saya.
A former student later published a book for Centennial of Engg Edu.
(4) My Souvenirs
Awards
Award in Aug 2016
Received Alumni Appreciation Award three times : at SPZP-2000; at Half Moon Bay Soon Kyway & Gathering in Aug 2016; at Annual Dinner of NorCal RIT AA in Sept 2016
Award in Sept 2016
Collegiate Scholarship in 1963
SPHS63
Luyechun in Summer of 1965
LYC in 1965
DTM Award received in 2017
DTM
Greeting Card
Card
Electronic greeting card was printed by Maurice Chee and given to me at the Soon Kwyay gathering at Dhammananda Vihara, Half Moon Bay, California
Children : Tin Oo, Glory, Aung Khin (GBNF), Thein Wai
Col. Min Sein (GBNF)
Dean, Medical College
Spouse : Dr. Daw Yin May (GBNF)
Children : Dr. Thein Htut (RUBC Gold), Tin Tin Aye
U Maung Gale (GBNF)
Dean of the Rangoon Medical College from 1959 – 1962
He translated Grey’s Anatomy to Burmese and he handed over the manuscripts to Dr Norma Saw.
U Khin Maung Win (GBNF)
Pathologist
DG ME
Head of Medical Board to examine the people chosen for States Scholar.
Dr. Mya Tu (GBNF)
Dr. Mya Tu
Founder-Director of Burma Medical Research Institute (BMRI) which later became DMR.
Compiled the Magnum Opus (“Who’s who in Medicine in Burma?”) with his spouse Khin Thet Hta.
Passed away in Australia
Dr. Tin U (GBNF)
He initiated the study of Pediatrics in Burma as a separate discipline.
Medical Superintendent of Rangoon Children’s Hospital.
Dr. P. R. Mohan (GBNF)
Dr. Mohan
He served in the Burma Army Medical Corps from 1939 – 1945 as a medical officer in Burma theater, and discharged as a Major at the completion of World War II.
He passed away in USA in 2005. He was 88 yrs old.
Dr. Mohan & Dr. Daw Hnin Yi
Dr. Mohan and Dr. Daw Hnin Yi (Rosie) are remembered by several former students and colleagues.
Dr. Pe Nyun (GBNF)
Pe Nyun & Pe Thein at 1948 Independence Day Regatta
Past Captain and Gold, RUBC
Pediatric Surgeon
Led team to operate conjoined twins (Ma Nan Soe & Ma Nan San)
Passed away in Canada
Dr. Pe Thein (GBNF)
RUBC Gold
Professor
Retired Minister of Health and Education
Dr. Htut Saing (Harry Saing, GBNF)
Dr. Harry Saing
Second Lead to operate conjoined twins (Ma Nan Soe and Ma Nan San)
All-round athlete : Burma Selected in Cricket, Hockey & Rowing
Past Captain & Gold, RUBC
1958 ARAE Champion for Coxless Pairs
1960 ARAE Champion for Coxed Fours
Worked at RCH and Hong Kong
Passed away in Hong Kong
Siblings : Sheila, Victor, Shirley
Dr. Daw Khin Than Nu (GBNF)
Pioneer of Neonatal Care in Burma/Myanmar
She regularly attended the IM(1) Saya Pu Zaw Pwes.
She left to visit her son Ko Win Htut in the USA. When she passed away, Ko Win Htut gave a soon kwyay in her memory at Mettananda Vihara.
Dr. Thein Toe (GBNF)
Headed Nutrition Research at BMRI / DMR
Spouse : Khin Thitsar
Passed away in UK
Dr. Thein Toe and Dr. Htut Saing (Harry)
Dr. Kyaw Win (GBNF)
Army Doctor / Bogyoke
Ambassador to UK and US
Spouse : Kyi Kyi Chit Maung (GBNF)
Sons : Htut Kyaw Win (GBNF), Aung Kyaw Win
Dr. TheinHtut
RUBC Gold
Moved to Australia
Spouse : Wendy Sein
Dr. Nyunt Win (Eddie Tha Win, GBNF)
Neurologist
Moved to Australia
Spouse : Marie Yu Khin (GBNF)
Dr. Daw Kyin Yee (GBNF)
Worked in Myanmar before following her spouse Saya U Kyaw Myint (M/Auto64) to Beijing where he was working for UN.
Relocated to USA and volunteered for meditation retreats.
Dr. Aung Khin Sint (GBNF)
Medical doctor with a passion for “Public Health”
Won the National Literary Award for his book on the “Awareness and Prevention of Diseases“
Deputy Director with the Ministry of Health
Led protests in the 8-8-88 movement
Vilified for his criticism of the “unconstitutional” proposals and for running as an MP for the NLD in the 1990 elections
Dr. Khin Maung Gyi (Kevin, SPHS59)
The Gardener
(A tribute to all teachers)
Let me introduce to our teacher Who is also a guardian and preacher Guiding and nurturing from a youthful age To raise us up with a healthy image.
As soon as the morning bell tolls He started his routine – heart and soul Never does he skips a single day Sickness and malady are kept at bay.
He may be tired, his voice may whimper His zest and zeal, nothing gets dimmer Never to be seen in fits or rage Happy and contented on not so high a wage.
His loving kindness is like a mountain Goodwill from him flows like a fountain He looks after us as one of his own His empathy towards us is very well known.
Hearing the success of his ‘daughters and sons’ He beams as though ‘a war was won’ He is now overjoyed and highly thrilled His life seems to be thus fulfilled.
Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint (SPHS60)
TOKM 1TOKM 2
He was the top Paulian in his class, and stood Sixth in the Matriculation exam.
He founded the group “Alumni of the Institute of Medicine in Myanmar (Overseas)” and wrote about his mentors (Aba U Hla Myint, Dr. Tin U) and other trail blazers.
His former students published a book for his 70th birthday.
Dr. Min Lwin (SPHS60)
Orthopedic Surgeon
Dr. Than Toe (SPHS60, GBNF)
Rehabilitation
Dr. Kyaw Win (SPHS61)
Also known as Robin Ban
Stood 2nd in Burma
Moved to Australia
Dr. Khin Maung U (SPHS63)
SPHS
Stood 1st in Burma. First student to have almost perfect score in Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics with 299 marks out of the possible 300. Grapevine says that Chief Examiner of Physics reluctantly took back a mark.
Retired from FDA
Sharing KMU Medical Reports
Scholarship Winners
Dr. Myo San (Freddie, SPHS63, GBNF)
Stood Third in Burma
Took early retirement as Surgeon
Dr. Nyunt Wai (Victor, SPHS63)
Stood Fourth in Burma
Retired as Professor of Physiology
Taught at IM and Malaysia
Hobbies : Painting, Writing, “Sagar Pari Ye”
Dr. Thein Wai (SPHS63)
Stood Fifth in Burma
Moved to USA after graduation
Dr. Aung Kyaw Zaw (Johnny Mg Mg, SPHS63)
Stood Ninth in Burma
Army Doctor / Cardiologist
Dr. Khin Maung Zaw (Frank Gale, SPHS63)
Stood Seventeenth in Burma
Retired Medical Doctor / Examiner / Registrar (in UK)
Dr. Aung Win Chiong (SPHS64)
He had the second highest “raw” score behind Dr. Cherry Hlaing and Dr. Lyn Aung Thet. He had a perfect ILA score and was admitted to IM(2) as Roll Number One.
He is now retired. His spouse Dr. Winnie Tan is co-founder of USA Con-Bro Association.
Dr. Min Lwin (Maurice, SPHS64)
Admitted as Roll Number Two to IM(2)
Surgeon (with Practice in UK and Myanmar)
Dr. Yi Thway (Edwin, SPHS65, GBNF)
Fifth highest marks
He was admitted as Roll Number (1) to IM(1).
Passed away in UK
Dr. Paing Soe (Freddie, SPHS65)
He had the same marks as Dr. Yi Thway.
He was admitted as Roll Number (2) to IM(1).
Medical Research
Thanks to TOKM (Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint) and VNW (Dr. Victor Nyunt Wai) for their input and feedback.
Dr. Mya Tu (GBNF)
He founded Burma Medical Research Institute (BMRI). BMRI later became Directorate of Medical Research (DMR). DMR had branches in Upper and Lower Burma.
He served as Director General.
He was a physiologist.
He and his spouse compiled a directory of medical professionals in Burma.
He passed away at the age of 91 in Australia.
Dr. Thein Htut and Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint gave eulogies at Saya’s service.
Dr. Aung Than Ba Tu
He is fondly known as ATBT.
He succeeded Dr. Mya Tu.
He requested UCC to give lectures on computing at BMRI. I was a Guest Lecturer.
In his 90s, he is still active, giving talks and participating in the editorial team of a certain journal.
Dr. Khin Maung Tin (GBNF)
He was MS of the Rangoon University Sanatorium.
He succeeded Dr. ATBT.
He specialized in liver diseases
He passed away the earliest (heard it was a heart attack)
survived by Dr Daw Htay Kyi, a TB specialist.
Dr. May May Yi (GBNF)
I met Sayama at the Inlay Luyechun camp in the summer of 1965.
She is a physiologist.
She was Professor of Physiology at the Institute of Medicine.
She became DG at BMRI.
Dr. Than Shwe
He is a microbiologist.
After retirement, he moved to USA.
He stays active by guiding high school students for their SAT tests.
Dr. Paing Soe
He matriculated from St. Paul’s High School in 1965.
He was selected Luyechun.
He was DG of DMR.
He retired as Deputy Minister of Health.
Researchers
Dr. Thein Toe (UK, GBNF)
Dr. Cho Nwe Oo
Dr. Khin Kyi Nyunt (GBNF)
Dr. Khin Maung U (FDA, USA)
Dr. Kyaw Min (Retired as Acting DG)
Group photo : Young researchers (BMRI- DMR)
Medical Researchers
L to R: U Aung Myint, Dr Htay Htay, Saya (Prof Mya Tu), Dr Myo Thein, U Ba Aye (statistician), Dr Pe Thaung Myint (sports medicine), Dr Htin Kyaw (physiologist).
I am following the noble tradition of honoring pioneers and outstanding people. I am trying my best to present their achievements and contributions. I an privileged to have known many seniors, contemporaries and juniors.
Who’s Who, Twentieth Century Impressions of Burma, Five Minute Biographies တွေ ကို နည်းယူပြီး ကျွန်တော် က Old Burma တုန်းက ထူးချွန်သူ တွေ ကို မှတ်တမ်းတင် ဂုဏ်ပြု နေတဲ့ ရှေ့မှီ နောက်မှီ (ဘေးမှီ) သူတယောက်ပါ။
I volunteered as a Docent at the Computer History Museum (CHM) for two years. CHM’s programs include Hardware & Software Artifacts, Exhibits, Oral History, Lectures, Panels and Award Ceremonies.
The Old Burma Group has posts about History, Notable (Famous as well as Notorious) people. I appreciate the invaluable posts as a reader and contributor.
Old Burma Group ဟာလည်း သမိုင်း နဲ့ ထူးချွန် / ဆိုးသွမ်း (Famous as well as Notorious) ကို မှတ်တမ်း တင် နေ တဲ့ အဖွဲ့ မို့ Contributor တယောက် အနေ နဲ့ ဝမ်းသာ ကြည်နူး မိပါတယ်။
I request the Group Administrator and Moderators to approve my posts.
ကျွန်တော် ရဲ့ posts တွေကို တင်ပြခွင့်ပြုပါ Admin နဲ့ Moderator များ ခင်ဗျာ။
ကျွန်တော် က I am
Founder & Chief Editor of RIT Alumni Newsletter
Owner & Admin of RIT Updates FB Group
Member of HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education) : အဖွဲ့ဝင်၊
ကံ့ကော်မြေ (တက္ကသိုလ်ရာပြည့်) Former Moderator of RU Centennial Group : Moderator ငြိမ်း၊
U Myo Myint (Retired Deputy General Manager of Burma Railways) is an accomplished Painter, Cover Designer and Cartoonist. He drew Pon Tu’s of selected RIT Sayas, Sayamas, and colleagues. I am honored to receive his present.
ပန်းချီ မြတ်မျိုးမြင့် ရဲ့ လက်ဆောင် မွန် Pon Tu gift from Bagyee Myat Myo Myint / U Myo Myint (M)
Pon Tu
1964 – 65 Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT)
I was admitted to 2nd BE (Bachelor of Engineering) in November 1964.
The photo was taken at the Gyogone campus.
2nd BE student
1964 – 65 ရန်ကုန်စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် ဒုတိယနှစ် သင်တန်းသား 2nd BE Student at Rangoon Institute of Technology
1965 Summer Inlay Luyechun Camp
I was selected as Luyechun (Outstanding Student).
The photo was taken at the Welcome Ceremony by the Head of Shan States.
LYC
1965 နွေရာသီ အင်းလေး ခေါင်တိုင် လူရည်ချွန် စခန်း တက္ကသိုလ် နဲ့ အထက်တန်း လူရည်ချွန်များ Inlay Khaung Daing Luyechun Camp in the Summer of 1965
1969 December Poem for 5th SEAP Games
Burma hosted the 2nd SEAP Games in 1961, and the 5th SEAP Games in 1969.
The photo shows a page from the Forward Magazine. Maung Thaw Ka (Bohmu Ba Thaw, GBNF) was Chief Editor of the magazine.
Forward
Forward မဂ္ဂဇင်း — ဒီဇင်ဘာ 1969 ပဥ္စမ အကြိမ် အရှေ့တောင်အာရှ ကျွန်းဆွယ်ပွဲ အတွက် ကဗျာ စပ်ဆို ခဲ့ Poem about the 5th SEAP Games
Mid 1970s Universities’ Computer Center (UCC), Rangoon
The photo was taken with the Teachers and Students of CPC (Computer Programming Course).
Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF) succeeded Dr. Chit Swe (UCC Founder, GBNF) as Director of UCC.
UCC
တက္ကသိုလ်များ ကွန်ပျူတာ ဌာန က ပို့ချတဲ့ သင်တန်း တခု Computer Course at Universities’ Computer Center (UCC), Thamaing College Campus
1999 Aprilto 2025 Chief Editor of RIT Alumni International Newsletter
2005++ Paying Homage to Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa
U Silananda
ဆရာတော် ဦးသီလာနန္ဒာဘိဝံသ (ပါချုပ်ဆရာတော်) အထိမ်းအမှတ် မော်ကွန်းစာစောင်အတွက် အဖွဲ့ဝင် & စာတည်း Contributing Editor for the Book published in memory of Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa
2010 December Saya Pu Zaw Pwe in Singapore
SDY Sar Saung
2010 စင်ကာပူ မှာ ကျင်းပတဲ့ စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် ဆရာပူဇော်ပွဲ အထိမ်း အမှတ် စွယ်တော်ရိပ်စာစောင် Wrote an article “A Sad and Short Clip: EE Sayas” for the Commemorative Issue of Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung for SPZP-2010 in Singapore
HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Project) HMEE Book published in 2012
HMEE
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အင်ဂျင်နီယာ ပညာရေး သမိုင်း ပြုစု တဲ့ အဖွဲ့ Member of HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education) U Ohn Khine (M70) and I compiled the CD Supplement for the HMEE Book published in 2012 Copies of the Book were donated to Libraries
CD
2012 နှစ် မှာ ထုတ်ဝေခဲ့တဲ့ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အင်ဂျင်နီယာပညာရေး သမိုင်း စာအုပ် ရဲ့ နောက်ဆက်တွဲ စီဒီ CD Supplement for the HMEE Book Photos and articles (in English) to supplement the articles (in Burmese) in the HMEE Book
ရန်ကုန်စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် ရွှေရတု အထိမ်းအမှတ်စွယ်တော်ရိပ် မဂ္ဂဇင်း (2014) Wrote an article “Memories of a 69er” for the Commemorative Issue of Swel Daw Yeik Magazine for Shwe YaDu 2014
2016 September Alumni Appreciation Award
Award
2019 December RUBC 96th Anniversary Regatta
Regatta
RUBC 96th Anniversary & Regatta (2019) U Tin Myint (GBNF), U Sein Htoon, U Khin Maung Latt, U Hla Min
2019 December Golden Jubilee of Graduation of RIT 69ers
GJ
2019 — 1969 နှစ် ဘွဲ့ရ အင်ဂျင်နီယာများ ရဲ့ ရွှေရတု မနက်ပိုင်း — ကြို့ကုန်း မှာ ဆရာပူဇော်ပွဲ 2019 — Golden Jubilee of Graduation for RIT 69ers Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe at Gyogone Campus
Senior monk or the Chief resident monk of a monastery. Often used together with “U”. e.g Sayadaw U Sobhana
A distinguished sayadaw may be referred to as Sayadawgyi as a sign of reverence.
The terms “sayadaw” and “sayadawgyi” originally corresponded to the senior monks who taught the former Burmese kings. They may be influential teachers of the Buddhist Dhamma and also outstanding meditation practitioners. They usually are Abbots of monasteries or monastery networks with a large number of resident monks and a lay following.
Honorific Terms
Several honorific terms exist for Buddhist monks, reflecting their achievements and number of Vassa spent.
The given name is extended with Prefixes, Suffixes and Titles
Prefix
Achan (used in Thailand)
Ashin အသျှင်
Baddhanta ဘဒ္ဒန္တ
Bhikkhu ဘိက္ခူ
Maha Thera မဟာထေရ
Oo ဦး၊ ဥူး
Sayadaw ဆရာတော်
Sayadawgyi ဆရာတော်ကြီး
Shin ရှင်
Upazin ဥပဇင်း
Uzin ဦးဇင်း
U ဦး၊ ဥူး
Thera ထေရ
Venerable
Suffix
[A]bhivamsa” အဘိဝံသ Pass “Set kyar thi ha Dhammacariya” examination before age 26
Lankara လင်္ကာရ Pass Lankara dhamma exam as a novice
Pa hta ma gyaw ပထမကျော် First in the “Pa hta Ma Pyan” examination
Thi ro ma ni သိရောမဏိ Finished 9 “kyans” in a single year
Wun tha ka ဝံသက First in the “Set kyar thi ha Dhammacariya” examination
Title
Some monks may highlight their accomplishments
Dhammacariya ဓမ္မာစရိယ Dhamma lecturer
Thamane Kyaw သာမဏေကျော် Stood first in the Lankara examination
Pali Paragu ပါဠိပါရဂူ Completed the examination in Pali
Agga Maha Pandita အဂ္ဂမဟာပဏ္ဍိတ Senior sage
Tipitaka Dara တိပိဋကဓရ Completed Three Baskets — “Vinaya”, “Sutta”, and “Abhidhamma”
Dwee Pitaka Dara ဒွိပိဋကဓရ Completed Two Baskets
[informal] “Ta Pone Saung” တပုံဆောင် Completed One Basket
[informal] “Hna Pone Khwair Saung” နှစ်ပုံခွဲဆောင် Completed “Vinaya”, “Sutta” and the first part of “Abhidhamma”
U Vicittasarahhivamsa
A monk may be addressed by
his given Dhamma name e.g. U Vicittasara
a qualified name, e.g. U Victtasarabhivamsa (with the suufix -abhivamsa)
by the name of his monastery e.g. Mingun Sayadaw
title e.g. Tipitakadara
and the combination e.g. Tipitakadara Mingun Sayadaw U Vicittasarabhimvamsa
Venerable Mingun Sayadaw U Vicittasarabhivamsa, served as “Chief Respondent” at the Sixth Buddhist Council (1954 – 1956) in Yangon,
He earlier passed the Tipitaka Examination with Distinctions in all subjects.
The Guinness Book of World Records recognized his memory and the feat of reciting 8000+ pages of the Pali Canon.
Thus, he could be addressed in several ways “
Mingun Sayadaw Reference to his home monastery at Mingun
U Vicittasara Name given at the Ordination
U Vicittasarabhivamsa Passed the Mandalay Setkya Thiha examination before age 26
Sayadaw U Vicittasarabhivamsa Chief Resident Monk
Mingun Sayadaw U Vicittasarabhivamsa Chief Resident Monk of a monastery in Mingun
Tipitaka Sayadaw U Vicittasarabhivamsa Passed Tipitaka examination
Tipitakadhara Dhammabhandakarika Sayadaw U Vicittasarabhivamsa First monk to be awarded the titles Tipitakadhara (“Bearer of the Tipitaka) and Dhammabhandakarika (“Treasurer of the Dhamma”).
Prolific writer, an outstanding lecturer, and a teacher of teachers
Lay people in Burma were not known to teach Vipassana meditation
The Ledi tradition has a lineage of Vipassa teachers who are not ordained monks: Sayagyi U Thet, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, Sayagyi S. N. t
Mingun Jetawun Sayadaw U Narada (1868 – 1955)
Credited as one of the major revivers of Vipassana meditation
Went to one Mingun Sayadaw, who presumably had studied meditation under Thee Gon Sayadaw, and asked for guidance. Was told to study Sattipattha (from the Scriptures) deeply and then practice meditation
Prominent disciples : Mahasi Sayadaw and Taung Pulu Sayadaw
Sayadaw U Thittila (1896-1997)
U Thittila
Did missionary work in UK
Came back to Burma and taught at the Pali Department for several years before continuing his missionary work abroad
Lectured in 25+ countries (including US, UK, France)
Ovadacariya to Sanagha Maya Nayaka, trustees of renowned pagodas
Outstanding teacher and writer
Played an important role in reviving Buddhism in India and propagating the study of Abhidhamma
Very modest; rarely talked about his many achievements
Patamagyaw scholar of all Burma (1918) : selected from among 5000 candidates
Panyattisasanahita (1923) : among the 4 out of 150 entrants who passed the toughest monastic examination
Studied Sanskrit in India; English in India and England
Translated Vibhanga (second of the seven Adbhidhamma texts) from Pali to English : published by the Pali Text Society in 1969 under the title of The Book of Analysis
Mahagandaryone Sayadaw Ashin Janakabhivamsa
Mahagandayone Sayadaw
Wrote several books in Pali and Burmese
Several of his students including Thamane Kyaw Sayadaw and U Hla Myint are teaching “Pali Sikkha (Training)” to lay persons without overwhelming with Pali Grammar
Mahasi Sayadaw U Sobhana
Sixth Buddhist Council Mahasi & Mingun SayadawsMahasi Sayadaw
Renowned Meditation Master and author
Served as Questioner at the Sixth Buddhist Council held at Kaba Aye, Rangoon, Burma
Chief Resident Monk of Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha
Mentees : Sayadaws U Pandita, U Kundala, U Janabhivamsa and many meditation teachers
Panditarama Sayadaw U Pandita
U Pandita
Senior disciple of Mahasi Sayadawgyi
Renowned Meditation Master and author
Succeeded Mahasi Sayadaw U Sobhana at Sasana Yeiktha
Established Panditarama
Saddhamaransi Sayadaw U Kundala
Senior disciple of Mahasi Sayadawgyi
Outstanding meditation teacher
Made Dhamma Duta missions abroad (until his health forced him to stop going on long, tedious trips).
Practiced vipassana meditation with the instruction of Mahasi Sayadawgyi in 1953-54
Served as Palipatiwisodhaka (editor of Pali scriptures) at the Sixth Buddhist Council.
Meditation teacher at the Sasana Yeiktha from 1967 – 1977.
Member of Mahasi Sayadaw’s Dhamma Dhuta Mission to Europe and US in 1978 – 80
Established the Chanmyay Yeiktha Buddhist Meditation Center in Myanmar chanmyay.org Branches in several countries (e.g. US, Singapore, Australia)
Mingun Tipitaka Sayadaw Ashin Vicittathara
Two Sayadaws at Sixth Buddhist Council
The Guinness Book of World Records listed Sayadaw as having an outstanding memory — the best at that time [in 1954].
Served as the Chief Reciter (a la Ashin Upali and Ashin Ananda at the First Buddhist Council) at the Sixth Buddhist Council held at KabaAye (World Peace) Pagoda in Rangoon, Burma from 1954 – 1956.
Could memorize, recall, and give exposition on 8027 pages of the Buddhist Scriptures known as Tipitaka [“Three Baskets”] : Vinaya – Rules of monastic conduct Sutta – Buddha’s discourses Abhidhamma – Ultimate reality)
Mogok Sayadaw U Vimala (1899 – 1962)
Renowned Vipassana meditation master
500 (or more) audio tapes of Sayadaw’s recordings have been transcribed into books (some e-books), and CDs Available at the Mogok Vipassana Meditation Centers
Featured in “Yahanda Hnit Poke Ko Htoo Myar” book by Dhammacariya U Htay Hlaing
Dhammananda Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa
External examiner for the Pali Department
Rector of ITBMU
Chief Resident Monk of Dhammananda Vihara
Spiritual Advisor of several monasteries and meditation centers
Wrote books in Pali, Burmese and English
Served as Chief Compiler of the Tipitaka Pali-Myanmar Dictionary for the Sixth Buddhist Council.
In April of 1979, Mahasi Sayadawgi made a Dhamma Duta mission to the US. At the request of the devotees, Sayadawgyi agreed to leave behind Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa and Sayadaw U Kelasa as “trail blazers” for the promulgation, preservation, and the promotion of Sasana.
There were no Burmese Buddhist monasteries and/or temples, but the Sayadaws were determined to sacrifice their blissful lives back in their homeland to do whatever they can to do the Sasana work.
We had frequent flyer miles with United Air Lines.
Booked round trip flight from SJC (San Jose, California) to DFW (Dallas / Fort Worth in Texas) via DEN (Denver, Colorado) after consulting with Dr. Ba Han (SPHS66, IM1 73, who lives in Fort Worth) and U San Lin (Robert, MEHS67, EC73, UCC, who lives in Dallas).
There are several twin cities in the USA. They include
Dallas & Fort Worth (in Texas)
Minneapolis & St. Paul (in Minnesota)
Seattle & Tacoma (in Washington)
DFW is an International air port near Dallas and Fort Worth.
Dallas also has a local airport named “Love Field” (which is used mainly by Southwest Airlines).
Robert agreed to pick us up at the DFW air port and host for two nights.
Dr. Ba Han agreed to host the remainder of the trip, and also show us around selected cities in Texas.
Break from FB
I did not take my lap top.
I did not log in to FB for the duration of the trip.
May 8, 2019
We flew from SJC to DEN on the morning of May 8, 2019.
At the DEN airport, we learned that “due to thunderstorms, only a limited number of inbound flights to DFW were allowed.” The estimated time of departure from DEN was adjusted twice. After more than two hours delay, the plane took off and landed in DFW about two hours later.
Robert and his spouse Daw Hla Myint (Marina, EC73) picked us up at DFW. They treated us to a Texas BBQ (Barbecue). We learned that Robert had become a vegetarian, but would occasionally order BBQ for his grandson.
They hosted us for two nights.
May 9, 2019
They showed us around Dallas (including the infamous depository used by Oswald, the ranch used in the TV series “Dallas”, and the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.
Robert
Robert studied at RIT & UCC. He worked for TI (Texas Instruments) in Singapore. He was relocated to TI in Houston. He retired in 2018 and moved to Dallas to be near his son Dr. Vincent & two grandsons.
Vincent and his wife are medical doctors. They hosted a dinner near the swimming club of their elder son.
U Boon PinU Boon Pin and wife
Robert’s father U Boon Pin is a 1948 – 49 classmate of U Soe Aung (PWD) and U Gyn Kho (PWD, Dr. Ba Han’s uncle). He retired as Deputy Chief Engineer of Railways.
Robert’s mom passed away in Taiwan in 2020. She has two sisters. One married Albert Teoh (the eldest of 15 Teoh siblings). Another is the mother of Johnson Lim (C7x).
May 10, 2019
Dr. Ba Han joined us for lunch at the Dallas Chinese temple that offers excellent vegetarian dishes for a suggested donation of $7.
He then drove us to Temple to meet our common niece — daughter of his elder brother U Myo Myint (EC67, RUBC Gold) and my elder sister Sayama Daw Tin Tin Win (RIT Chemistry).
My niece Dr. Khine Zin Oo & her spouse U Myo Tin treated us a dinner at a restaurant which offered dishes from Texas and Louisiana.
HlaMin 