HlaMin

Author: Hla Min (Lifelong Learner)

  • Jubilees & More

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    Jubilees

    • Silver Jubilee (25th Anniversary)
    • Golden Jubilee (50th Anniversary)
    • Diamond Jubilee (75th Anniversary, 60th for Coronation)
    • Centennial (100th Anniversary)
    • Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary)
    • Bicentennial (200th Anniversary)
    • Tricentennial (300th Anniversary)
    Golden Jubilee Present from KMZ

    Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT)

    • The Faculty of Engineering was briefly known as Burma Institute of Technology (BIT) after moving to the Gyogone Campus.
    • In 1964, under the then new Education System, BIT was renamed as RIT.
    • RIT became an autonomous institute with its own Rector.

    SPZP and Alumni Activities

    • Saya Pu Zaw Pwe is a noble tradition.
    • I am honored to be a core organizer of the First RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in San Francisco, California, USA in October 2000.
    • I have supported the subsequent SPZPs and several RIT-related projects and activities.

    Last Journeys

    • I am honored to have been a Master of Ceremonies for the Last Journeys of Dr. Htay Lwin Nyo and Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa.
    • I was also requested to give eulogies.

    Jubilees

    Rangoon University

    • It was established in December 1920 with two constituent colleges : Rangoon College and Judson College.
    • Saya U Pe Maung Tin served as the first native Principal of Rangoon College.
    • Saya Dr. Htin Aung served as the first native Rector of Rangoon University.

    RU Golden Jubilee

    • The RU Golden Jubilee was celebrated in 1970.
    • Saya Dr. Aung Gyi and Saya U Thet Lwin are among the core organizers of the RU GJ Celebrations.
    • I had a minor role as a volunteer for the “Zay Committee”.
    • RIT Ah Nu Pyinnyashins took part in the Entertainment Program. The “Htee Yein” and “Swel Daw Yeik Ah Nyeint” were attractions. The term “Swel Daw Yiek” became synonymous with RIT and the engineering schools which preceded RIT.
    • The Commemorative Magazine reprinted Bogyoke Aung San’s translation of “Invictus”. The Magazine also had an account of U Hla Maung, who graduated with B.Sc. (Engg) degree in 1928.

    RU Centennial

    • It was celebrated in 2020.
    • Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) and fellow authors (e.g. Shwe Ku May Hnin) have published “Collections of Poems and Articles” to commemorate RU Centennial.

    Myanmar Engineering Education

    • Engineering Education in Burma started in 1924.
    • The History of Myanmar Engineering Education Project compiled and published HMEE-2012 in time for SPZP-2012. Saya U Aung Hla Tun was the Team Leader.
      U Ohn Khine (M70) and I compiled the CD Supplement for the book.
    • HMEE-2018 is a follow up Project to revise the HMEE-2012 book and publish new material (e.g. History of the Engineering Departments). However, after Saya’s demise, the project is in limbo.
    • The 90th Anniversary was celebrated in 2014.
    • The Centennial was celebrated in 2024.

    Rangoon Institute of Technology

    • The New Education System which made RIT an autonomous Institute with was established in November 1964.
    • Saya U Yone Moe served as the first Rector of RIT. He was succeeded by Saya Dr. Aung Gyi in 1971.
    • In 1964, there were eight Engineering Departments : (1) Architecture (2) Chemical (3) Civil (4) Electrical (5) Mechanical (6) Metallurgy (7) Mining (8) Textile.
    • Supporting Departments were established at RIT. They include (1) Burmese (2) Chemistry (3) English (4) Geology (5) Physics.
    • For some time, there were Visiting Lecturers from USSR and selected Departments of other Universities and Institutes.
    • RIT was renamed as YIT (Yangon Institute of Technology). YIT in turn became YTU (Yangon Technological University).
    • The Golden Jubilee was celebrated in 2014.
    • The 60th Annivrrsary was celebrated in 2024.

    RIT Spirit

    • The sayas and alumni are known for the “RIT Spirit” which survived the brutal crushing in the Adhamma Era.
    • RIT was considered a Dying Breed. The school was branded as “Thabone Kyaung”. The Swel Daw Bins were banished from the Gyongone Campus. Several equipment were taken away to set up a Military Engineering school at DSA.
    • The alumni wanted to pay back the metta and cetana of their mentors.
    • The First RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe was held in California, USA in October 2000. I wrote the “SAYA PU ZAW PWE” poem. It has been reprinted in several RIT-related publications.
    • The subsequent World Wide SPZPs were held in Singapore (in December 2002, April 2007 and December) and in Yangon (in December 2004, December 2012 and December 2016).
    • Swel Daw Yeik Foundation was established in 2013.
    • The Shwe YaDu Celebrations were held in 2014.
    • RITAA is helping YTU in several ways. It is helping to raise the fund for YTU Library Modernization Project (which is a requirement to get YTU accredited at the Regional level and beyond).

    Stories to illustrate the RIT Spirit

    • I am an amateur historian and a folklorist.
    • I have a dream to compile stories to illustrate the friendly and indomitable RIT Spirit.
    • I will use the articles that were contributed to the RIT Alumni Newsletter and Updates.
    • Sayas and alumni could provide new and old stories (e.g. published in the various Magazines, Sar Saungs, Thadin Zin, Wall Posters, Cartoon Box, Exhibitions).
    • While we have reasonably good health and memory, we plan to pay back to our alma mater.

    My Facebook Pages and Web sites

    I have three kinds of Facebook Pages :

    • One for my acquaintances
    • One for family members, relatives and close friends
    • One for knowledge sharing (e.g. Life Long Learning) and/or archiving my posts

    Not all postings are of equal importance. They can be grouped as follows:

    • News & Updates
    • SPZP-2012 : Count down and Event
    • Shwe YaDu Golden Jubilee Celebrations
    • SPZP-2016
    • Swel Daw Yeik Foundation
    • Alumni Associations in Myanmar & California
    • History of Myanmar Engineering Education
    • Memoirs (e.g by U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70) & U Ohn Khine (M70))
    • Golden Jubilee (GJ) Magazine published by the Class of 70 & 71
    • 69ers
    • Class Photos
    • Brief History of the RIT Departments by Sayagyis
    • Excerpts from the archives of SPZP-2000
    • Successors of RIT (e.g. YIT, YTU)
    • Where are they now?
    • GBNF : Sayas and alums

    Hope the postings will be of interest to historians — professional or amateurs.

    I have two web sites.

    SPZP and Alumni Activities

    Paying respect to Sayas for their metta and cetana is a tradition that is unique to Burma/Myanmar.

    The tradition is alive and well.

    There have been SEVEN world wide SPZPs :

    • SPZP-2000 (US)
    • SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007, SPZP-2010 (Singapore)
    • SPZP-2004, SPZP-2012, SPZP-2016 (Yangon)
    • SPZP-2020 (scheduled for December 26, 2020 in Yangon) was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

    Many alumni are active in the following:

    • SDYF (Swel Daw Yeik Foundation)
    • RITAA (RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association)
    • MES (Myanmar Engineering Society)
    • MEC (Myanmar Engineering Council)

    HMEE Projects

    • “History of Myanmar Engineering Education” was published in time for SPZP-2012.
    • The project’s initiators included Saya U Soe Paing, Sayagyi U Ba Than and several sayas and alumni. See Acknowledgement in the Book.
    • Saya U Aung Hla Tun (GBNF) and team (including me) compiled the book.
    • The draft for the first two sections were prepared by Saya U Soe Paing & team.
    • U Ohn Khine (M70) translated Section 1 and summarized Section 2. His work have been revised by Saya U Soe Paing.

    Saya U Aung Hla Tun suggested that the Book should be revised/updated (e.g. every five years or so).

    YTU Library Modernization Project

    • The project was established as a requirement for the Accreditation of YTU.
    • Donations — large and small — came in. An alumnus had made monthly donation of One Lakh kyats for over two years.
    • U Khin Maung Tun (T78), Daw Myint Myint (C69), Saya Dr. Myo Khin (C70) and Daw Mya Nwe (Winsome, C73) and Saya U Tin Htut (M60) donated K100 Lakhs (or more) for the Project.
    • Thanks to Ma Nan Khin Nwe (83 Intake) and the fund raising team. The team had periodically published the list of donors.

    Health Care

    • There were several HCF (Health Care Funds).
    • The balance of “Steeve and Helen Kay Health Care Fund for RIT sayas and sayamas” has been handed over to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation.
    • The balance of “U Khin Maung Tun’s family for providing Vision Care to eligible sayas and sayamas” have been handed over to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation.
    • SDYF provides limited financial assistance to eligible RIT sayas & sayamas for health care (e.g. hospitalization, frequent visits to clinics).
    • SDYF also provides Annual Medical and Vision Checkup for eligible sayas & sayamas.

    RIT related Facebook pages and web sites

    • RIT Updates
    • Swel Daw Yeik Foundation
    • RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association
    • Google Group for Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65
    • Google Group for RIT Updates
    • hlamin.com
    • lmyanmar2021.wordpress.com
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is spz-01.jpg
    SPZ 1
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is spz-02.jpg
    SPZ 2

    Last Journeys

    • I had the opportunity to serve as Master of Ceremonies at two last journeys.
    • The first was for Dr. Htay Lwin Nyo (EP 74), part time Professor at San Jose State University. Ko Khin Maung Zaw (EC76) set up the commemorative web pages on http://www.ex-rit.org. I have excerpted some in my Trivia posts.
    • The second was for Sayadaw U Silanandbhivamsa, Rector of the International Theravada Buddhist University.
    • I volunteered as Book Committee member and Contributing Editor for “Paying Homage to Saya U Silanananda.
    • There is a 2-set DVD of Saydaw’s last journey and can be found as a supplement for the Commemorative book.

    Simple Joys of Living and Paying Back

    • We are deeply honored to the sponsors, donors,volunteers, and well-wishers for the soon kyway on August 20, 2016 at Half Moon Bay monastery.
    • Special thanks to sayas and alumni near and far who took special time to express their appreciation to the messenger turned amateur historian.
    • We are simply following the practice of our beloved philanthropic ancestors who donated for the construction and maintenance of hospitals, schools, pagodas, zayats, free dispensaries.
    • I have donated thousands of hours trying to get the sayas and alumni get connected electronically and physically, and also share my experience as a Life Long Learner.
    • Ko Thaung Sein (Steeve Kay, EC70, Multiple Golden Sponsor of SPZPs) said, “Do not retire. Re-tire.” He mentioned that if we can serve the sayas and alums for two decades, we should be satisfied since RIT is a dying breed.
    • I have completed 26 years as a founder and editor of RIT Alumni International Newsletter.

  • Mental States

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    Cetasika စေတသိက်

    • Mental states
    • All types of cetasikas are able to arise only be depending on Citta (စိတ် consciousness)
    • There are 52 types = 13 + 14 + 25
    • Classified into three groups

    First Group : 13 types

    • Annasamana : Common to others : 13 types = 7 + 6

    • Universal annasamana : associates with all cittas : 7 types
    • Contact, Feeling, Perception, Motivation, One-pointedness, Faculty of mental life, Attention

    • Particular annasmana : associates with some cittas : 6 types
    • Initial application, Sustained application, Decision, Effort, Joy, Wish to do

    Second Group : 14 types

    • Akusla : Immoral mental state : 14 types
    • Ignorance, Shamelessness, Fearlessness, Restlessness, Attachment, Wrong view, Hatred (fear), Envy, Stinginess, Remorse, Sloth, Torpor, Doubt

    Third Group : 25 types

    • Sobhana : mental state with virtue : 25 types = 19 + 3 + 2 + 1
    • Mental states that are common to all types of sobhana citta : 19 types
    • Faith, Mindfulness, Moral shame, Moral dread, Non-attachment, Non-hatred, Equanimity, Tranquility of mental factors, Tranquility of mind, Lightness of mental factors, Lightness of mind, Pliancy of mental factors, Pliancy of mind, Adaptability of mental factors, Adaptability of mind, Proficiency of mental factors, Proficiency of mind, Rectitude of mental factors, Rectitude of mind
    • Mental state that abstains from evil speech, action, and livelihood : 3 types
    • Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood
    • Mental state that has limitless objects on which one must be practiced : 2 types
    • Compassion, Sympathetic joy
    • Mental state that realizes an object : 1 type
    • Faculty of wisdom

    Books by

    • Dr. Nandamalabivamsa
    • Dr. Mehm Tin Mon
    Abhidhamma

  • Changes

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    DTM
    Alumni Appreciation Award
    Appreciation Award from NorCal RIT Alumni Association

    Alumni

    • In Latin, there are four terms :
      alumnus for “male student”
      almuna for “female student”
      alumni for “male students”
      alumnae for “female students”.
    • In modern usage, the term “alumni” applies to all students.

    Days of Month

    • According to “Ripley’s Believe it or not”, a graveyard inscription has February 30th.
    • Grapevine says that Followers of two Carsars took away a day each from February to make July (named after Julius Caesar) and August (named after Augustus Caesar) 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 became 0.9688 day every four years (or 97 days in 4 centuries).

    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.

  • U Soe Khaw

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    Highlights

    U Soe Khaw
    • BS from UCB (University of California Berkeley)
    • MS from Minnesota School of Mining
    • Upon his return from USA, he was assigned to the Department of Mining Engineering at BOC College to teach part-time and to act as Head of the Department.
    • He was succeeded by Saya U Soon Sein as full-time saya and Head.
    • U Soe Khaw worked at the Ministry of Mines.
    • After retirement, he worked for UN assignments overseas.
    • He then migrated to the USA.
    • He was a Patron of selected monasteries in the San Francisco Bay Area.
    • He was healthy even in his early 90s.

    Last Journey

    Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt (M60) wrote :

    U Soe Khaw, (RIT Part-time Lecturer – Mining), passed away peacefully on February 14, 2018 at 4:45 pm per Michael Khaw, his son.

    Ph 408-737-0238.
    1082 Noriega Ave, Sunnyvale, Ca 94086

    Memorial Service

    Date : February 24, 2018 (Sunday)
    Time : 10:30 AM
    Place : Tathagata Meditation Center (TMC)
    1215 Lucretia Avenue
    San Jose, CA 95122
    Contact : 1 (408) 977 0300 or 1(408) 294 4536

    Soon offering : 11:15 AM
    Lunch for guests : 11:30 AM
    Dhamma talk : 12:30 PM


  • U Ba Toke

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    U Ba Toke (Birthday)
    U Ba Toke (Book)
    U Ba Toke & U Ba Than
    U Ba Toke (SPZP)

    Pansy Thin wrote :

    ကျမတို့ရဲ့ဖခင် သင်္ချာပါမောက္ခ ဦးဘတုတ် ဒီနေ့ ၂-၁၂-၂၀၂၀ ညနေ ၅:၄၃နာရီက လူကြီးရောဂါဖြင့်ကွယ်လွန်သွားပါတယ်။ ဖေဖေရှိစဥ်က ဖေဖေကို ဂရုတစိုက် နဲ့ ဂါရဝပြု စောင့်ရှောက်သူများအားလုံးကို ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ်။

    Memories of Sayagyi

    Betty Myo (Sayagyi’s eldest child) wrote :

    ရန်ကုန်တက္ကသိုလ်ကြီးကိုချစ်သောကျမတို့ဖေဖေသည်တက္ကသိုလ်ရာပြည့်ပွဲကြီးကိုကြိုဆိုပြီးနောက်နေ့မှာဘဲကွယ်လွန်သွားခဲ့ပြီဖြစ်ပါတယ်။ဝမ်းနည်းစရာကောင်းတာကသူချစ်တဲ့သခ်ျာမိသားစုရဲ့မျှော်လင့်ချက်ဆန္ဒကိုတော့ဖြည့်ဆည်းပေးမသွားနိုင်ခဲ့ရှာပါဘူး။ ဖေဖေ့ကိုအလေးထားပြီးဖေဖေ့မွေးနေ့မှာကျင်းပမဲ့ဆရာကန်တော့ပွဲကိုမပါဝင်နိုင်တော့ပါဘူး။

    ဒီပွဲကိုစိတ်အားထက်သန်စွာစီစဥ်ဆောင်ရွက်နေတဲ့သခ်ျာဌာနဆရာ၊ဆရာမများ၊မျိုးဆက်ဟောင်း၊မျိုဆက်သစ်သခ်ျာကျောင်းသားများရဲ့မေတ္တာစေတနာကိုဖေဖေ့ကိုယ်စားလှိုက်လှဲစွာ‌ေကျးဇူးတင်ရှိပါကြောင်းပြောကြားလိုပါတယ်။

    သခ်ျာမိသားစုအပြင်အခြားဘာသာရပ်အသီသီး၊နယ်ပယ်အသီးသီးမှမေတ္တာတရား၊ဂါရဝတရားတို့ဖြင့်‌‌ေဖ‌ေဖ့ ပိုစ် တက်လာတိုင်းဆုတောင်းမေတ္တာများပို့ပေးကြသူအားလုံးကိုလည်းအထူးကျေးဇူးတင်ရှိပါတယ်။ဖေဖေ့ကိုလာကန်တော့ချင်ပေမဲ့အခွင့်အရေးမရသွားတဲ့တက္ကသိုလ်ဘောလုံးအသင်း၊ အင်ဂျင်နီယာအသင်းစသည်တို့ကိုလဲဝမ်းနည်းစွာကျေးဇူးတင်ကြောင်းပြောချင်ပါတယ်။

    ဖေဖေ့ကိုအလေးထား၊ဂရုစိုက်ခဲ့တဲ့ဆွေမျိုး၊မိတ်သဂ်ဟအားလုံးကိုလဲ‌ေကျးဇူးတင်ရှိပါတယ်ရှင်။

    အားလုံးကျန်းမာ၊ချမ်းသာဘေးရောဂါကင်းကြပါစေ။

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    ပါမောက္ခချုပ်ရာထူးကပြန်ဆင်းခဲ့သူနဲ့ ကံ့ကော်ပွင့်တို့သမိုင်း - BBC News မြန်မာ

  • Holy Discourses

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    U Hla Min

    Eleven Holy Discourses of Proection

    Subtitle : Maha Paritta Pali

    Transliterated and Translated from the Burmese Pali Scriptures (The Sixth Buddhist Council Version) into English

    by Sao Htun Hmat Win
    M.A; A.M; S.R.F. (Harvard)
    Director of Research and Scriptures

    Publisher : Department of Religious Affairs, Yangon, Myanmar.
    1991

    Contents

    1. The Author

    2. Maha Paritta Pali

    • Method of Translation
    • Buddhism as Religion
    • Apotropaic Buddhism
    • Eleven Maha Paritta Suttas
    • Textual Resource
    • Historical Resources
    • Paritta as Bhavana Meditation
    • Recite and Work

    3. Maha Paritta Pali (The Text of Great Protection)

    (1) Mangala Sutta (Discourse on Auspices)

    (2) Ratana-Sutta Discourse on Precious Jewels)
    A Historical Sketch

    (3) Metta Sutta (Discourse on Loving kindness)
    A Historical Sketch

    (4) Khanda Paritta Sutta (Discourse on the Protection of the Aggregates)

    (5) Mora-Sutta (Discourse on the Peacock’s Prayer)
    A Historical Sketch

    (6) Vatta Sutta (Discourse on the Quail’s Confession)

    (7) Dhajagga Sutta (Discourse on the Crest of the Banner)

    (8) Atanatiya Sutta (Discourse on Atanatiya)

    (9) Angulimala Sutta (The Act of Truth by Reverend Angulimala)

    (10) Bojjhanga Sutta (Discourse on the Seven Factors of Enlightenment)

    (11) Pubbhana Sutta (Discourse on Good Morning)

    4. Maha Paritta Pali
    Transliteration

    5. Pabbajaniya Kammavaca
    Monastic Sanction of Act of Banishment
    Transliteration

  • Burmese Festivals

    by Ashin Acariya & Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    The Burmese Calendar is a luni-solar-socio-religious calendar.

    The Burmese New Year falls on or around April 16. The three (or sometimes four) days preceding the New Year is celebrated as Thingyan (similar to Songkran festival in Thailand).

    It is a lunar calendar with 12 lunar months in most years. An intercalary month called “Second Waso” is added every three years. There are 12 religious and/or social festivals (one for each Burmese month).

    Most religious festivals are celebrated on the Full Moon Day.

    The following is a brief description of the 12 Burmese months and the associated festivals.

    1. Month of Tagu

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Ushering in the Burmese New Year by the Buddhists

    Associated festival:
    A Ta Thingyan Water Festival (generally held from April 13 – 15 or 16)

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Invite guests for special treat. (b) Take eight precepts and practice Sila (morality). (c) Listen attentively to the “38 Blessings” by the sangha. (d) Chant Paritta (protective verses) and Pathana (“relations”) (e) Pay homage to the elderly people as if they were one’s own parents (f) All the above are performed (by the Burmese Buddhist) to accumulate kusala (wholesome deeds) (g) Most younger people usher in the Burmese New Year by throwing water (h) Thingyan festival is the most prominent among the 12 (monthly) festivals.

    Objectives:
    To cleanse akusala (unwholesome deeds) from the past year (a) symbolically by throwing water (b) practically by performing meritorious deeds such as dana (charity), sila (mrality), and bhavana (meditation)

    2. Full Moon Day of Kason

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Buddha’s Day. It is the most prominent day for the (Theravada) Buddhists celebrating four milestones (a) the proclamation that the Bodhisatta Sumeda would become Buddha in four incalculables and 100,000 worlds (b) birth of the Boddhisatta Sidartha (c) enlightenment of Gautama Buddha (d) Mahaparinibbna (final passing away of Buddha)

    Associated festival:
    Kason Nyaung Ye Thun Pwe (pouring water on the Bodhi tree)

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Invite guests for special treat. (b) Invite sangha and offer requisites (c) Take (five or eight) precepts and practice Sila (morality) (d) Listen to the dhamma talks (e) Practice metta (loving kindness meditation) (f) Share merits (g) Pour water on the Bodhi tree

    Objectives:
    (a) To acknowledge the practice of parami (perfection) for four incalculables in order to become a Buddha (b) To realize that Buddha’s teachings are for our own good (c) To make a determination that we should practice Buddha’s teachings to the fullest extent

    3. Full Moon Day of Nayone

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Mahasamaya (“Great Occasion”) A Kha Daw Nay
    (a) Commemorating truce between Kapilavutta and Koliya countries (b) Assembly of devas, brahmas, galons, nagas, and sanghas expressing their metta (unbounded love) (c) Ordination of 500 princes from the Sakya clan (d) In sum, distinguished and outstanding day of love and peace

    Associated festival:
    Recitation of Mahasamaya Sutta

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Invite guests for special treat. (b) Invite sangha and offer requisites (c) Take (five or eight) precepts and practice Sila (morality) (d) Listen to the dhamma talks (e) Recite Mahasamaya Sutta (f) Practice metta (loving kindness meditation) (g) Share merits

    Objectives:
    (a) To advocate love and peace among nations with diverse cultures and beliefs (b) To practice metta (unbounded love) not only for humans but for all beings

    4. Month of Waso

    Name of the auspicious event:
    (a) Offering of Waso robes (b) Recitation of Dhammacakkapavutna Sutta (“Turning the Wheel of Dhamma”)

    Associated festival:
    There is no specific date for the offering of Waso robes to the sangha.
    Full Moon Day of Waso is a prominent day for (Theravada) Buddhists celebrating three milestones (a) the day when Boddhisatta was conceived in the womb of Queen Mahamaya (b) the day when Prince Sidharta renounced his worldly pleasures (c) the day when the First Sermon Dhammacakkapavutna Sutta was delivered to his five disciples

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Invite guests for special treat. (b) Invite sangha and offer requisites (c) Take (five or eight) precepts and practice Sila (morality) (d) Listen to the dhamma talks about Magga (Noble Eight-fold Path) (e) Collectively recite Dhammacakkapavutna Sutta (f) Practice metta (loving kindness meditation) (g) Share merits

    Objectives:
    (a) To avoid the two extremes of sensual pleasure and self-mortification (b) To practice the Noble Eight-fold Path

    5. Full Moon Day of Wa Khaung

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Metta (“Unbounded Love”) A Kha Daw Nay
    500 monks who were practicing meditation in the forest were intimidated by nats (guardian spirits) and returned to Buddha’s monastery. Buddha preached them Metta Sutta and exhorted them to practice loving kindness meditation to the nats before meditating. The monks returned to the forest and practiced per Buddha’s exhortation. The nats no longer obstructed the practice of the monks, thereby allowing them to progress and get enlightened. Thus, Metta A Kha Daw Nay came into being.

    Associated festival:
    Recitation of Metta Sutta & Sar Ye Tan Mei (deciding the donation to a monk based on a “raffle” [letter written on a stick, in ancient times]

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Invite guests for special treat. (b) Invite sangha and offer requisites (c) Take (five or eight) precepts and practice Sila (morality) (d) Collectively recite Metta Sutta (e) Offer requisites to the monks based on the Sar Ye Tan Mei “raffle” (f) Dhamma talk on metta and the virtues of practicing metta (g) Share merits

    Objectives:
    To practice metta (unbounded love), karuna (compassion), mudita (altruistic joy), & uppekha (equinamity)

    6. Full Moon Day of Tawthalin

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Garudhamma (“Five precepts”) A Kha Daw Nay
    A brief history is as follows. Bodhisatta was (once) born in Kuru Taing (province), where the king and his people practiced Garudhamma. They refrain from (a) killing (b) stealing (c) sexual misconduct (d) lying (e) taking intoxicants. So, the weather was fine and wealth was amassed. Kawlinga Taing (province) suffered from (a) war (b) famine (c) disease. Many perished. The king and people of Kawlinga Taing decided to emulate the king and people of Kuru Taing. Soon, the weather became fine and wealth was amassed. The three sufferings disappeared. The Full Moon Day of Tawthalin, which is part of the rainy season, was named Garudhamma (“Five precepts”) A Kha Daw Nay.

    Associated festival:
    Competition for reciting poems about the merits of taking five precepts.

    Details for the celebration:
    Host competitions for reciting poems about the merits of taking five precepts.

    Objectives:
    (a) To make people aware of the merits of taking five precepts (b) To have a peaceful community (c) To promote world peace

    7. Full Moon Day of Thadinkyut

    Phaungdaw-u Festival

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Abhidhamma (“Ultimate Reality”) A Kha Daw Nay & Mahapavayana Nay
    Buddha taught Abhidhamma to the devas in Savateinsa (during the Buddhist Lent) and returned to earth on the Full Moon Day of Thadinkyut

    Associated festival (1):
    Festival of Light

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Light candles (b) Light incandescent bulbs
    Objectives: Emulate the scene where the devas and the people paid homage with candles and lights to the Buddha upon his return from Savateinsa

    Associated festival (2):
    Pavayana Pwe

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Monks assemble in a sima hall (b) Each monk invites other monks to give advice. He says, “If you have seen me commit a misdeed, you may reprimand me. If you hear that I have committed a misdeed, you may reprimand me. If you doubt me, you may reprimand me. I will try not to commit that misdeed in the future.” (c) Lay people might also invite their fellow people to give advice.


    Objectives:
    (a) To practice Nivata Mangala — blessing where one displays humility (b) For monks to practice Sovacasatta Mangala — blessing where one takes constructive critism (c) For lay people to become good & wise people

    8. Full Moon Day of Tazaungdaing

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Samyannaphala (“Virtues of monkhood”) A Kha Daw Nay
    Buddha gave the sermon to King Ajjasathat on the Full Moon Day of Tazaungdaing

    Associated festival:
    Tazaungdaing Festival

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Light candles (b) Take (eight) precepts and practice Sila (morality) (c) Dhamma talks based on Samyannaphala Sutta (d) Practice metta (loving kindness meditation) (e) Share merits

    Objectives:
    (a) Make people aware of the virtues of monkhood and the qualities of sangha (b) If one has conducted misdeeds like King Ajjasathat, one should acknowledge the fact, but be determined to be good by doing meritorious deeds.

    9. Full Moon Day of Nadaw

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Dhamma Sarsodaw Myar Nay
    In Burmese History, Full Moon Day of Nadaw honors the literary giants (writers, poets). In modern days, the Department of Religious Affairs designated the day to honor writers for the dissemination of dhamma

    Associated festival:
    Sar Pyan Pwe (Oral and written examination for the monks)

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Hold religious examinations (b) Written examination about Tipitaka (“Three Baskets”) : Vinaya (Monastic rules of conduct), Sutta (Discourses), Abhidhamma (Ultimate Reality) (c) Oral examination about Tipitaka (d) Lay people may visit libraries and borrow religious books (e) Lay people may hold discussions about dhamma

    Objectives:
    (a) Preservation and propagation of Tipitaka (b) Encourage youths to be highly literate and have good moral character

    10. Month of Pyatho

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Shin Ta Htaung (1000 ascetics) A Kha Daw Nay
    During Buddha’s time, 1000 ascetics in Uruvela forest led by the Kassappa brothers renounced their wrong beliefs and become arahants.

    Associated festival:
    Ordination of monks and novices

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Hold ceremonies for higher ordination of monks (b) Allow youths to become novices

    Objectives: (a) To reinforce the importance of practicing morality (b) To familiarize people with religious ceremonies & the performing of meritorious deeds

    11. Full Moon Day of Tabodwe

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Ovada Patimauk (Buddha’s exhortation to avoid akusala, to perform kusala, and to purify one’s mind) A Kha Daw Nay

    The Full Moon Day of Tabodwe is significant for several reasons. (a) Venerable Sariputta became an arahant (b) Both Venerable Sariputta and Venerable Mogallana were proclaimed by Buddha as the Best in their specialties (c) Without any explicit notice, Ehi Bhikkhu Calabinna Patisambidapatta arahants (elite monks who do not need explicit ordination, who possess six divine powers, and who easily became enlightened) convened for the Ovada Patimauk ceremony.

    Associated festival:
    Ovadaha Partimauk & Htamane Pwe (Sticky rice) festival

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Collectively prepare Htamane (b) Offer htamane to monks and devotees (c) Listen to dhamma talks

    Objectives:
    (a) Emphasize the strength of unity (b) Perform meritorious deeds collectively (c) Understand Buddha’s exhortation to avoid akusala, to perform kusala, and to purify one’s mind & practice accordingly

    12. Full Moon Day of Tabaung

    Name of the auspicious event:
    Myat Buddha Pyi Daw Win A Kha Daw Nay
    At the request of his father’s emissary Kaludayi, Buddha accompanied by 20000 arahants returned to Kapilavutta from Rajagaha. The return trip commenced on the 1st waning day of Tabaung in year 103 of Mahatheikarit (calendar used in Buddha’s time)

    Associated festival:
    Buddha Pujaniya Tabaung Festival (paying homage to Buddha)

    Details for the celebration:
    (a) Invite as many sangha as possible (b) Offer requisites to the sangha

    Objectives:
    To remember the Triple Gems: Buddha , Dhamma, and Sangha

    Posts

    • Calendars
    • Holidays & Festivals
    • Seasonal Changes
    • Translation

  • Four

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    Numeral

    • Hindu-Arablic numeral : 4
    • Roman numeral : IV
    • In Burmese : လေး

    Recent Buddhas of ဘဒ္ဒကမ္ဘာ

    • Kakusandha
    • Konagamana
    • Kassapa
    • Gautama

    Sacca / Noble Truth သစ္စာ

    • Dukkha ဒုက္ခ
      Unsatisfactoriness / Misery / Suffering
    • Samudiya သမုဒယ
      Cause of suffering
    • Nirodha နိရောဓ
      Cessation of suffering
    • Magga မဂ္ဂ
      The Path / The Middle Way

    Foundation of Mindfulness

    • Contemplation of the kaya / body ကာယ
    • Contemplation of the vedana / feeling ဝေဒနာ
    • Contemplation of the citta / mind စိတ္တ
    • Contemplation of the dhamma ဓမ္မ / general objects — not covered by the above three

    Brahma Vihara Practice

    • Metta မေတ္တာ
      Loving kindness / Unbounded love
    • Karuna ကရုဏာ
      Compassion
    • Mudita မုဒိတာ
      Sympathetic joy / Altruistic joy
    • Uppekkha ဥပေက္ခာ
      Equanimity

    Guardian deities

    • Dhatarattha (East) ဓတ္တရဋ္ဌ
    • Virulhaka (South) ဝိရူဠက
    • Virupkkha (West) ဝိရူပက္ခ
    • Kuvera (North) ကုဝေရ

    Mahabhuta

    • Patthavi ပထဝီ
      Earth element
    • Tejo တေဇော
      Fire element
    • Apo အာပေါ
      Water or liquid element
    • Vayo ဝါယော
      Air or wind element

    Miscellaneous

    • Four sided figures စတုဂံ
      Rectangle, Square, Parallelogram, Parallepiped, Rhombus
    • Baseball
      first base, second base, third base, home plate
    • Games
      Four quarters (e.g. Football, Basketball)
    • Rowing လေးတက်လှော်
      Coxless fours, Coxed fours, Quadruple sculls
    • Education ပညာရေး
      Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior
    • April ဧပြီ
      4th month of the Gregorian Calendar

    Posts

    • Computation
    • Digital
    • Number Systems
    • Numbers
    • Numerals

  • Winner Inn

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    • Winner Inn is run by Saya U Ba Than’s family : son Ye Than, daughter-in-law Win Mar Oo, grandson Aung Myo Myint and granddaughter Ei Khine.
    U Ba Than
    • Before the family moved to a new residential home (a little bit further down Than Lwin Road), Saya would entertain his relatives (visiting from abroad), former colleagues and students at Winner Inn.

    Gatherings

    • An informal gathering took place at Winner Inn in January 2017.
      Attendees include Dr. Khin Tun (Peter, GBNF) & Daw Win Mar, U Hla Win, U Aung Moung (GBNF), my spouse and me
    • U Aung Moung came to see Saya U Ba Than and Daw Win Mar.
      It’s a small world. Win Mar’s older brother was a childhood friend of U Aung Moung.
    • Sadly, U Aung Moung passed away in 2018.
      He was active in HMEE, SDYF and several social and religious organizations.
      Several monks arranged their own transportation to attend U Aung Moung’s last journey at Yay Way.

    Dr. Peter Khin Tun (GBNF)

    • Peter would usually come back to Yangon before January 12 to celebrate his mother Dr. Kyi Kyi Nyunt’s birthday. His father U Tin U is the elder brother of Saya U Ba Than.
    • Peter would host some celebrations (e.g. engagement party of his elder son Min Ko) at Winner Inn.
    • Sad to report that Peter was an early victim of Covid and lax UK Hospital policies about PPE. He passed away on April 13, 2020 (which was Easter Monday & start of Thingyan). The sad news is covered in BBC and some UK newspapers.
    • His spouse Win Mar recovered after two weeks of treatment at the hospital.
    • On a bright note, Peter was given awards posthumously and the UK hospital systems adopted better procedures.

  • RU Centennial Group

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    Daw Su Su

    Daw Su Su
    • First occupant of Room No. (1) at Inya Hall
    • Wanted her daughters — Hazel, Olive & May — to have experience like her at the Inya Hall.
    • Hazel & May spent a year at Inya Hall as room mates. Olive had to stay at the Hall for medical students.
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is daw-su-1.jpg
    Fund raiser
    • Danced three roles in the fund raiser for the Tekkatho Dhammayone. Her cousin Saya U Lu Pe Win (Pali and Kyauksar Scholar) directed the play. The rehearsal was assisted by U Nyi Pu (First male actor in a Burmese movie).
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is daw-su-2.jpg
    Play
    • Was honored at the Thet Kyee Pu Zaw Pwe (Paying homage to the elders) held at the Tekkatho Dhammayone.
    • Her account was published in the Golden Jubilee Sar Saung of Inya Hall.

    A1 Film

    • Myanmar Ah Swe Film evolved into A1 Film.
    • A1 U Tin Nwe & his family are known as Producers, Directors & Actors.
    • U Nyi Pu founded Maha Weikzardo Film.
    • U Tin Pe (Maung Maung Soe) founded Maung Maung Soe Film.
    • A1 U Tin Maung acted alongside May Shin and other lead female actors before becoming a Director/Actor.
    • Daw Khin Myint’s son U Tin Yu & son-in-law U Mya Maung are Director & Producer.

    Feedback

    • Thit Yine (alumnus of Yegyaw Methodist) wrote :
      Dr. Hla Shwe (Boon Chiong) stood First in the Matriculation examination of 1953 from Yegyaw Methodist, and that his class mate Ohn Khin stood Second. Yegyaw Methodist was well known before the Nationalization of schools.
    • Thit Yine and Ko Ko shared the names of sayas (e.g. U Aung Myint, U Khin Zaw, U Ko Lay) who taught in the late 50s and early 60s.
    • Po Shwe Kyu wrote :
      Credit to Saya Hla Min as being the most prolific writer in this group, and his archives and chronicles will be of greatest help to coming generations. Drs. Hla Shwe & Tin Maung returned to Burma around 1962-63. I don’t know Dr Hla Shwe but Dr. Tin Maung also resided at the Chummery during my short stay there. Chummery is a “Saya Lu Pyo Saung”.
    • Myo Thaik wrote :
      Sayama Daw Khin Aye passed away last year. His cousin uncle Dr. Myint Thein won a Gold Medal for scoring highest marks in Chemistry in the I.Sc. examination, and later became the first Myanmar to received Ph.D in Nuclear Chemistry in the USA. He is currently staying with his son in Texas. He also wrote about “A Che A Nay Kaung” and “Ma Khan Chin Seik” that led him and his uncle cousin Dr. Win Naing to pursue their dreams to have doctorates.
    • Myo Thaik wrote :
      Dr. Hla Shwe is Emeritus Professor, East Stroudsburg University, Pennsylvannia, and then moved to California.

    First in Burma

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is dr.-soe-win.jpg

    I knew that several SPHS students stood First in Burma in the Matric exam. They include

    • U Ba Khin (Vipassana teacher, first native Auditor General)
    • George Chapman (SPHS51)
    • Dr. Nyunt Tin (SPHS52)
    • Koon Yin Chu (Phillip, SPHS54)
    • Dr. Soe Win (SPHS58)
    • Dr. Frankie Ohn (SPHS59
    • Dr. Khin Maung U (SPHS63)
    • Bernard Khaw (SPHS65)

    I was aware that students from other schools also scored Top in the some years.

    • St. Peter’s High School, Mandalay
    • Methodist English High School (MEHS)
    • St. John’s Convent
    • Yegyaw Mthodist
    • Sacred Heart

    Thanks to those who provided additional info and/or corrections

    GBNF & Tone Kyaw

    I have to be very careful in specifying persons as GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten).

    There are at least three Tone Kyaw (person believed to have died) including me.

    When my name sake CO U Hla Min (Chief Operator at UCC, who appeared healthier than me) passed away in his mid-30s, two Training Departments (from Co-op and Trade) inquired UCC where they could send a “Lwan Thu Pann Kway” (wreath) for me. My former class mate Moe Hein (Ajala with an extremely loud voice) was surprised when he saw me at the Kyandaw Cemetery. He said, “I have taken a day off to come here. I wondered why your brother did not tell that you had passed away.” I became a Tone Kyaw.

    U Han Sein (C69, Ah Pho Gyi) was sentenced to 20 years for his alleged involvement in 8-8-88. His classmates, who were organizing the 30th Reunion of Graduation, inadvertently listed him as GBNF. He became a Tone Kyaw. He was released after 16 years (with the Amnesty Proclamation), but sadly, his family had been broken. He recently celebrated his 10 years of regained freedom.

    When Dr. Tin Hlaing (Marine Technology) passed away in Singapore, some RIT inadvertently sent condolences to Saya Dr. Tin Hlaing (M63), who became a Tone Kyaw.

    Mya Kyun Nyo Nyo Kun Yeik Kho

    • The song was first recorded as a “Dat Pya” at Myanmar Ah Than (Burma Broadcasting Service). It was first sung by U Mya Thein and group. U Thet Lwin received 100 Kyats for his composition, and he treated his fellow Ah Nu Pyinnya Shins.
    • In a TV interview, Saya played the song.
    • The song has been sung in many events including the SPZPs (Saya Pu Zaw Pwe) of RIT Alumni.
    • The Singapore “Pon Chan Chan Group” led by Don Min U Yu Swan recorded the song.
    • The song was also sung at the Ceremony on December 1, 2019 to kick off the RU Centennial.
    • The various versions can be listened from the Facebook Posts and You Tube.

    Land marks

    • Thit Pope Pinn is recognized by the Yangon Heritage Society.
    • The tree was there even before the founding of the University of Rangoon, and it survived Cyclone Nargis.
    • A few readers expressed displeasure to see the wired fences and the inexplicable disappearance of landmarks.
    • The Convocation Hall is another land mark.
    • Eons ago, the Prime Minister of the Union of Burma served as Chancellor of the University of Rangoon, and also delivered “Commencement Speech” at the graduation.
    • I posted the program of the 1958 Convocation which listed about 30 prize winners (Gold Medals, Silver Medals and Books).
    • U Soe Paing, my mentor at RIT and UCC, received two Gold medals (after paying 150 Kyats for each Gold Medal, because the original endowments no longer covered the “rising cost” of Gold for the Medals). He had the highest score for I.Sc. (A) and (B) combined. He had the joint highest Maths score for I.Sc. exams — with two other students.
    • In 1962, Dr. Myint Tun (Henry Cho Tun) won the Gold Medal for the highest score for I.Sc.(A) and (B) combined. U Myat Thwin (ChE66) beat him by one point for the highest score in Mathematics for I.Sc.(A) and (B) combined.

    Autograph

    Ma Chit Swe (Hazel Kyaw Zaw’s mother) was a Junior I.A. (Intermediate of Arts) student in 1936. Hazel has posted her mother’s autograph.

    Daw Hla Myint, a close friend of Hazel’s mom, wrote a lovely poem. Many were unaware of her talent. She had to leave the University before graduation to get married to U Tu Maung. Saya U Tu Myint (Winston Tu Maung) was our saya at RIT and later taught at Singapore Polytechnic until retirement. Dr. Hla Maung (Ronald Tu Maung, MEHS65) moved to the UK. Her siblings include Dr. Pe Nyun (Pediatric Surgeon, who led the operation of conjoined twins Ma Nan Soe and Ma Nan San), Dr. Pe Thein (Professor and Retired Minister), Daw Ivy San Pe and Daw Flora San Pe.