Payeik Kyee ပရိတ်ကြီးaka Paritta Pali ပရိတ္တပါဠိ and Protective Verses Collection of eleven Protective Verses is recited in part or full by monks, novices, and lay people.
Pali ပါဠိ — Language of discourse in Theravada Buddhism
Theik Kha သိက္ခာ — Practice
Thamane Kyaw သာမဏေကျော် — Pen name of Sayadaw U Dhammika ဦးဓမ္မိက , who won the prestigious award of Thamane Kyaw (Distinguished novice scholar) in his youth.
Payeik Kyee Pali Theik Kha ပရိတ်ကြီးပါဠိသိက္ခာ— The book discusses Pali terms, phrases & grammar.
Payeik Kyee Pali Theik Kha
For a comprehensive treatment on Protective Verses, refer to the epic work by “Thabyekan Sayadaw” သပြေကန်ဆရာတော် and a treatise by U Jotalankara ဦးဇောတလင်္ကာရ (Dhammanda Vihara, Half Moon Bay, California, USA).
Ma Ma Mi (Daw Khin Khin Latt) is from Sagaing. She wanted Saya Chit (Dr. Chit Swe) to be a Yahan (temporary monk) at a monastery in Sagaing Hills. Some monastery compounds are named after the towns in Irrawaddy Delta.
Ko Myint Oo and I offered to be temporary monks with Saya Chit.
Ordination
There are two phases to become a monk :
(a) Novitiation (ရှင်ပြု Shin Pyu) or “Lower Ordination” to become a “Ko Yin” (ကိုရင် novice)
(b) “Thane Wyn” or “Higher Ordination” in a Sima (သိမ် Thane) to become an Upazin ဥပဇင်း
At least five monks are needed to conduct the “Higher Ordination”.
In Yangon, the ceremony takes 15 – 30 minutes.
The final part is an Exhortation by the Preceptor. As Mentor to the newly ordained monk, the Preceptor shares his knowledge and gives advice.
When the Preceptor learned that Saya Chit is a renowned Professor and the Founder/Director of UCC, he gave “extra” attention by exhorting for “close to three hours”. Sayadaw enjoyed illuminating Saya Chit.
Since I could barely squat, I was “offered” a pillow to rest my knees and I was allowed to “kneel down” on the pillow.
Tourist Guide for a day
After a week of monk hood, we returned to our lay life sans (without) our hair.
Ko Myint Oo is a social animal. He knew two Guides from “Tourist Burma”. At least one of them was new. They had a reasonably tough assignment. They had to guide an American student (in his senior year at a New York University) trying to write a first-hand report about the Buddhist artifacts in Mandalay and Sagaing.
The Guides requested help from Ko Myint Oo. Ko Myint Oo shunted and in a moment I became a volunteer tourist guide explaining (to the best of my knowledge) Buddhism & rites and rituals.
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
Mahayana Buddhists emphasize the importance of Compassion
Sayadaw U Sobhana (GBNF) had four Indonesian siblings as his students. Named one of them Karuna. She was present at Sayadaw’s Last Journey.
U Moe Myint (M76) and several alumni are members of the “Karuna Ah Thinn” in Singapore. One activitiy is to help the needy for the Last Journey of their loved one.
We saw an outpouring of Karuna in the relief efforts for Disaster Recovery (e.g. Cyclone Nargis)
Practicing Karuna
May suffering ones be suffering-free
And the fear-struck fearless be
May the grieving shed all grief
And all beings find relief
Mudita
Pali term.
Rendered as Altruistic Joy or Sympathetic Joy
One of the four Bhamaso Taya
One should feel joyful when one hears good news about others.
Myanmar Mudita Sar Saung
Saya U Nyunt Htay (Met73) is Chief Editor
Contributor : Tekkatho Moe War (U Moe Aung)
Mudita Sar Saung
Upekkha
Pali term
Rendered as Neutral [Feeling]
Also translated as Equanimity
One of the four Bhamaso Taya
In a loose usage in Burmese, “Upekkha Shu” means “ignore”. It is not representative of the importance of Upekkha, which provides a balance of life and avoids the two extremes stated in the Dhammacakka Sutta
It is non-trivial to sense Upekkha while practicing Vipassana (Insight) Meditation.
Feelings may be be categorized as
Pleasant Feeling
Unpleasant Feeling
Non-Pleasant and Non-Unpleasant Feeling
Upekkha is synonymous with “Non-Pleasant and Non-Unpleasant Feeling”.
One of the four Bhamaso Taya or Bhama Vihara (along with Karuna, Mudita, and Uppekha)
Practiced as a form of meditation
U Silananda‘s book on Protective Verses has a section on how to practice Loving Kindness Meditation.
Tipitaka Mingun Sayadawgyi recited the Two Methods of sending Metta. As mentioned in Metta Sutta Alternative: 528 “Metta” (13 x 4 x 12) They can be found on YouTube and CDs.
“Metta Sutta” is one of the eleven Suttas in “Paritta Pali” (Protective Verses). Also known as Karaniya Metta Sutta Chanted at most Buddhist ceremonies.
Myitta is covered along with Thitsar (Truth) in Dr. Min Tin Mon‘s book “Myitta and Thitsar“
U Thu Kha wrote a book on Metta Sutta.
U Jotalankara‘s book explains the 528 Metta.
A Physics teacher said, “Myitta So Dar Ah Hlyar Ah Nan Ma Shee Bay Mei Ah Thwar Ah Pyan Shee Bar Thay Dae.”
Metta is also used as a name or part of a name.
Metta is a Myanmar comedian.
Mettananda Vihara is a monastery in Northern California. Moved from Central Avenue, Fremont to Castro Valley.
Metta Vihari is an association that performs Chanting, and also offers food dana at selected gatherings.
Practicing Metta
By Way of LOCATION:
May I be well, happy and peaceful.
May all beings in this house be well, happy and peaceful.
May all beings in this area be well, happy and peaceful.
May all beings in this city be well, happy and peaceful.
May all beings in this country be well, happy and peaceful.
May all beings in this world be well, happy and peaceful.
May all beings in this universe be well, happy and peaceful.
May all beings be well, happy and peaceful.
By Way of PERSONS:
May I be well, happy and peaceful.
May my teachers be well, happy and peaceful.
May my parents be well, happy and peaceful.
May my relatives be well, happy and peaceful.
May my friends be well, happy and peaceful.
May the indifferent persons be well, happy and peaceful.
May the unfriendly persons be well, happy and peaceful.
May all meditators be well, happy and peaceful.
May all beings be well, happy and peaceful.
Metta Sutta
Third sutta in “Paritta Pali”
also referred to as Karaniya Metta Sutta
Desirable qualities of a Practitioner
Loving Kindness Meditation
Formal Translation from Pali into Burmese/Myanmar and English
Informal Books by Saya U Thu Kha and Saya Dr. Mehm Tin Mon
Sayadaw U Silananda resided at TMC when Dhammananda Vihara, Half Moon Bay was undergoing construction.
U Silandabhivamsa
Beelin Sayadaw
Resident Sayadaw, TMC
Succeeded Panditarama Sayadaw at Shwe Taung Gone
He is now GBNF
Beelin Sayadaw
Activities
TMC conducted long-term meditation retreats and week-end retreats.
TMC held summer classes : one for children and the other for young adults.
TMC published several books (in English and Vietnamese) for Dhamma Dana distribution.
TMC also offered courses via Zoom.
Several activities were suspended during the pandemic.
Pali
Sayadaw Dhammika-bhivamsa (Tharmanay Kyaw) taught Pali courses using selected Suttas to interested yogis to have an appreciation of Buddha’s teachings without delving into the details of Pali grammar.
The course materials were prepared by Som Tu (Director of TMC, Retired Technology Executive) under the guidance of Thamanay Kyaw Sayadaw.
Reference Books
I volunteered as Translator/Interpreter for Meditation Retreats at TMC.
Myat Kyaw & San Lin
P M-E Dictionary
Beelin Sayadaw U Pannadipa (then Resident Sayadaw at TMC, later Padana Nayaka Sayadaw at Panditarama Shwe Taung Gone in Yangon) gave me the book “A Pali Myanmar-English Dictionary of the Noble Words of the Lord Buddha”.
The book was compiled by U Myat Kyaw (Myanmar Sar Ah Phwe) and translated into English by U San Lwin. U San Lwin is the older brother of Dr. Lyn Swe Aye, IM(2).
Buddhist Dictionary
Buddhist Dictionary
TMC gave me “Buddhist Dictionary” by Venerable Nyantiloka.
It is subtitled “Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines”.
The first edition was published in 1946. The third revised and enlarged edition was edited by [Venerable] Nyanaponika in 1970.
Intro to Pali
U Hla Myint (former Sayadaw who had passed several monastic exams) gave me a PDF version of his manuscript “An Introduction to Pali” for study and review.
The book is available as Dhamma Dana distribution from TMC.
He studied Pali under the guidance of Mahagandayone Sayadaw U Janakabhivamsa, U Vijayalankara & U Dhammikabhivamsa (“Thamanay Kyaw”).
He studied English under the guidance of Sayadaw U Panditabhivamsa and with the eminent teachers such as U Aung Myat Thut, U Aye Maung and U Hla Maung.
He has written, translated and edited several books for TMC.
Updates
Sayadaw U Pandita, Sayadaw U Silandabhivamsa and Beelin Sayadaw have passed away.
Mr. Salvitore was working as a Chemist in the USA.
He a book present from his supervisor for Christmas. A chapter was “Dhammapada”. After reading it, Samvega (sense of urgency) crept in. He quit his job.
Left for Burma to be ordained as a Buddhist monk. Became “U Lokanatha”.
Wrote “I became a Buddhist. My supervisor remained a Christian.”
Was from a devout Catholic family. Elder brother was a Priest.
My paternal grand mother offered a monastery for U Lokanatha in Bawdigone (ဗောဓိကုန်း Windermere), Rangoon.
Sayadaw practiced Dhutanga (ဓူတင်ဆောင်) . Preached & took Dhamma Dhuta (ဓမ္မဒူတ) missions to India and Ceylon.
Passed away in Maymyo (မေမြို့) in 1966.
Ashin Ananda
(အရှင်အာနန္ဒာ)
Rev. Friedrich Lustig (Latvian monk)
Rev Lustig 1Rev Lustig 2
Fled Communist Rule
Rev. Friedrich V. Lustig’s mentor was the Buddhist Archbishop of Latvia and Lithuania. When the Communists invaded their country, they sought refuge in Burma. The government provided them a monastery in the “Ah Le Pyit Sa Yan” of Shwe Dagon Pagoda.
Moke Seit မုတ်ဆိတ်
Known as “Moke Seit Phone Gyi” for his beard. Came to our parent’s house in Windermere Road for alms.
After his mentor’s demise, he became Buddhist Archbishop of Latvia and Lithuania.
Ashin Ananda
Shaved his beard and was ordained as a Theravada monk with the title “Ashin Ananda”.
Laureate Poet and Translator. Wrote poems in English. Translated selected Burmese poems into English.
In July 1969, he gave my poem “Men on the Moon” to Mr. Hall (USIS) to be forwarded to Apollo 11 astronauts. Gave a copy to the Guardian newspaper for publication.
Men on the Moon (Poem)
U Thilawuntha
(ဦးသီလဝန္တ)
Mon Sayadaw (မွန်ဆရာတော်)
Mon Sayada
Dat Paung Zon Aung Min Gaung Sayadaw ဓာတ်ပေါင်းစုံ အောင်မင်းခေါင်ဆရာတော် U Thilawunta (fondly known as “Mon Sayadaw”) built pagodas in Burma/Myanmar, USA, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and several other countries.
In the ’50s, Sayadaw visited the United Nations and U Thant (ဦးသန်ု). He built the first Burmese pagoda in the Allegheny mountains near New York.
During his visit to California, Sayadaw would spend time with his devotees such as Russell Wolfe (Santa Cruz) and U Aung Myint (Donald, Milpitas).
Las Vegas Sayadaw U Zeya (ဦးဇေယျ)
Las Vegas has some monasteries including Thai monasteries supported by members of the Royal Family.
Sayadaw U Zeya resided at a Thai monastery and rose up in the ranks. Gave dhamma talks in Thai, English, and Burmese. Several devotees offered him a monastery.
In May 2013, several dhamma friends in the Bay Area rented a van to attend “Htee Tin Pwe” of the pagoda inside U Zeya’s monastery compound.
Donated for two Nagas at the Las Vegas Monastery in memory of our parents and in-laws.
Engineers and Architects
Dr. Lwin Aung (A59) ဒေါက်တာလွင်အောင်
Uzin Dr. Lwin Aung
Entered monk-hood after retirement.
Served as Professor of Architecture and as Pro-Rector of YTU.
Volunteers as a Consulting Architect for the construction of dhamma buildings
Due to health, he left monk-hood.
U Bo Gyi (A59) ဦးဘိုကြီး
U Bo Gyi
Founded “Architect Incorporated” with U Tin Htoon (A60) and U Aung Kyee Myint (A60)
Later joined PWD along with his partners
Designed the Mausoleum for Daw Khin Kyi, and was shunned by the higher authorities.
Hobbies : music (piano) and modeling (sculpture)
He is now GBNF.
U Han Nyo (Met60) ဦးဟန်ညို
He helped conduct meditation retreats in Southern California and Mexico.
U Myo Tun (A69) ဦးမျိုးထွန်း
U Myo Tun
Ashin Pannagavesaka
Won prizes for essays under the name “Errol Than Tun”.
Made dhamma duta mission to Vietnam
Was Dhamma Librarian for Moulmein Pa Auk Tawya Monastery.
Edited some of Pa Auk Sayadaw’s books.
Taught English to Dhammacariya Sayadaws
U Aung Chaw (C69, SPHS63) ဦးအောင်ချော
U Aung Chaw
Ashin Ukkamsa
Resided in Sagaing
Later moved to the Irrawaddy Delta region
Met him in 2018 when he came to Yangon. Attended some breakfast gatherings by the 69ers. Kyaw Win (SPHS63) offered soon to Sayadaw at Shwe Ba Htamin Saing, and also offered Nawakamma.
U Wara (Win Paing, ChE70, SPHS64) ဦးဝရ / ဦးဝင်းပိုင်
U Wara
Younger brother of Saya U Soe Paing (EE, UCC).
Entered monkhood after the Final Year exam.
Chief Resident Sayadaw, KabaAye Sun Lun Gu Kyaung
Was Taik Oke Sayadaw for Sayadaw U Vinaya.
He is now GBNF
Paing Brothers
U Jotika (EE73) ဦးဇောတိက
U Jotika 1U Jotika 2
Prolific writer and an outstanding Dhamma Lecturer
Spent vasa at Taung Pu Lu Kaba Aye monastery in Boulder Creek
Revisited US about a decade ago
Frequently visited Singapore and other neighboring countries
Ashin Pannobhasa (M91) ဦးပညောဘာသ
Met him in SF Bay Area with his mentor (Sayadaw from Myanmar).
He was born in April 1966 Thursday (2nd Waning day of Kason 1328 BE) in Pyapon, Irrawaddy Division.
After finishing his Mechanical Engineering degree from Yangon (Rangoon) Institute of Technology he received higher ordination as a Bhikkhu or a monk at the age of 24 in the Ordination Hall, Pyapon Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha under the preceptor of Venerable U Vannita, Pyapon Mahasi Sayadaw, Pyapon Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha on 27th July 1991.
Chief Resident Monk at a monastery in Seattle, Washington
