Category: Buddhism

ရန်ကုန်စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာအသင်း

အထွေထွေ General

Published the Ovada book at SPZP-2012 and SPZP-2016

• Mingun Sayadaw U Vicittasarabhivamsa (GBNF) was listed in the “Guinness Book of World Records” for his phenomenal memory.
• When Burma hosted the Sixth Buddhist Council at Kaba Aye Pagoda in 1954 – 56 to commemorate the 2500th year of the “Sasana Calendar”, Sayadaw acted as the “Reciter” of the Tipitaka (Triple Basket : Vinaya, Sutta, and Abhidhamma) and the “selected” Commentaries. According to the Kaba Aye Edition, the Tipitaka covers 8000+ pages.
• To prepare for the Buddhist Council, Sir U Thwin requested Mingun Sayadaw to take the Tipitaka examination.
• Sayadaw passed the Oral and Written tests for the Three Baskets with Distinction.
• Oral tests will fail a candidate if he needs five (or six) prompts. Sayadaw did not need a single prompt. The Written tests cover in-depth topics. During the recitation, Sayadaw amazed the examiners by pointing out the variations of the text and highlighted the preferred version.
• He was the first Sayadaw to be conferred “Bearer of the Tipitaka & Treasurer of the Dhamma”.
• Sayadaw received requisites. He distributed them to the monks (mostly in the town where he received them).
• To help ease the monks trying to pass one or more Baskets in the later Tipitaka examinations, Sayadaw set up a monastery in Mingun and accepted monks who had finished their Dhammacariya.

Types of Memory

• We have a short term memory and a long term memory.
• When people age, most retain their long term memory, but they often experience decline of their short term memory.
• My young cousin approached us and then uttered, “I forgot what I was about to say”.
• My high school classmate would abruptly stop in the middle of our walk and pondered, “Did I lock the door?”
• U Tun Aung’s uncle (GBNF) could recall his primary classmates but could not recognize his beloved grand kid.

• There are books and courses about memory.
• According to some authors, we could use “chunking”, “association”, “reinforced (non-blind) repetition”, … to move important and worthwhile items in the short term memory into long term memory.
• Memory is not static. It is “elastic”. There is restructuring (reorganizing, indexing, …) every time we use it.
• There are techniques (“mnemonics”, “visualization”, …) to “train” and “improve” our memory.

• Thanks to the sayas and colleagues who complimented for having a good memory.
• I was a mini-dictionary, a micro-encyclopedia, and a reliable proof-reader & spelling checker.
• May be it was partly because I was born before the pervasive use of Internet and on-line tools, and there was not too much diversion.

• There are a few who want to down play the importance of memory.
• They say, “I can Google”.

First Pagoda

The first pagoda in the US was built on the Allegheny Mountains in New York by Dat Paung Zon Sayadaw U Thilawunta (also known fondly as “Mon Sayadaw”) in the 50’s.

TKAM

Following the Dhamma Duta Mission by Taung Pu Lu Sayadaw in the late 70’s, two pagodas were built at TKAM (Taung Pu Lu Kaba Aye Monastery) in Boulder Creek, Northern California. Pa yan sayas from Burma/Myanmar were brought in for the project.

Subsequent Pagodas

Pagodas were also built in

• Sae Taw Win II Dhamma Center, Sebastapol, Northern California
• Azusa Monastery in Los Angeles, Southern California
• New Jersey
• Sitagu Monastery in (a) Texas (b) Florida (c) Minneapolis
• Chaitya Monastery in Nevada, Las Vegas

Note :

• Due to restrictions such as zoning laws, scenic routes, and historical buildings, it is not easy to build pagodas in the US.

By Dr. Khin Maung U

Mahā Calendar Year 67 (623 BC) – Full Moon Day of Waso (Thursday): Conception took place.

Mahā Calendar Year 68 (624 BC) – Full Moon Day of Kason (Vesākhā) (Friday): Born in Lumbini Park (now known as Padaria in modern Nepal.
Name as Buddha: Gotama
Name as Prince: Prince Siddattha
Mother: Mahā Māyā Devi
Father: King Suddhodana Mahārājā
City: Kāpilavatthu (now in India)
Royal Bride: Princess Yasodharā Devi
Son: Prince Rāhula

Mahā Calendar Year 97 (595 BC) – Full Moon Day of Waso (Monday): Renounced worldly life, became an ascetic to seek enlightenment.

Mahā Calendar Year 103 (589 BC – Full Moon Day of Kason (Vesākhā) (Wednesday): Attained enlightenment, became a Buddha. (Time: At dawn on the first Waxing Day of Kason (Vesākhā))

Mahā Calendar Year 104 (589 BC) – Full Moon Day of Waso (Saturday): Expounded Dhammacakkapavatthana Sutta

Mahā Calendar Year 148 (544 BC) – Full Moon Day of Kason (Tuesday): In the Sāla Grove in the City of Kusināra in Māllas (modern Kasia in the eastern part of Nepal), Buddha passed into Nibbānna.)

Mahā Calendar Year 148 (544 BC) – 12th Waxing Day of Kason (Vesākhā) (Sunday): The Buddha’s remains burned on their own in cremation.

Notes

• Dr. Khin Maung U (SPHS63) stood First in Burma in the Matriculation.
• He is a Multiple Luyechun (Outstanding Student) at IM (1).
• He did Teaching & Research in Burma and USA.
• He translated a part of Dr. Nandamalabhivansa’s course on Abhidhamma.
• He and his spouse Dr. Nyunt Nyunt Wai are Gawpaka at a monastery in Maryland, USA.