Visiting Professor, Osaka University, Japan Collaborated with Professor Harada (Chit Mann Nwe)
Daw Khin Saw Mu
Khit San Kabyar
Statuette in “Bagyi Aung Nyar De” (short story)
Siblings : ICS U Tin Tut, U Kyaw Myint, U Myint Thein, Dr. Htin Aung, Daw Khin Mya Mu, Daw Tin Saw Mu
Spouse : ICS U Ba Tint
Children : Daw Khin Saw Tint, U Nay Oke Tint
TEDxTalk
Two Poets and their Legacy on Kabyar
Main Characters from “Bagyi Aung Nyar De” : ICS U Tin Tut (Bagyi Aung), Minthuwun (Maung Chit), Daw Khin Saw Mu (Statuette), ICS U Ba Tint (Merchant / Buyer of Statuette)
All four have passed away
It’s time to debunk the myth about “Bagyi Aung”. Many thought that he was Dr. Htin Aung.
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) successfully sent Apollo-11 to land men on the moon and bring them safely back to the earth (as envisioned by JFK).
Apollo 11
Neil Armstrong — Civilian Commander; First man on the moon
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin — Lunar Module Pilot; Second man on the moon
Michael Collins — Command Module Pilot
My Poem
The poem honoring the Apollo 11 Mission was published in the Guardian newspaper.
A copy of the poem was given to Mr. Hall (USIS), who forwarded it to NASA and the astronauts.
Updates
Neil Armstrong became a University Professor
For some time, Buzz Aldrin was depressed for not being the first to set foot on the Moon. He later competed in “Dancing with the Stars”.
Michael Collins reply to interviewers : “The mission needed three astronauts. I am 1/3 of the success.” He wrote a book.
Apollo 13 had a technical problem. The saga was recounted in a book and a movie.
Apollo 17 had a Scientist Astronaut.
A mini-history was published based on the interviews with Astronauts.
Mechanical Engineering from Rangoon University in 1960
Worked for JVC run by relatives. Read news about State Scholarship
Masters in Agricultural Engineering from Virginia Tech in the USA
Paid respect to Saya U Ba Than. Saya asked if he would like to join Agri Dept. (sub-dept of Mechanical).
Later moved to Thailand & USA
Books
Saya and I used to exchange books (dhamma and general).
He told me to keep the ones that I want.
He bought books. He got books when his dhamma friend Saya U Soe Kaw (Mining) passed away. He got books when a monastery undergoing renovation gave away the old stuff.
Saya’s books include Ludu Dawlove Ah Mar, Theikpan Maung Wa, Tha Ka Doe, and Kyemon U Thaung.
Ludu Daw Ah Mar
She took part in the 1936 RU Student Strike.
Spouse : Ludu U Hla (Writer & Journalist)
Many journalists & writers worked at Ludu Newspaper founded by U Hla & Daw Ah Mar.
Saya gave me the book written by Ludu Daw Ah Mar about notable people from Mandalay.
Daw Oo Zun (founder of the first Lu Oh Yone လူအိုရုံ) and Kyar Ba Nyein (Boxing & Checkers) are some of the Mandalay Thu မန္တလေးသူ and Mandalay Thar မန္တလေးသား featured in the book.
Book by Ludu Daw Ah Mar
Theikpan Maung Wa
U Sein Tin was an early student who took Burmese Honors.
Became ICS.
Co-founded “Khit San Sar Pay” with U Thein Han (Zawgyi) & U Wun (Minthuwun).
Wrote a journal during his study at Oxford University and published a book.
Wrote semi-autobiographical accounts featuring Maung Lu Aye မောင်လူအေး and Maung Lu Hmwe မောင်လူမွှေး
His collection of “Wut Htu Saung Par ဝတ္ထုဆောင်းပါးာwas prescribed as a Burmese text for high school.
Saya gave me the book written a book by Theikpan Maung Wa about pets.
Theikpan Maung Wa succumbed as a victim of a robbery (gone wrong).
Memories
Health & Fitness
President of RIT Thaing
Member of RIT Saya Soccer Team
Hiking & some Mountaineering (before having medical problems)
Had operation
Social & Religious Activities
Volunteer for constructing the pagoda & monastery at Taung Pulu Kaba Aye (first in the SF Bay Area & later at Boulder Creek)
Member, Kappiya Karaka ကပ္ပိယကာရက
Supporter, Team that compiled & converted Mogok Sayadaw’s tapes into CD
Donated $500 to YTU Library Modernization project
Donation
Used to have monthly လဖက်ရည် နဲ့ စကားဝိုင်း with Saya Allen Htay (GBNF), U Ko Ko Aye (GBNF), Ko Thein Naing (Patrick) and me.
Visit by Saya U Soe Paing (EE, UCC). They spent over a month on an Ocean Liner to return home after studying in the USA.
Visit by U Soe Paing
Saya and U Sein Tun were roommates at Mandalay University in 1955. They met again at a Fundraiser in Newark Pavilion on June 22, 2025.
Many monasteries have libraries with texts in Pali, Burmese/Myanmar & English. Some have indexed the library collection.
It is difficult if not impossible to read all the books in a library.
Libraries in Monasteries (Northern California)
Dhammananda Vihara, Half Moon Bay
Kuthalakari, Fremont
Mettananda Vihara, Oakland (formerly at Fremont & Castro Valley)
Mudita Shwe Kyaung, Hayward
Tathagata Meditation Center, San Jose
Training and Teaching Centers
Mingalar Byu Har (မင်္ဂလာဗျူဟာ), Dhamma Byu Har (ဓမ္မဗျူဟာ), Dhammacakka Society (ဓမ္မစကြာအသင်းအဖွဲ့ ), Pathan Sar Thin Taik (ပဌာန်းစာသင်တိုက်) and the various training and teaching centers have helped sustain, promote, and propagate Sasana.
Theravada Canon
Theravada means “Way of the Elders”.
At the First Buddhist Council and at the subsequent Councils, the sacred texts are reaffirmed. The Teachings are not added, deleted, or modified.
Burma hosted the Fifth & Sixth Buddhist Councils.
Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa initiated two projects: one to digitize the marble slabs inscribed during the Fifth Buddhist Council in Mandalay, and the other to compile a CD of the Tipitaka texts that were re-affirmed at the Sixth Buddhist Council in Rangoon/Yangon.
The Pali-Myanmar Tipitaka Dictionary was compiled under the guidance of the Sayadawgyis (e.g. Mahasi Sayadaw) and the [then young] Sayadaws (e.g. U Silananda). Myanmar translations of the Tipitaka texts were published by the Department of Religious Affairs.
Mahagandaryone Sayadaw U Janakabivamsa
He wrote texts for both the sanghas and the lay people. They include
Ba Tha Thway ဘာသာသွေး
Yadana Gone Yi ရတနာ့ဂုဏ်ရည်
A Na Gut Thar Tha Yay အနာဂတ်သာသနာရေး (Future of the Dispensation)
Ko Kyint Abhidhamma ကိုယ်ကျင့်အဘိဓမ္မာ (Abhidhamma in Daily Life)
Shin pone shin kyint wut ရှင်ပုံ ရှင်ကျင့်ဝတ် (rules for the samanera/novices)
The Illustrated History of Buddhism (with drawings by Sayagyi U Ba Kyi)
Dhamma Recording
Tape Recorders
In the 50’s and 60’s, the Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS) used mostly Ampex tape recorders for high fidelity.
The general public used less expensive brands such as Akai, Grudig and Sony for recording.
Sixth Buddhist Council
During the Sixth Buddhist Council (1954 – 1956), BBS broadcast the sessions where Mahasi Sayadaw served as the Questioner and Mingun Tipitaka Sayadaw served as the Reciter/Expositor.
The archives are being offered as dhamma dana in Audio CD and MP3 formats.
Kudos to those who are trying to preserve, practice, and propagate the Sasana (Teachings of the Buddha).
Teachings of Sayadaws
Individuals and organizations have provided access to their dhamma archives.
Sun Lun Sayadaw
Sunlun SayadawBook about Sunlun Sayadaw
Recordings (dhamma talks, kammavaca, …) of Myingyan Sun Lun Gu Kyaung Sayadaw U Kavi were made by his disciples. They can be downloaded from the Sun Lun web site.
Mogok Sayadaw
U Sway Tin and his team recorded 500+ talks of the Mogok Sayadaw U Vimala. They also transcribed the tapes for distribution as books. The advances in technology make possible the redistribution of the archives as Audio CDs, MP3s, and e-Books.
Dhammananda Sayadaw
Recordings of Sayadaw U Silananda (Abdhidhamma, “Words of the Buddha”, …, dhamma talks given at the meditation retreats) were made by his disciples at Dhammacakka Center, Theravada Buddhist Society of America (TBSA), Tathagatha Meditation Center (TMC), and Zen Buddhist Temple. Some works are available as Audio CDs, MP3s and books. I was honored to edit the dhamma talks (transcribed by Sayadaw U Osadha) before presenting them to SayadawU S ilananda for final review and editing. The book was published in 2003 by the Malaysian yogis organized by Pauline Chiong.
Taya Oo
TMC Publications
Tathagata Meditation Center
TMC was founded by the Vietnamese disciples of Sayadaw U Silananda.
TMC is located at 1215 Lucretia Avenue, San Jose, CA 95122
Conducts about six long-term meditation retreats per year.
Offers two week-end retreats for months when there are no long-term retreats.
Holds summer classes : one for children and the other for young adults.
Published several books for Dhamma Dana distribution. They include teachings by Mahasi Sayadaw, U Pandita, U Silananda, and books to study Pali.
Pali
For the past few years, U 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 executive in Technology) under the guidance of Thamanay Kyaw Sayadaw.
Reference Books
I used to volunteer as Translator/Interpreter for Meditation Retreats at Tathagata Meditation Center (TMC).
Beelin Sayadaw U Pannadipa (then Resident Sayadaw at TMC, currently 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.
TMC gave me the book “Buddhist Dictionary” by Ven. Nyantiloka.
It is subtitled “Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines”.
The first edition was published in 1946.
The third revised & enlarged edition was edited by Ven. Nyanaponika in 1970.
U Hla Myint, who had passed Dhammacariya & several monastic exams as a monk, 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 Jananabhivamsa (one of the greatest Pali scholars in the 20th century) and with the outstanding teachers U Vijaya-lankara and U Dhamika-bhivamsa (with pen name “Thamanay Kyaw”).
He studied English under the guidance of Sayadaw U Pandita-bhivamsa 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.
U Hla Myint
Triple Gem Publications
Founder Members
Harry Than Htut (Canada)
U Htay Aung (Victor, Australia)
Dr. Maung Maung Lwin (UK)
U Tin Htoon (USA)
Daw Tin Tin Myint (Emma, Singapore)
Sample Publications
Emptying the Rose-Apple Seat A day-to-day guide to Buddhist meditation methods as taught by a renowned meditation master by Aggamahapandita Bhaddhanta Dr. Rewata Dhamma Foreword by Joseph Goldstein
The Buddha’s Prescription A selection of talks and essays by Dr. Rewata Dhamma
Inward Path Publisher
Background
IPP is in Penang, Malaysia.
Aims at disseminating the noble teachings of Wisdom and Compassion of the Buddha to a wide segment of readers through the printing of Dhamma books and booklets.
Dhamma Dana
Inward Journey Books (free Dhamma books) include the following :
One Truth Only A Compilation of Passages from Mahasi Sayadaw’s discourses
The Way to the Happiness of Peace Understanding the Basics of Insight Meditation By Sayadaw U Pandita
Paritta Pali and Protective Verses A Collection of Eleven Protective Verses & An English Translation By Sayadaw U Silananda
Volition An Introduction to the Law of Kamma By Sayadaw U Silananda
No Inner Core An Introduction to the Doctrine of Anatta By Sayadaw U Silananda
Idriya The Nine Causes which Sharpen the Controlling Faculty of a Vipassana Meditating Yogi By Sayadaw U Kundala
Vipassana Bhavana Basic Principles of Mindfulness Meditation By Sayadaw U Kundala
Time and Priceless Treasures of Thabyekan Sayadaw Compiled by Tharmanay Kyaw
Triple Gems Publications, in collaboration with Suki Hoti Publications, have made available dhamma dana books. See the relevant postings.
Theravada Web Sites
Thanks to the websites (such as those listed below), the Teachings of the Buddha and His disciples can easily be studied, practiced, and propagated.
Received two Masters : one from RIT, another from Melbourne University
Spouse : Daw Gyn Yu — Myeik Thu & Culinary Expert
Son (Min Yu Aung) & daughter (Hnin Yu Aung) — both successful
Taught at Rengsit University
Senior manager at a Refinery in Thailand
After retirement, spending time with his daughter and grandchildren in California, USA.
Activities
Writes with the pen name “Maung Yin Maung (Okkpo)”. Not sure if the name is inspired by the first Burmese novel.
Author & Poet.
Wrote about his sayas (High School & Uni)
Co-author of the “Collection of Poems” by five RIT poets headed by Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War). One poem is about his beloved sweetheart and later his spouse Ma Gyn Yu (ChE72).
Book of poemsPoet
Organizer, Poetic Art Series & Musical Video (O Bei Myat Saya)
Organizer for book donation to the ChE Library & Training Component of YTU Library Modernization Project.
Per U Aung Myaing’s request, Saya U Maung Maung (George, ChE66) organized a fund raiser of US 3000+ for supporting the Training Component of the YTU Modernization Project.
Library
Recorded with the U-70 members at a professional studio. He has posted some of them on Facebook.
He & Daw Gyn Yu have provided assistance to sayas and alumni visiting Bangkok especially for medical treatment.
With Bagyee
Provided materials (paint, paper) to Pon Tu expert Bagyee Myat Myo Myint
Facilitator, Myanmar Association of Chemical Engineers; Knowlege sharing; Financial aid for needy ChE
Luyechun (လူရည်ချွန်) for 9th & 10th standards. Present at the first Luyechun Camp was Thinchar Chun (သင်္ချာချွန်) Kyaw Myint (later T72 grad, MARB President)
Metallurgical Engineering
Nyunt Htay 2
Graduated from RIT in 1973 with Metallurgical Engineering
Taught Metallurgical Engineering
Retired as Associate Professor
Wrote articles about the Department, Sayas & Students
Passion
Poetry, writing & editing
Pen name : Maung Nyunt Htay (Ah Htet Min Hla) မောင်ညွန့်ဌေး (အထက်မင်းလှ)
Nyunt Htay 3
Editor, RIT Annual Magazine
Chief Editor, Myanmar Mudita Sar Saung
Myanmar Mudita
Contributor, Poetic Art Series
Co-author, Collection of Swel Daw Yeik Poems
Book of Poems
Family members
Two daughters
Several “Myee” cats.
Health
Had a brush with Covid-19 and received support from the alumni and/or SDYF.
Recovered fully
Some sayas, sayamas and 9 Metallurgy alumni (including Maung Tun, 69er) succumbed to Covid.
Memories
Book Presents
Gave me the Myanmar Mudita Sar Saung
Gave me an autographed copy of “Swel Daw Kabyar Collection” by him and four RIT Poets : Saya U Moe Aung, Saya U Aung Myaing, U Win Myint (M72) and U Toee Maung.
2015 RIT Alumni in Los Angeles
Attended the gathering with Metallurgy Saya U Win Kyaw (Met71),
Other Metallurgy attendees include Saya U Thein Aung (Met72), Sayama Dr. Naing Naing Aung (Met91) & Ko Thiri Nyunt (musician).
Gathering at iNapa Winery
At iNapa Winery
Metallurgy sayas and Ko Thiri Nyunt attended the Lunch, Dinner & Entertainment at iNapa winery hosted by Gordon Kaung (M83) and Lillian (EC83).
The attendees paid respect to Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi. On behalf of Bagyee Myat Myo Myint, U Nyunt Htay presented a Pon Tu to Sayagyi.
Micro-gathering in 2019
During my visit to Yangon in late 2019, U Nyunt Htay hosted a micro gathering at Shwe Bae.
U Win Kyaw picked me and Saya U Ye Myint (ChE70) to attend the gathering.
Collection of Pali verses (that refer to Buddha’s teachings).
Translated by several Pal Scholars.
Some Dhammapada books also cover short stories related to the verses.
Narada Thera
The Dhammapada
Subtitle: Pali text & translation with stories & notes
Author : Narada Thera
Preface
Chapters
The Twin Verses
Heedfulness
Mind
Flowers
Fools
The Wise
The Worthy
Thousands
Evil
The Rod or Punishment
Old Age
The Self
The World
The Buddha
Happiness
Affection
Anger
Impurities or Taints
The Just or Righteous
The Way or the Path
Miscellaneous
Woeful State
The Elephant
Craving
The Bhikkhu or the Mendicant
The Brahmana
Venerable Buddharakhitta
The following verses are from the book by Venerable Buddharakkhita.
Verse 182
Hard it is to be born a man; hard is the life of mortals. Hard is it to gain the opportunity of hearing the Sublime Truth, and hard to encounter is the arising of the Buddhas.
Verse 183
To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one’s mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
Verse 184
Enduring patience is the highest austerity. “Nibbana is supreme,” says the Buddhas. He is not a true monk who harms another, nor a true renunciate who oppresses others.
Myanmar & English
U Thittila’s Translation (in Burmese)
Venerable Buddharakkhita’s Translation (in English)
Frequently Quoted Verse
The following Dhammapada verse is frequently quoted by Sayadaws and writers.
“Not to do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one’s mind, – this is the Teaching of the Buddhas.”
It seems simple (at the basic level), but it also has a deeper meaning (at the metaphysical level).
The explanations may refer to Abhidhamma to expound what “kusala” (wholesome deeds) and “akusula” (unwholesome deeds) are.
References may also be made to the three “Seikhas” : sila (morality), sammadhi (concentration), and panna (wisdom).
Bhavana practices such as samatha (tranquility meditation) and vipassana (insight meditation) are needed to calm and purify the mind.
U Lokanatha – Italian Buddhist Monk (1897-1966)
U Lokanatha
Chemical Analyst in the US
Received a book from his supervisor as Christmas present. The book had a chapter on Dhammapada. After reading the verses, a deep impulse (which resonated with his scientific inquiring mind) led him to pursue Buddhism & become a Buddhist monk.
He was from a devout Catholic family. His elder brother was a Priest.
Sayadaw spent considerable time at the Bawdigone monastery (donated by my paternal grandmother) on Windermere Road, Rangoon, Burma.
He practiced Dhutanga.
He also preached. Sunlun U Vinaya was interpreter for some of the talks.
Dhamma Dhuta missions to India and Ceylon
His booklet, “Why I became a Buddhist”, had considerable influence on the leader of the “Untouchables” in India.
His dhamma duta work can be found in the articles in Wikipedia and some Buddhist web sites.
Dr. Nyunt Wai wrote : I’m no painter or a poet. Just occasional excursions to these fields. And I’m not a visiting Professor. Had to apply for this job in Malaysia just like any other expatriate from India or Bangladesh. So I’m no 3 “P”s. This reminds me of “No 3 P policy” of the now extinct Yahoo group Alumni-Myanmar-medical-institutes founded by Saya Johnny Thane Oke Kyaw-Myint, which served well as a lively forum for us until the advent of Facebook.
Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint wrote : Yes AMIM was a tight small group of us. Those who became friends then remain now as close friends. On FB, there is short attention as well as being bombarded by posts that we have no interest in.
In our younger days, tears would not fall easily even when one is forsaken by a lover.
Later, even when one’s parents passed away (especially untimely), one sensed grief and might shed a few tears.
A few years back (in April, 2013) we told the workers (masons, carpenters, painters …) not to bring their lunch boxes the following day, since we would be offering requisites (robes, medicine, Nawakama, Soon) and that they would have Dan Bauk (Birayani).
The next day, the workers brought their lunch boxes as usual.
Asked “Why?”
They replied, “We want to take back Dan Bauk to feed our children, who have never eaten such delicacy.”
My heart ached (thinking of the hard lives of the workers and their families).
Tears were ready to roll down. (There were Tears of Sorrow followed by Tears of Joy – appreciating the metta and cetana of parents.)
Note for the revised article: Should we substitute Dan Bauk with Two Eggs?
Editor’s Notes
Due to the pandemic, the former Rice Bowl of Asia is facing food shortage.
Due to misdirected policies, the purchasing power of Burmese Currency has declined.
Thanks to Ko Htoo and Ko Hta, many starving families have temporary relief in the form of Food Coupons (e.g by Mg Mar Ga, Shwe Zin Ma and their supporters).
I earlier translated Saya’s article about the K1000 (gratitude gift) by his mother-in-law to purchase a bowl of Khauk Swe.
Feedback
Saya U Moe Aung wrote :
Dear Ko Hla Min
As a matter of fact, I really cherished the article you’ve rendered into English recently. By the way, DanBauk is Briyani or, Birayani, as per your usage above?
Excellent rendition, cheers!!
Tekkatho Moe WarBook Present from Tekkatho Moe War
HlaMin 