Blog

  • Aung San

    Aung San

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2026

    Brief Bio

    • Born on February 13, 1915.
    • Zartar name was Htain Lin.
    • Chose his name to be Aung San to rhyme with that of his elder brother Aung Than.
    Aung San
    • Non-de-plume during the “Thirty Comrades” days was Bo Teza.
    • Editor of Oway Magazine published by RUSU
    Aung San 2
    • Translated “Invictus”.
    Translation
    • Was assassinated on July 19, 1947
    • Spouse : Daw Khin Kyi
    • Children : Aung San Oo, Aung San Lin (GBNF), Aung San Suu Kyi

    Centennial in 2015

    I wrote the following in 2015 for the Centennial Celebration ရာပြည့် of his birthday.

    AUNG SAN
    (Feb 12, 1915 – July 19, 1947)

    AUNG

    A — Architect of Burma’s Independence;
    Signed the Aung San – Atlee Agreement.
    It led to the Nu — Atlee Agreement that gave Independence.

    U — University Student Leader;
    Served as Chief Editor of the Oway Magazine.
    Refused to name the author of “Hell Hound Turned Loose”.
    Was expelled, resulting in the 1938 Universities Student Strike.
    Translated “Invictus”.

    N — National Unity & Solidarity Proponent;
    Organized the Panlong Agreement / Pinlon Sar Choke
    Agreement was signed on February 12, 1947.
    February 12 is celebrated as Pyi Daung Su Nay / Union Day

    G —  Gone but not forgotten;
    General, who promised to step down after Independence.
    Gunned down at the tender age of 32.

    SAN

    S — Showed leadership & personal sacrifice;
    Wore torn uniforms.
    Ate Pebyoke ပဲပြုတ် and Nanbya နံပြား

    A — Anti Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL); ဖဆပလ
    Co-founder

    N — National Planning Advocate;
    Displayed Nationalism and Patriotism by deeds and not words.

    Memories

    Arzani

    Arzani Nay

    Delegation to UK

    UK

    Posts

    • Arzani Nay (Martyrs’ Day)
    • Centennial
    • Khalay
    • Pioneers
    • Rangoon University
  • Apostle of Non-violence

    Apostle of Non-violence

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2026

    Gandhi

    Gandhi
    • Mohandas K Gandhi was fondly called Gandhiji.
    • His non-violence movement was partly responsible for gaining India’s Independence.

    Poem

    Poem
    • Written for the Centenary of the birth of “The Apostle of Non-violence”.
    • Published in the Working People’s Daily on October 1, 1969.
    • U Ko Lay (RUBC Gold) was the Chief Editor of WPD.
    • Daw Khin Swe Hla was Editor.

    Posts

    • Celebrations
    • Newspapers & Magazines
    • Poetry
    • Rhyme
  • Kyaw Nyein

    Kyaw Nyein

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2026

    U Kyaw Nyein (UCC)

    U Kyaw Nyein (Seated 2nd from Right)
    • Nickname : Bo Kyein
    • Taught Numerical Analysis & Numerical Methods
    • Passed away on February 28, 2011
    • Played soccer & volleyball
    • His friendly smile will be missed by all
    • Aging & declining health had a toll on him and his spouse
    • Had diabetes for a long time without control / treatment.
    • His kidney began to fail around October 2010. Doctors recommended preparation for dialysis, which is minor operation on his vein / arteries on his hand, but he wanted to try alternative medicine.
    • UCC alumni set up a health care fund to help him, but he was either “Arr Nar De အားနာတယ်” or frail to do dialysis.
    • He lost memory and could not recognize his former colleagues.
    • His wife had limited mobility on her left hand. People in Yangon wanted her to go for therapy but it was not easy for them to visit therapists on their own.

    U Kyaw Nyein (AFPFL)

    U Kyaw Nyein
    • Minister, Home Affairs
    • Leader of Swe-Nyein Faction
    • Stable AFPFL (တည်မြဲ ဖဆပလ)

    U Kyaw Nyein (BSPP)

    • Minister, Education

    U Kyaw Nyein (USIS)

    • Invited us to use the USIS library
    • Third son of Myoma Sayagyi U Ba Lwin

    U Kyaw Nyein (Franklin)

    • Younger brother of U Wah Kyu (Maurice’s father) & Saya U Win Kyaing
    • Worked for STB and FAO.
    • Perished in a plane crash.

    Posts

    • K (Names)
    • Kyaw (Names)
    • Names
  • SunLun

    SunLun

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2026

    Resources

    The following is a collection of resources for Sunlun Vipassana Meditation.

    Website

    http://www.sunlun-meditation.net/

    Sunlun Sayadaws

    Myingyan Sunlun Gu Kyaung Sayadaw U Kavi (ဆရာတော်ဦးကဝိ)

    U Kavi
    • Biography and dhamma talks
    Myingyan SunLun

    First KabaAye Sunlun Gu Kyaung Sayadaw U Vinaya (ဆရာတော်ဦးဝိနယ)

    U Vinaya
    • Early devotees of Sayadaw include U Khin Maung Latt, Daw Khin Myo Chit, U Thein Nyunt and U Win Pe
    • Wrote a book “The Yogi & Vipassana (Buddhist Meditation : The Sunlun Way)”
    • Passed away in his late 90s
    Book by U Vinaya

    “The Yogi and Vipassana”
    BUDDHIST MEDITATION : THE SUNLUN WAY
    Author : Sunlun Shin Vinaya
    Publisher : Sunlun Buddhist Meditation Center
    7 1/2 Mile, Prome Road, KabaAye P.O., Rangoon

    CONTENTS
    The Yogi and Vipassana (Page 1 – 18)
    The Sunlun Way of Mindfulness (Page 19 – 33)
    Explanatory Notes for Beginners and Those Proceeding Along the Sunlun Way of Vipassana (Page 34 – 50)

    KabaAye Sunlun Gu Kyaung Sayadaw U Wara

    (ဆရာတော်ဦးဝရ)

    U Wara
    • U Win Paing won Golf trophies (some with his younger brother U Kyaw Paing).
    • Meditated at KabaAye Sunlun.
    • He gave away his Golf Set. Entered monkhood after the Final exam for Chemical Engineering in 1970.
    • Served as Taik Oke Sayadaw of Kaba Aye Sunlun Gu Kyaung for nearly four decades.
    • Succeeded Sayadaw U Vinaya as Chief Resident Monk.
    • Passed away on August 26, 2021
    • Siblings : Dr. Myo Paing (Medical Research & Malaria), U Soe Paing (RIT EE, UCC co-founder, UN), U Kyaw Paing (Lawyer, Entrepreneur, Champion Golfer)
    U Wara
    Obituary
    Four Paing Brothers

    Vipassana Retreats

    • KabaAye Sunlun Gu Kyaung
    • Kyauk Pa Daung
    • Hong Kong

    Dr. Khin Maung Win

    • Son of U Khin Maung Latt & Daw Khin Myo Chit
    • Retired Professor of Mathematics
    • Published “Notes on Vipassana meditation”

    UCC

    Yahan Khan

    • In the 1970s, the staff and students of Universities’ Computer Center hosted “Donlaba Yahan Khan” for Thingyan at selected monasteries.
    • The initial venue was KabaAye Sunlun Gu Kyaung.
    UCC Yahan Khan 1
    UCC Yahan Khan 2

    Updates

    • Sayadaws — U Kavi, U Vinaya & U Wara — have passed away.
    • Several devotees — U Khin Maung Latt, Daw Khin Myo Chit, Dr. Khin Maung Win, U Thein Nyunt, Tekkatho Shwe Yee Win, U Soe Myint, U Win Pe — are GBNF.
  • ChanMyay Sayadaw

    ChanMyay Sayadaw

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2026

    Ashin Janakabhivamsa

    ChanMyay Sayadaw
    Mahasi Sayadaw

    He practiced vipassana meditation with the instruction of Mahasi Sayadawgyi in 1953-54. He served as Palipatiwisodhaka (editor of Pali scriptures) at the Sixth Buddhist Council. He was meditation teacher at the Sasana Yeiktha from 1967 – 1977.

    Dhamma Duta Mission

    He was a member of Mahasi Sayadaw’s Dhamma Dhuta Mission to Europe and US in 1978 – 80 along with Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa, and Sayadaw U Kelasa.

    Yeiktha

    Sayadaw established the Chanmyay Yeiktha Buddhist Meditation Center in Myanmar (Burma).

    There are branches in several countries (US, Singapore, Australia …)

    ChanMyay Sayadaw
  • Maurice Chee

    Maurice Chee

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2026

    RIT Days

    • Matriculated from MEHS in 1969.
    • During his RIT days, he was known as Hla Myint Thein.
    • Per advice from his paternal uncle Saya U Win Kyaing, he took Mechanical Engineering.
    • Graduated in 1975.

    Singapore & USA

    Worked in Singapore before moving to USA.

    Activities

    • Founding member of RIT Alumni International, which organized the First RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP.
    • Wore multiple hats at SPZP-2000
    • Co-Chair of the Working Committee (with Benny Tan)
    • Financial Controller
    • Logistics Chief
    • Publisher of commemorative issue of RIT Alumni Newsletter
    • Past President of BAPS. During his tenure, he used his culinary skills to host lunch meetings. His ancestors ran a top rated restaurant. He learned the recipe for Dan Bauk from his father, and has improved it. He would use different meat for his Dan Bauk.
    • Founding member & Past VP of NorCal RIT Alumni Association
    • Gave a seminar (e.g. on PE) at Mechanical Engineering Department, YTU
    • Donated books. Helped others (Daw Mu Mu Kin & Victor Wong) to donate books to YTU
    • With the help of some YTU sayas, he helped find eligible recipients for the scholarship offered by Daw Mu Mu Kin.

    Mg Mar Ga wrote:

    တကယ်အားကိုးရတဲ့​ကျောင်း​တော်သားပါ

    Updates

    • Lost his father in September 2015
    • Lost his mother-in-law in September 2019

    Memories

    SF Bay Area Alumni

    • Meetings & Gatherings at Benny’s house
    • Welcome Sayas & Alumni to the SF Bay Area
    SF Bay Area Alumni
    Gathering at Benny’s house
    Gathering 2
    Gathering 3
    Gathering 4

    SPZP-2000

    • Co-Chair, Working Committee
    • Several Subcommittees
    SPZP-2000

    M75

    • Reunion & fundraiser in Yangon
    M75

    Saya U Ba Than

    • Paid respect to Saya at Winner Inn
    With Saya U Ba Than

    Reunion of SPZP Organizers

    • KMZ visiting from Washington State
    • Benny enjoying retirement after three successful careers
    Sea Food Restaurant

    SF Bay Area Soon Kwyay

    • Hayward Kyaung (picture)
    • Also, Half Moon Bay Kyaung (for Maurice’s retirement, Kuto dana for Maurice’s dad)
    Soon Kyway

    Retirees’ Lunch Gathering

    • Selected restaurants & malls

    Posts

    • BAPS
    • NorCal RITAA
    • RIT Alumni International
    • SF Bay Area Alumni
    • SPZP
  • 69er Grads Reunion in 1999

    69er Grads Reunion in 1999

    by Tint Lwin & Hla Min

    Update : June 2026

    69ers

    • Most 69ers matriculated in 1963
    • Attended last ever I.Sc (A)
    • Admitted to first ever 2nd BE in November 1964
    • Graduated in 1969

    1969

    EE69ers

    EE69ers in 1969

    69ers Reunion in 1999

    30th Anniversary

    The 1969 RIT Graduates Reunion was held in Rangoon/Yangon, Burma/Myanmar on Saturday, 20 February 1999 at Sait-Teng-Kya Restaurant near Kandawgyi lake.

    Idea

    The idea was mooted three years ago when a few of us were having dinner together and thought of having a gathering in 1999. After that most of us have forgotten about the idea until around the end of November 1998 when a group of our friends led by Ko Yee Pinn (Tavoy), Ko Myint Maung (aka “Bu”, RIT Volleyball selected), Ko Shwe, Ko Win Lwin, etc. decided to have a grand re-union in February 1999. They also decided that to be more meaningful we should invite our Sayas to pay them respect as well and, hence, it became the reunion cum Saya-ga-daw-pwe.

    Attendees

    On that very day the guest trickled in starting from about 4.00 p.m at the restaurant. The guests were required to fill in their names and contact numbers. The organizers promised to compile the name list and send to everybody who attended. By 6.00 p.m. about 30 Sayas and about 120 of our graduates were in the restaurant. The master-of-ceremony, Ko Win Lwin, announced the start of the ceremony.

    Speeches

    The programme started off with a few speeches, led by Nyi Hla Nge, representing the graduates in Rangoon, followed by Danny, representing the graduates overseas, Sai Aung Win, representing graduates outside Rangoon and last but not the least, by Saya U Kyin Soe, representing all the Sayas.

    Paying respect

    After that we gave respect to the Sayas. All the Sayas were seated on the stage and all of us sat on the floor. Some gifts were distributed to the Sayas followed by photo taking session and then the sumptuous dinner began.

    Dinner & Entertainment

    About 9 to 10 dishes were served but, most of us were too excited to notice what we were eating. Halfway through the dinner some of us went up the stage and sang some songs for entertainment. Even all the ladies, led by Alice and Naw Mu Mu Aye were on the stage as well. The crowd went wild.

    Vow

    The party ended at about 9.30 p.m. with some of the graduates not so sober. It was indeed a memorable gathering and we all vowed to meet again in December 2000 at place and date to be announced early next year. Three cheers to the organizers and those who have one way or the other help in making this event a great success.

    1969

    Updates

    • How time flies.
    • The Class of 69 celebrated the 30th anniversary reunion in 1999. The correspondence (Ko Daniel Tint Lwin, Ma Alice Saw Yu Tint, …) was partly responsible for the establishment of the “RIT Alumni International Newsletter” and the first ex-RIT web site.
    • 40th Anniversary Reunion in 2009
    2009
    • Golden Jubilee of Admission in 2014
    2014
    • Golden Jubilee of Graduation in 2019
    2019
    • U Aung Min (M69) is Chair of 69er Health Care Fund. He and his team maintain the GBNF list.
    GBNF
    • Several Octogenarians — U Tin Maung, Harry Tin Htut, Uzin Bobby, Uzin Aung Chaw, U Ngwe Tun, U Win Thein Zaw, U Ngwe Soe, Albert Kyaw Min, Mehm Aye Chan, U Kyaw Zin, Robert Win Boh, U Tin Aung Win …
  • Tone Kyaw

    Tone Kyaw

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2026

    U Han Sein (C69)

    U Han Sein
    • He is a senior, but he is physically & mentally active.
    • Represented RIT in Swimming, Water Polo, Diving & Basketball.
    • In 1999, the 69ers organized a Reunion and mini-SPZP for the 30th Anniversary of Graduation. The organizers compiled an address / phone book for the 69ers and also listed GBNF. He was inadvertently listed as GBNF.
    • Only close friends knew that he was whisked away by Adhamma authorities and sentenced to 20 years in a kangaroo court for his involvement in 8-8-88 related activities. He was released after 17 years when “Lut Nyein Chan Thar Kwint လွတ်ငြိမ်းချမ်းသာခွင့်” was proclaimed.
    • He was a Tone Kyaw. He suffered losses & relations during and after his imprisonment.
    • He did not lose heart. He attended 69er gatherings regularly and served as photographer. He tried out camera tricks (e.g. creating twins) and posts the photos on the RIT69ers FB page.
    • He is active as Leader (“A Pho Gyi အဖိုးကြီး”) for the social & religious activities in the Latha လသာ area.
    • His birthday is on May 24.
    • He succumbed to Covid in 2020.

    Dr. Tin Hlaing (M63)

    Dr. Tin Hlaing
    • Joined Mechanical Engineering Department in 1963.
    • His friends called him “Byte” Tin Hlaing or “R” Tin Hlaing, since there was a senior Saya U Tin Hlaing (M59, GBNF) who headed the Agri Engineering sub-Department.
    • The elder saya passed away untimely because he could not get access to the two dialysis machines (reserved for VIP) and he could not get passport / visa in time to get medical treatment abroad. Those were the days.
    • Dr. Tin Hlaing moved to Singapore. He co-chaired SPZP-2002.
    • A few years ago, he became a Tone Kyaw. Another Dr. Tin Hlaing (Marine Technology) passed away in Singapore. A few alumni sent condolences to Saya.

    Hla Min

    U Hla Min
    • My name sake matriculated from St Paul’s High School in 1964 and graduated with EE in 1970. He was one year junior to me at SPHS and RIT. He joined UCC as Chief Operator (CO). He taught Programming at Worker’s College.
    • He appeared healthy and strong, but unfortunately he passed away at the tender age of 30+.
    • During his hospitalization, he was taken care of by his former classmate Dr. Min Lwin (SPHS64).
    • Many were not aware that there were two Hla Min (Old Paulian, RIT alumni, UCC employee/saya).
    • Two government departments — Coop သမဝါယမ Training School, Trade ကုန်သွယ်ရေး Training School, where I had given guest lectures — inquired UCC how they can send “Lwan Thuu Pann Khwe လွမ်းသူ့ပန်းခွေ wreath) for me.
    • We went to Kyandaw ကြံတော Cemetery for Ko Pauk Si’s Last Journey. He earned the nickname at SPHS, because he would eat Pauk Si ပေါက်စီ from the vendor who had borrowed money from his father and did not pay back in cash.
    • Moe Hein (Ajala, ChE69, who represented RIT in swimming & water polo) looked at me as if I was a Ghost. He said, “I had taken the day off to bid you farewell. I did not hear any news from your brother (who worked at DI/HIC) and felt sorry for you. If I don’t show up, there might not be people at your funeral.”
    • Those who are young might not have heard about the Nigerian rabble-rouser / trouble maker named Ajala.
      Moe Hein, with his loud voice, can overwhelm supporters from other teams in the Inter-Institute tournaments.

    Tin Tun & Tin Htoon

    • This is not a case of Tone Kyaw. It caused some confusion.
    • A Burmese name may be spelled differently in English. e.g Tun, Htun & Htoon for ထွန်း
    • Ko Tin Tun, who married U Tin Htoon’s niece (Aye Aye Khin), passed away in Yangon on the morning of May 22, 2020.
    • Saya U Thein Tan (C64) and Ko Sann Tun Ni (Sushi owner) asked for clarification. They were relieved to find out that it was not U Tin Htoon (Past Captain and Gold of RUBC, Goenka’s devotee / organizer).
  • Kyaw Nyunt

    Kyaw Nyunt

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2026

    He graduated with Mechanical Engineering from RIT in 1969.

    He represented RIT in Tennis along with Than Htay (EP69) and James Than.

    Tennis

    He is Patron of a Retirees Association.

    After retirement, he often visited his son in East Coast and had micro-reunion with Ivan Lee and Fred Thetgyi.

    He had some medical problems (diabetes, skin irritation) and had weekly visits to a hospital for treatment.

    He passed away unexpectedly.

    He was a regular attendee at 69er breakfast gatherings.

    * David Myint Thein wrote :

    Gone But Not Forgotten, dear Kyaw Nyunt. May your soul rest in peace.

    Kyaw Nyunt 2
  • Heartfelt Night

    Heartfelt Night

    by Nyunt Htay & Hla Min

    Updated : June 2026

    Nyunt Htay 1
    Nyunt Htay 2

    ရင်ထဲကည

    ဝါလကင်းလွတ်
    သီတင်းကျွတ်တည့်
    လပြည့်သည်ည
    တင့်ရွှန်းပမြိုင်
    နိုင်ငံအဝှမ်း
    မြေမဟီနန်းမှာ
    ကပ်ရောဂါဒဏ်
    စစ်ဘေးရန်နှင့်
    အန္တရာယ်ခပ်သိမ်း
    ကင်းလွတ်ငြိမ်း၍
    အောင်ကိန်းကိုပိုင်
    အောင်လံခိုင်မြဲ
    အောင်နိုင်ပွဲတွေ
    ရနိုင်စေ ။ ။

    မောင်ညွန့်ဌေး (အထက်မင်းလှ)
    ၃၁.၁၀.၂၀၂၀
    (ကိုနေမျိုးဇော် လက်ရာ ပန်းချီ ကိုကြည့်ပြီးရေးပါသည်။)

    Heart Felt Night


    End of Vassa , Rainy Season Retreat

    Thadinkyut , Lightening Festival

    The night of the Full Moon

    In glorious splendor

    Throughout the nation

    This Royal Land

    Calamities — pandemic

    battles and war

    countless dangers

    May they fade and disappear

    View Victory signs

    Hoist Victory banner

    May series of Victories be achieved .

    Translated by
    Hla Min ( EC 69)