Tag: TMC

Tathagata Meditation Center
by Hla Min

Updated : Aug 2025
- The 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
- It’s web site is
  http://www.tathagata.org/
- Sayadaw U Silananda resided at TMC when Dhammananda Vihara, Half Moon Bay was undergoing construction.
Activities
- Several activities were suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  Some activities (e.g. Daily Chanting) were done on-line.
- 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.
Pali
- For the past few years, 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 executive in Technology) 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 the book “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 completed Dhammacariya and 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 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.
Updates
- Sayadaw U Silananda and Beelin Sayadaw have passed away.
Beelin Sayadaw
August 6, 2025
Languages & Grammar
by Hla Min

Update : July 2025

English

Parts of Speech

There are eight parts of speech in the English language.

(1) Noun
- A noun is a name of a person, place, thing, or concept.
- It may be classified as (a) Proper noun (b) Common noun (c) Collective noun (d) Abstract noun.
(2) Verb
- A verb usually describes an action or a process.
- It may be classified as (a) Transitive verb (b) Intransitive verb.
(3) Pronoun
- A pronoun stands for a noun. Associated with a pronoun is person and number.
- When we speak, the first person is the one who speaks. The second person is the one being spoken two. The third person is some other being referenced.
- Number may be Singular or Plural. If there is only one person, we say it is singular. If there is more than one, we say it is plural. In English, the term “You” may be singular or plural.
(4) Adjective
- It is a Modifier
- An Adjective usually modifies a Noun or Pronoun.
(5) Adverb
- It is a Modifier
- An Adverb usually modifies a Verb.
(6) Conjunction
- It is a Connector
- A Conjunction (such as And or But) connects two parts of a Sentence
(7) Preposition
- It is a Connector
- A Preposition adds information such as position (e.g. in, on, upon, under) and time (e.g. before, after).
(8) Expression of Mood
- There are words to express Mood (e.g. surprise).
- They are called Exclamation or an Interjection.
Techniques

In a Grammar class, we had to learn two techniques :
- Synthesis
  combining the parts of speech
- Analysis
  breaking down into the parts of speech.
Need for Grammar

Many native speakers read and write fluently without caring much for grammar.

Knowledge of grammar is needed in
- Formal Languages
- Automata Theory
- Compilers
- Translation
- Natural Language Understanding and Processing
Burmese

In middle school, we had to study မြန်မာသဒ္ဒါ based on the text by Saya U Pe Maung Tin.

Parts of Speech
- နာမ် — noun
- ကြိယာ — verb
- နာမ်စား — pronoun
- နာမဝိသေသန — adjective
- ကြိယာဝိသေသန — adverb
- သမ္ဗန္ဒ။ — conjunction
- ဝိဘတ် — preposition
- အာမေဋိတ် — interjection
Pali

Parts of Speech

Pali has only four parts of speech.
- Noun
- Pronoun
- Verb
- Clitics (which are equivalent to conjunctions and interjections).
Resources for studying Pali

TMC
- Tathagata Meditation Center
- Offers meditation retreats & online courses (including Pali)
- Publishes Dhamma literature
- Has a website
Beelin Sayadaw

Beelin Sayadaw
- He was Chief Resident Monk at Tathagata Meditation Center (TMC), San Jose.
- I interpreted some of Sayadaw’s dhamma talks.
- Sayadaw gave me a book by U Myat Kyaw & U San Lwin.
- U Myat Kyaw described Pali terms in Burmese.
- U San Lwin translated U Myat Kyaw’s work into English.
Dictionary

U Hla Myint
- He is a former Sayadaw, who passed several monastic exams.
- He helped with some of TMC Publications.
- I received his book as a present.
Book

Tharmanay Kyaw သာမဏေကျော်
- Pen name of Sayadaw U Dhammika.
- Received the title when he finished Top as a Novice in a prestigious monastic exam
- During his visits to TMC, he taught Pali based on selected texts.
Course notes
July 17, 2025