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IN HIS OWN WORDS
U Panditâbhivamsa was born on Thursday, the ninth day of the waxing moon of Waso, in 1283 Burmese Era (29 July, 1921) in Greater Yangon (formerly the town of Insein) in the Shwebosu Quarter of Tadahgalay Village. His parents were U Hpe and Daw Chit Su. He was the ninth of ten children.
When he was seven years of age his parents enrolled him in the Kocheh Village Monastery School, Pegu Township, Pegu District, under the auspices of U Jâgara Thera, and had him study subjects suitable for young people to learn. When he was a schoolboy he passed the First Lower and First Middle Standards of the Scriptural Ahgone Examination held at the Dakkhinâyone Shwegyin Daik, Ohnneh Village, Kawa Township, Pegu Division. When he was twelve years old, he became a novice under this same U Jâgara. As a novice he studied basic texts for the Tipitaka, Visuddhâyone grammar books, grammar rules, translation rules, and Abidhamma summary books, under the teacher U Gandodaga at the Kochech Village Monastery.
When he was eighteen years old he was sent by U Jâgara Thera to the most venerable Sayadaw U Kelâsmhây Thera, of the Mahabodhi Forest Monastery in Kyauktan Village, Pegu Division. When he arrived, he continued his studies of relevant texts both night and day under the Dhamma Lecturer and Assistant Sayadaw U Pandava and teachers U Nandiya, U Paññasirî, and U Obasa. While he was studying in this way, he passed the senior level of the Scriptural memorization examinations at the Mahâbodhi Forest Monastery in Kyauktan village.
When he had reached twenty years of age, on the eighth day of the waxing moon of Dabodwe in 1302 BE (1941), U Pandita ordained as a monk in the Khanda Ordination Hall of the Mahâbodhi Forest Monastery with his benefactor the Mahâbodhi Forest Sayadaw himself as his preceptor. His sponsors were U Bo Han and Daw Thaung of Kyauktan village. Within ten months of becoming a monk, his studies had not progressed as much as he had expected, due to the hazards of the Second World War which had broken out. After the war, when he was a monk of three vassâ, he went to the New Kyaikkasan Shwegyin Monastery, a branch of the Kyauktan Mahâbodhi Forest Monastery. Continuing his studies there under his benefactor U Sucinta and the teacher U Chandâdhika, he studied the senior level texts on the Pâli Canon, the Commentaries, and the Sub-Commentaries both day and night. When the first-ever government Patama Pyan Pâli examination was held in 1946 following the end of the Second World War, he passed the Middle Standard examination. In 1947, he passed both the independent Senior and Cetiyanganaparigiyatti examinations.
Studying like this for himself, on the one hand, and giving classes to other students as a tutor in addition, every minute of his day was occupied. In 1948, being extremely tired, he took a one-year rest from examinations. According to the New Kyaikkasan Shwegyin Monastery Sayadaw's instructions, he went to the New Mahâvisuddhâyone Monastery, taking dependence on Zipin Sayadaw U Siyâtathera. While there, he continued his studies of concerned with the Dhammâcariya examination and
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