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author could not get a word in edgewise. I couldn't help but get the sense that he meant, "Don't talk back. Just do as I ask." It was like I was caught in ambush. I didn't think he had called me to his room to give me this job. I had had it easy, having avoided this responsibility. When I got to his room, he cut straight to the chase. I had no opportunity to reply. Before I arrived, he was speaking with some guests. When he had finished what he had to say to the author, he continued talking with the guests, without giving me an opportunity to respond. At that point, I was in a bad state, for I really wanted to refuse. Nonetheless, I had to I had to go back quietly, without out refusing.
Later, Sayadaw went on another trip abroad. That trip, Sayadaw said, "U Dhammika, I want to you to get experience with the foreign yogis. If you do not get experience, you won't be able to do it, you want be able to handle it in an emergency. I need you to take care of it at times like this, when I go trips." This time, it would not have been appropriate to refuse, so I didn't.
Later, he went so far as to say, "Try hard so that you can do it without a translator. It's probably not satisfactory to do it with a translator all the time. You will often run into difficulties."
Deciding on my own that kamma to learn English was not present this lifetime, the author had given up trying to learn English. When I told Sayadaw about it, he said, "In that case, you will end up like me. How will you progress?" Sayadaw would like the author to acquire more English than I have at present. He doesn't want me to run into problems with translation like he has. Evidently, he has experienced a heap of problems with translation.
If the translator is tired or sick, they aren't capable of doing it. Foreigners really appreciate it if Sayadaw speaks in English. They praise him and give him encouragement, too. They talk about how good his pronunciation is. I am sure that if Sayadaw were to have put forth effort, he would be able to give Dhamma talks and interviews in English. I can't help but notice how intelligent Sayadaw is.
If Sayadaw and the author were to be inspired, it would be from our close associates, Sayadaw's students. They are foreign men and women who have studied Myanmar and the Buddhist literature. They are at the Shwe Taung Gon Sâsana Yeiktha. They are from Nepal, Malaysia, Germany, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and the U.S. Among them there those in their teens, twenties, thirties, and even in their forties. Some of the Nepalese nuns will soon complete the government Pâli dhammâcariya teacher examinations. Some have even placed first in the nation (at the upper level examination). Among those foreign students there some like hares and some like tortoises. There are people neither as fast as the hares nor as slow as tortoises, as well. Some of the turtles, too, have become quiet fluent in Myanmar. They can even translate from Myanmar when people of their nationality who don't speak English have interviews. They really tried, those guys. As the author taught them all, I came to know their situation well.
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