[A Myanmar idiom with the meaning, in this context, of: Practitioners mastering the Buddhist dispensation and then teaching through the medium of their own culture and language.]

" 'It's like frying pork in its own oil,' he said."

The Sri Lankan monk U Dhammâjîva told the author of the Shwe Taung Gon Sâsana Yeiktha Sayadaw's words to him. He had come to the room where the author lives to tell me.

"U Dhammâjîva, the line Sayadaw usually says is, 'Fry carp in its own oil,' isn't it?" I asked.

Since he wasn't really fluent in Myanmar, he didn't immediately understand the words, "Fry carp in its own oil". After thinking about it a little, he said, "Yes, those were the words."

"The German monk U Vivekânanda was translating just then while U Dhammâjîva was asking permission to stay with the Yangon Shwe Taung Gon Sâsana Yeiktha Sayadaw and study Myanmar. He didn't understand the words 'Fry carp in its own oil', either. He couldn't translate it. Sayadaw laughed.

Since I've been practicing here for eighteen months, I'm going to go back to Sri Lanka soon. So, before I go I want to learn Myanmar for about two weeks. That's what I was talking to Sayadaw about. So Sayadaw said, 'In that case, go to the Theravâda Buddhist University'.

'If I might get permission, I would like to continue my studies right here at the Shwe Taung Gon Sâsana Yeiktha,' he said.

Then Sayadaw asked me, 'Why do you want to study Myanmar?'

'In Sri Lanka, the Vipassana method is not widespread. In Myanmar, there are great books by elder Sayadaws like the Mahasi Sayadaw, the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw, and so on. I would like to translate those books in Sinhala. I want to study Myanmar for the benefit of the Buddha-Sâsana, to use it for the benefit of others. It's not for my own benefit,' I said. When I said that, Sayadaw seemed to become interested.

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