WITH ALL HIS HEART


"After getting to look at the course books of the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw's, like the Foundational Pâli Grammar, the wisdom of the scriptures becomes more evident. When I was young, I even had the mindset of never being satisfied with my grammar, so when I studied the Foundational Grammar, I couldn't possibly not get it. I became confident that I would definitely master it. Sayadaw could really write to make the meaning clear for the readers," he says.

Sayadaw often talks about the advantages of the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw's writings. He really respects the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw. As a Padhana Nâyaka (head teacher) Sayadaw came to live and teach meditation to the Sein Pan Sâsana Yeiktha in Mandalay. At that time, he made a habit of going to pay respects to the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw. One time when he went, the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw was teaching monks. He taught one class from twelve noon to one o'clock, and another from one to two in the afternoon. The Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw taught using the course books he wrote. The first hour, he taught monks who had a solid foundation. The second hour, he taught just accomplished monks.


Around that class time, Sayadaw came and paid respects to the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw. The Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw gave him some words of advice. The Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw pointed out some weaknesses he had seen and heard of at the Sâsana Yeiktha. He spoke of how it wasn't proper to have things happening that were not in accord with the Vinaya, such as monks handling money and staying in secluded places with women, and about how if sîla (morality) was not observed, there would be no progress in the practice. He stuck in a piece about how one of the meditation teacher at a nearby Sâsana Yeiktha became a ghost when he passed away. The Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw spoke about how it was not appropriate to have monks becoming ghosts [due to poor morality], and about how he wanted them to make a special effort to observe sîla at meditation centers.

Apparently, it was a coincidence that Sayadaw came during the period when the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw was going on about how that monk had become a ghost. It wasn't like the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw was putting down meditation centers. It was evident that he was just giving a reminder, with pure goodwill. When he went outside of the monastery, the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw often gave his students guidance by talking about that one monk who had died, too. He often talked about how even some people who had gotten the Aggamahâpandita title and some famous Dhammakahtikas had died and become ghosts. The Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw's intention in speaking this way was just that he wanted those leading the Sâsana and all monks to observe the foundational sîla.

Apparently, some of the study monks felt bad for Sayadaw, a meditation center monk, that the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw was talking to him like this. Some probably even thought that their Sayadaw was speaking excessively harshly." Actually, the Mahâgandâyone Sayadaw was speaking courageously and with pure goodwill.

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