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Kyauktan Sayadaw didn't say, "Umh…I forget." He was thinking. He seemed to be interested in relating the events of their younger days. He appeared to be eager to speak about this Sayadaw whom he revered. This year, 1996, Kyauktan Sayadaw turned seventy-one years old, Shwe Taung Gon Sâsana Yeiktha Sayadaw, seventy-five. The two Sayadaws are just four years apart in age. Kyauktan Sayadaw spoke as follows.
"When I was a young novice at the Mahâbodhi Forest Monastery, Sayadaw was a senior novice. When I became a senior novice, he was a young monk. Sayadaw lived at the Mahâbodhi Forest Monastery up until his fourth vassa as a monk. He studied Pâli grammar, a summary of the Abhidhamma and some Vinaya texts under Sayadaw U Pa?ñasirî. From the Middle Standard on, Sayadaw lived at the Kyaikkasan Monastic School in Yangon and sat for the monastic examinations there.
"Sayadaw didn't follow the crowd. He just stayed peacefully to himself. He didn't mingle with lay devotees or relate to them intimately. For example, when we lived at Mahâbodhi Forest Monastery, people would come on the Uposatha day to observe the sabbath (uposatha). At around 8:00 a.m. they would offer something to eat and drink to those monks and novices whom they revered or with whom they had some connection. No matter who made the invitation, the Sayadaw-to-be wouldn't go to eat or drink anything. It was his habit not to do anything that was unnecessary. Whoever had made the offering would remark on his absence, saying, "U Hpo Han and Daw Thaung's monk is very proud."
"Were U Hpo Han and Daw Thaung Daw Kyi Kyi's parents, Bhante?"
"Yes. In Kyauktan Village U Hpo Han and Daw Thaung were truly wealthy. People even called them "the rich man, U Hpo Han" and "the rich man's wife, Daw Thaung." People used to say the the Sayadaw-to-be was a rich man's monk who had a lot of pride because he was looked up to by rich people. From an early age, if Sayadaw thought he was right, no matter how many people opposed him, even if he stood alone he wouldn't back down. He wouldn't give up or surrender. He dared to speak, and speak he would. He wasn't afraid.
During the war with the Japanese, some people brought their valuables to the Mahâbodhi Monastery and kept them there. The monks were supposed to guard them with weapons. There was a Sangha meeting to assign monks to guard duty. The meeting was held in the presence of the Second Sayadaw of Mahâbodhi Forest Monastery. Sayadaw's teacher U Paññathiri, the present most senior Kyauktan Sayadaw U Pandavamsa, Byu Kon Sayadaw U Âseinna, Sayadaw's older cousin U Obasa and other monks more senior to Sayadaw-to-be were there. Sayadaw-to-be and I were also present. Among those associated with the Mahâbodhi Forest Monastery, we did not have the style of young monks talking back to their elders. At this meeting, when the time came to assign guard duty, the Sayadaw-to-be asked, "What are we supposed to do with these weapons?"
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