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"But let me continue what I was saying earlier. When Maung Mya Han and Ko Aung Kyi were working in Saya Kywe's pharmacy, I was living together with our older sister Ma Ma Hsait in Kocheh Village. Maung Mya Han and Ko Aung Kyi missed me, so they came and brought me from Kocheh Village to Tadahgalay, where we stayed at the home of our eldest brother, Ko Ohn Maung.
"One time, when they were building a pagoda at Naga Hline Cave Hill, they were putting on performances of traditional Myanmar opera. I went and watched the performance for three nights. When I returned home it was morning and I very sleepily put a pot of rice on to cook. Near the fire was a box of firewood. I leaned against it and drowsed off. The pot of rice was bubbling. In my drowsy state, the sound of the rice pot, "put-put-put-put", sounded like the sound of the Myanmar orchestra. My eldest brother, Ko Ohn Maung said, "Hey girl, that smoke smells bad." When he looked, my long-sleeved blouse was on fire. Ko Ohn Maung hit me, and blood came out from my ear.
Maung Mya Han pulled up the edge of my skirt and used it to stop the flow of blood. Then he went to our brother Ko Aung Kyi and told him what had happened. The two of them went to our eldest brother and confronted him, saying, "Why did you have to hit your little sister so hard like that?"
"Oh, Maung Mya Han didn't like hitting, ever since he was a small child. Now that he has become a Sayadaw he tells his disciples, "Don't strike children. Don't berate them. Don't speak harshly to them."
"It was my own fault that I got hit. It wasn't Ko Ohn Maung's fault. My oldest brother and sister did so much for me. I share merits with them every day. I always send mettâ to Sayadaw, too, and pay respects to him."
"Daw Tin Nyunt, when was the time that Maung Mya Han showed the most consideration for you?"
When I asked this, Daw Tin Nyunt started to reply without a moment's hesitation. But when she spoke, a shadow came over her face and her voice didn't sound as it had before. The sound of grief came in. She steadied herself and replied as follows.
"Sayadaw went to stay at the Mahâbodhi Forest Monastery in Kyauktan Village when he was a novice and a young monk. When he was in his first years as a monk, he sent a piece of cotton cloth to me in Kocheh Village for me to make myself a blouse."
When she said the words, "piece of cotton cloth", Daw Tin Nyunt's heart seemed to become blocked. She had to gather her strength to continue speaking. She looked sad and sounded like she was crying. Tears welled in her eyes and all of us lis
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