Chronicle Of Buddhas

Author : Noble Silence
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (78 download)

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Download or read book The Great Chronicle of Buddhas written by Noble Silence and published by . This book was released on 2021-05-21 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS Part 2/ 6 The Author, Bhaddanta Vicittasārābhivamsa, Mingun Tipitakadhara Sayadaw, as he is popularly known, was born in the village of Thaibyuwa on November 11, 1911. At the age of eight he was sent to Sayadaw U Sobhita of Min-gyaung Monastery, Myingyan, to start learning the rudiments of Buddhism. When he was ten he was ordained a sāmanera by the same Sayadaw. Ten years later he went to Dhammanāda Monastery, a secluded place of holy personages, in Mingun, Sagaing Township, for further learning. In 1930, he received higher ordination. His sponsors were Daw Dhammacārī, a prominent and learned nun of Mingun, who was the author of the Saccavādi-tīkā, and Sir U Thwin, a wealthy philanthropist of Yangon. Since then Daw Dhammacārī had become his spiritual mother and Sir U Thwin his fatherly supporter for his religious life. In 1937, when the First Dhammanāda Sayadaw, who was his preceptor at his ordination, passed away, he had to take charge of the Monastery. Sayadaw had passed a series of religious examinations invariably with flying colours since the age of 13. To mention a few, in his fourth year as a bhikkhu, he passed the Dhammācariya Examination held by the Pariyatti Sāsanahita Association of Mandalay which was a formidable examination in which only a few candidates dare to sit for. The Examination is on the three great Commentaries which candidates normally try to finish one by one in three years. But the author passed all three Commentaries in one year and acquired the rare and coveted title of Pariyatti Sasanahita Dhammācariya Vatamsaka. However, the first time he really made his name for himself as a man of vast learning was when he passed with distinctions the Tipitakadhara Examination, which was held for the first time and was also reputed to be the longest and most difficult one. As the name of the Examination suggests, the candidate has to recite all three Pițakas that he had learned by heart. In addition, he has to pass the written papers on all the Canonical Texts and Commentaries. It took him four years to sit the whole Examination that earned him, in 1953, the unique title of Tipitakadhara Dhammabhandagärika, which means "Bearer of the Three Pițakas and Keeper of the Dhamma-Treasure". Sayadaw's ability to recite 16,000 pages of Buddhist Canonical Texts has been recorded in the Guinness Book of Records 1985. (Since the author's achievement there have been only four other holders of the same title so far.) In recognition of his great learning and of his invaluable services to the Sasana, as mentioned above, the Government conferred upon him the title of Aggamahāpandita (The Supremely Learned One) in 1979 and the title of Abhidhaja Mahāratthaguru (The Noble Banner and Great Preceptor of the State) in 1984, After the Council, the author devoted himself to literary pursuits. At the request of U Nu, the then Prime Minister of Myanmar, he assiduously compiled Maha Buddhavamsa, being the Myanmar exposition on the lives of the Buddhas as related mainly in the Buddhavansa Pali Text of the Khuddaka Nikāya. This compilation, resulting in six volumes in, commenced in 1956 and ended in 1969. The work, being the author's magnum opus and a colossal contribution to Myanmar Buddhist literature, has been received with enthusiastic acclaim by members of the Sangha and the laity alike. Hail and hearty at the age of 79, the indefatigable Sayadaw kept on striving continuously, day in and day out, towards furtherance of his three main tasks, thus setting an exemplary model for emulation to all who desire to promote the welfare of beings by means of the Buddha Dhamma.