
Sayadaw U Silananda
Sayadaw U Sīlānanda was born in Mandalay, Burma (now known as Myanmar) on Friday, December 16, 1927. His father is Wunna Kyaw Htin Saya Saing and his mother Daw Mone. Saya Saing was a renowned Burmese architect credited with many famous religious buildings throughout the country. He was awarded the title "Wunna Kyaw Htin" by the Government of Burma for his outstanding achievements in Burmese architecture and religious activities. He was a very religious man and a meditator as well. Two brothers of Sayadaw are also prominent Burmese architects.
His sister, Daw Thandasari, is Chief Nun of a Buddhist nunnery institute known as "Shwezedi Sāsana-pala Chaung”[1] in Sagaing Hills. Sayadaw thus comes from a highly religious family.
On April 14, 1943, during the Japanese occupation, Sayadaw U Sīlānanda at the age of 16 became a novice at Mahavijjodaya Chaung Monastery in Sagaing Hills under the preceptorship of Sayadaw U Paññāvanta, a very famous and popular preacher. He was then given the religious name "Shin Sīlānanda.”
With the consent of his parents, on Wednesday, July 2, 1947, he became a full-fledged monk at the same monastery with the same preceptor. Four days later, a re-ordination ceremony was held in his honor at Payagyi Taik monastery in Mandalay by U Ba Than and Daw Tin (his aunt), dealers in religious artifacts. Again, in 1950, a second re-ordination ceremony was held in his honor at Kyaungdawya Shwegyin Taik, Rangoon (now Yangon), by rice merchants U Ba Thein and Daw Ngwe Saw.
Sayadaw U Sīlānanda received his early years' education at Kelly High School, an American Baptist Mission School for boys, in Mandalay. He had his religious education in Tipitaka (Buddhist Scriptures) under the guidance of his preceptor and many other renowned Sayadaws, both in Sagaing Hills and in Mandalay.
He took the religious examinations held by the Government of Burma and passed the Phatamange (1st Grade) in 1946, Phatamalat (2nd Grade) in 1947, and Phatamagyi (3rd Grade) in 1948. He attained the 1st position in the 2nd Grade in the whole of Burma and 2nd position in the 3rd Grade. He got the degree of Dhammācariya, Master of Dhamma, in 1950, and was awarded the title Sāsanadhaja Siripavara Dhammācariya. In 1954, he attained another
degree when he passed the examination held by Pariyattisāsanahita Association in Mandalay, which was renowned to be the most difficult examination in Burma. He duely got to add to his name the term "abhivamsa,” hence his full name and title: U Sīlānandābhivamsa, Sāsanadhaja Siripavara Dhammācariya and Pariyattisāsanahita Dhammācariya.
He went to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1954 and while there passed the GCE Advanced Level Examination (General Certificate of Education Examination held by the University of London in Ceylon), with distinctions in Pāḷi and Sanskrit. While he was in Ceylon, he made a brief return to Burma and during that trip he practiced Vipassanā meditation in the Mahāsi Sayadaw’s tradition.
He taught as a lecturer Buddhist Scriptures, Pāḷi, Sanskrit at Atothokdayone Pāḷi University in Sagaing Hills and Prakrit language at Abhayarama Shwegu Taik monastery, Mandalay, and was an External Examiner for Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the Department of Oriental Studies, Arts and Science University, Mandalay.
Sayadaw U Sīlānanda was the Chief Compiler of the Tipitaka Pāḷi-Burmese Dictionary and was one of the distinguished editors of the Pāḷi Canon and the associated Commentaries at the Sixth Buddhist Council held at the Kaba Aye Hlaing Gu (World Peace Cave) in Rangoon (Yangon) from 1954 to 1956. Sayadaw U Sīlānanda had a golden opportunity to work for Venerable Mahāsi Sayadaw and Venerable Mingun Tipitaka Sayadaw.
In 1960, he inherited the Mahavijjodaya Chaung monastery after the passing away of his preceptor and became the Abbot of that monastery. He moved to the Abhyarama Shwegu Taik Monastery, Mandalay in 1968 and, in 1969, was appointed the Vice Abbot of that monastery. Later, he became the Chief Abbot of that monastery.
He was also appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of Shwegyin Sect and, in 1993, became a Senior Member of that sect. He participated in the meeting of Cleaning-up of the Sāsana held at Hmawbi (50 miles from Yangon).
In 1993, he was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of Meditation Teachers of Mahāsi Sāsana Yeiktha in Yangon.
Sayadaw was requested to be the Rector of the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University of Yangon in Myanmar (which opened in December, 1999).
He had visited many countries, both in Asia and in Europe, and, as a member of a party, visited the United States in 1959 at the invitation of the U.S. Government. In April 1979, Venerable Mahāsi Sayadaw and his entourage (including Sayadaw U Sīlānanda) visited San Francisco, California, USA, with a full program of discourses, meritorious offerings, Dhamma talks, and meditation sessions. At a later stage of the visit, Mahāsi Sayadaw agreed to leave behind U Sīlānanda and U Kelasa in San Francisco to fulfill the overwhelming request of Burmese community. (Sayadaw U Kelasa later moved to Maryland to become the Abbot of Mangalarama Monastery.)
Since then, Sayadaw U Sīlānanda had been giving lectures on Buddhism, including Abhidhamma (Buddhist Psychology), and teaching Vipassanā meditation in the country. He was a competent teacher and rarely uses Pāḷi words, which are not familiar to lay people, in his sermons. As one devotee said, "He teaches from an extraordinary depth of knowledge, communicating in clear and precise English. He is loved by his students and devotees as a skilled, patient and compassionate teacher."
He was the Spiritual Advisor of the Theravada Buddhist Society of America (TBSA), which he had helped set up, and the Founder Abbot of the Dhammananda Vihara Monastery.
He was also the Spiritual Director of the following: Dhammachakka Meditation Center in Berkeley, California, the Bodhi Tree Dhamma Center in Largo, Florida, and the Society for Advancement of Buddhism in Ft. Myers, Florida. In addition, he was the Chief Meditation Teacher of Tathāgata Meditation Center (TMC) in San Jose, California.
Sayadaw had gone on numerous Dhammaduta missions to give Dhamma talks and to conduct short term and long term retreats. Sayadaw had also conducted retreats in Malaysia and Singapore.
Despite his busy schedules, Sayadaw had authored the following (in English):
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The Four Foundations of Mindfulness,
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An Introduction to the Law of Kamma,
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Thoughts for the Occasion (Some Sayings of Lord Buddha on Death),
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An Introduction to the Doctrine of (No-Soul),
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Meditation Instructions and Protective Verses.
Sayadaw had extensively revised and edited a translation of "Abhidhamma in Daily Life" by Sayadaw U Janakabhivamsa.
Sayadaw had also published numerous works in Burmese:
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The First Sermon (a popular exposition of Buddha's First Sermon),
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Sayadaw U Narada of Mandalay (a biography),
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A Course on (for monks),
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Mahāsi Sayadaw (a biography),
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Burmese Architect - Saya Saing (a biography of his father),
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Comparative Study of Saddaniti Dhatumala and Paniniya Datupatha,
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Exposition of Syllogism in Pāḷi,
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A New Burmese Translation of Rupasiddhi Tika,
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Tipitaka Pāḷi-Burmese Dictionary, as Chief Compiler, and
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Burmese translations of some short Sanskrit works.
Sayadaw U Sīlānanda lectured to the M.A. (Pāḷi) students at Mandalay University. He was also invited to give guest lectures at University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University.
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Sayadaw had conducted the following courses in either English or Burmese or both:
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In-depth Study of Matika of Abhidhamma,
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An Introduction to Abhidhamma, Visuddhimagga, Patimokkha and Jataka,
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Fundamentals of Buddhism,
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Four Foundations of Mindfulness,
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Kalyana Buddhist,
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Vinaya rules,
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Thein-hnote (ensuring the consecration of sima ),
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Theory and Practice of
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Pāḷi Grammar.
Based on Sayadaw U Sīlānanda's lecture notes, U Nandisena has translated a Pāḷi Grammar text into Spanish.
Sayadaw had given numerous Dhamma talks in both English and Burmese. There are over 300 tapes holding Sayadaw's talks. Some tapes (e.g., "Vassa,” "Dana") have been distributed freely by Tathāgata Meditation Center (TMC) to its devotees.
Some talks have been transcribed and printed. They include 'The Meaning of Tathāgata,” "Benefits of Walking Meditation,” to name a few.
With the initial support from TBSA, Sayadaw U Sīlānanda had initiated several projects:
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Compilation of a CD-ROM to hold text of the Pāḷi Canon and the Associated Commentaries approved at the Sixth Buddhist Council.
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Compilation of digital pictures of the (stone inscriptions) holding the text of the Pāḷi Canon approved at the Fifth Buddhist Council.
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Fund to support the propagation of Sāsana in the Frontier Areas in Myanmar.
For his outstanding contribution to the Sāsana, Sayadaw U Sīlānanda was conferred the prestigious titles of Agga-mahā-paṇḍita in March, 1993 and Agga-mahā-saddhamma-jotika-dhaja in March, 1999.
Sayadaw U Sīlānanda passed away in 2005.
[1] ‘Chaung’ here means a secluded place or a religious sanctuary for monks or nuns.
