Ashin Thittila His Life & Work

Ashin Thittila His Life & Work

Introduction

Around the world, people used to make their own history for societies or countries following by hobbits and responsible of each of their diffident lives to show new generation in order to imitate what they did good things in their lives for others. Sayawdaw, U Thittila was a very intelligence Bikkhu who had grateful efforts when his doing missionary work at abroad and he did very wholesome job to spired Buddha’s Sasana from corner of Buddhist world. So, I am going to mention what he did well , how he was sacrifice his life for Buddha’s asana and all.

His life and work

In the village of Padigon, U Thittila was as a second son within four member of his family at the time of British colony in the Pyawbwe District of central Myanmar.  The British occupation had already ten year when he was born on 10, July  1896. His father died when he was only three years old also whey he nine his elder and only brother died. At age of seven his only left sister died and his mother married again. Unfortunately, his stepfather also died soon later and enter local monastery at age of seven in Padigon .

He had spent more time studying gradually until age of fifteen; his effort was remarkable because he could read by heart of the nine chapters of Abbhidhammatthasangaha text books, Kaccayana’s Pali Grammar and also Mahasatipatthana Sutta. At same years, he ordained a novice. When he was twenty years old he received his higher ordination in 1916.

The famous examination for Buddhist monks in Burma known as “ Pathamagyaw” . these examination usually choose two or three persons in each year but  in which he was one selected   from among then five thousand candidates when his time. There is one very difficult and highest monastic examination, Pariyattisaisanahita in Mandalay U Thittila gain thus higher certificate after memorized a total of fifteen volumes of the Tipitaka (Three Baskets) when he was 27. Following by his success he became a lecturer a monastery specially founded in Yangon( Rangoon). 

He left Burma for India, to study English and Sanskrit in 1933 where he attended at Santiniketan University in Southern India. It was taking long sixty years later after he given pali lecturers at monastery educational system in Yangon. he was elected president of South India Associations during his stay in India. Since 1903, there were no one to deep encourage to promote Buddhist society but after became a president had evinced such selfless interest in case of revival of Buddhism in South India said in his biography.

Went to England to continue his English language study at Landon in 1938, where he for stayed fourteen years including throughout the war years. It was his longest stay in at aboard during the time he introduced Buddha’s Abhidhamma  to westerners and taught them but before he was a teacher at West he faced unbelievable conditions as a Bhikkhu. What I heard for others handing down speech that he went sometime to work to provide for his own food as changeable lay-man especially during the World War II in 1939-1945. He also worked at British Broadcasting Corporation; BBC Burmese programme as translator in such ways He stood himself very difficultly however never weakened his effort. After his arrived one year, the War began, the city of England where bombing around him at same time his missionary work was successful in the best way because he met with solders and who had mental illness persons due to the War affected. He took advantage to train the mind those mental illness people as a psychotherapist according with Buddha’s Abhidhmma teaching that he could well successfully that he taught Abhidhamma and Pali language classes. Sometime had holding informal discussion groups about Buddha’s Dhamma & giving public lectures, week after week, year after year. Not only in England, he tried to spread Buddha teaching  but also traveled to France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Norway & Sweden to teach the Dhamma upon invitation.

It was taking long fourteen years in Europe from 1938 to 1952, as single Bhikkhu.  In 1952, he returned to Myanmar from England in order to give Abhidhamma lecture to BA, MA students at Rangoon University. He spent eight years in Burma as lecturer during time he was invited from Japan where he met and discussed with Zen Buddhist mediation masters & teachers about different between Theravada & Mahayana. And after that he flew through to Australia to attend remarkable  2,500 years  Buddha ‘s death  anniversary celebration.

1959, he received another invitation from U.S.A where the Association of Asian Studies at the University of Michigan to undertake a six months lecture for Abhidhama study. It was to take him to universities & colleges from New York to San Francisco and even to Hawaiian Islands at the west of America he was requested to give Dhamma talk basic on Abhidhamma. When he was as lecturer at University in U.S.A, some students saw him very unusual at sight of western view, wearing the yellow robe and students approached him and asked “who are you what are you doing here? He replayed “I am Buddhist monk I come to teach western students” and then students so surprise they sand we heard that westerners who teach easterner who are used to come west to learn for degrees, not to teach so, what is it you teach them? His replay was to ask them if they knew how the mind works, how many doors of consciousness there are and how many functions are and so on. They said they had never heard of such a thing.

He went to England again in 1964, in this time he went there not only for teaching but also he was undertook to translate Pali into English for very first time. He took time to translate the second book of Abhidhamma Pitaka named Vibhanga. It was published by the London Pali Text Society, the name of English translation “The Book of Analysis” in 1969. The book has eighteen chapters there are as below..

1.                  aggregate (khandha)

2.                  sense bases (āyatana)

3.                  elements (dhātu)

4.                  truth (sacca)

5.                  faculties (indriya)

6.                  dependent origination (paticcasamuppāda)

7.                  mindfulness foundation (satipaṭṭhāna)

8.                  right exertion (sammappadhāna)

9.                  base of power (iddhipāda)

10.              enlightenment factor (bojjhanga)

11.              path (magga)

12.              absorption (jhāna)

13.              immeasurables (appammaññā)

14.              training rules (sikkhāpada)

15.              analysis (paṭisambhidā)

16.              knowledge (ñāṇa)

17.              smaller subjects (khuddhaka vatthu)

18.              heart of the Dhamma (dhammahadaya[1]
 

Typically, in this Vibinga (The Book of Analysis) there is consigning there methods thus are known as Sutta method, Abhidhama method, Question method (applies the matika of the Dhammasangani). Here are some explanation briefly thus basic on three methods . 

The first group containing numbers 1-5 deals with mental and corporeal constituents of beings and two laws of nature to which they are constantly subjected (i.e. the Law of Impermanence and the Law of Dependent Origination). The second group containing numbers 7-12 is concerned with the practice of the holy life which will take beings out of suffering and the rounds of existence. The remaining six categories serve as a supplement to the first two groups, supplying fuller information and details where necessary. [2]

In 1966, he returned back to Burma once more after completed his work. At that time his age was already seventieth years. His life and work was so hurt at the beginning of earliest time however he did very successfully with his great efforts also the Burmese government had acknowledged his very learning and extensive work for Buddha’s sasana (Dhamma) so, he got  three honorable degree namely Aggamahapandita, 1956, Abhidhajamaharatthaguru, 1990, Abhidhaja Aggamahasaddhammajotika in 1993.

Actually, he wrote many books both English and Burmese but here I cannot collected all of his books lists so that, I am honestly  going to mention several some of most popular books among then those are including ..

1.      Vibinga (The books of analysis) thus I already explained briefly, 

2.      Essential Themes of Buddhist Lectures 

3.      The meaning of Buddhism

4.      What Kamma is

5.      Buddhist Metta

The Essential Themes of Buddhist lectures, this books very remarkable writing among then because he shown many very important points about Buddhism especially Theravada. The book divided into five parts consisting forty-three chapters. This book has very wide explanation such as exactly meaning of Buddhism from diffident part of views Vipassana, Ten Paramita (The Buddha Great Renunciation), Middle way, Abhidhamma philosophy and Death & Bath so on. Here I am really interesting about what he mention on Buddhism that he said.

What is known as Buddhism consists of three aspects, the doctrinal (pariyatti), the practical (patipatti) and the realizable (pativedha), which are interdependent and interrelated? The doctrine is preserved in the Tipitaka. This Tipitaka, which contains the word of the Buddha, is estimated to be about eleven times the size of the Christian bible. As the word itself implies, it consists of three baskets, namely: The Basket of Discipline (Vinaya Pitaka), the Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka) and the Basket of Ultimate Things (Abhidhamma Pitaka).[3]

The exactly talk about what is the Buddhism? It is teaching of the Buddha which consist Three Pitakas which are connect with three kind of Buddha Sasana, Pariya, Padipa and pativeda. In my understating of these three things that Ashin Thittila, his view is very right because the first one, Pariyati, it is the most important point to long exist Buddhism. It is also like root of Sasana if having no root tree cannot live longer same as without Pariyait the Buddha Sasana also will be disappeared. We can learn and teach others with basic Pariyati knowledge to catch Patipati (Vipaasana) and then surely will see leading the way of Nivana (Padiveda).  Needless to say how much important to call this Tipitalka as Buddhism because all Buddhists have understanding that the all teaching of Buddha is called buddhism. It is very clear definition what he talks about in this book.

Let me talk to about his another a famous article named “ Buddhist Metta”. There is excellent opinion of his giving point on Metta here he give definition of Metta .

That is Metta. a Pali word which has been translated into English as 'Love'. When you use the word 'love' you have different ideas in the interpretation of this word and you may mean many other things, because it is a word that has been loosely used and in some cases misused or abused. Therefore when you talk about love, people may have a different concept. So we use the Pali word 'Metta' to mean Loving-kindness - not the ordinary, sensual, emotional, sentimental kind of love. As you know, the word 'Love' has been defined in many ways in the English language, according to the ideas in the minds of different people professing different religions.[4]

At the begging of this article he said “Metta is the world’s supreme need today”. It is exactly right, why needing this metta very much in our global society you know I know everybody knows however we cannot achieve this kind of metta (loving-kindness) each other’s and one another because of many reasons uncountable reasons we did those we, our society not necessary to use. Sayardaw mention diffident kind of metta (love)  definition to realize the what is truly one we need in our global society.

It will be the last book what I am discussing about his great books. It is we know Kamma what others write exactly the same because  thus are all teaching by Buddha whoever give different point of view to understand and realize on what Kamma main. Sayadaw had givng also most scientific way to understand on Kamma he said.

Kamma is neither fatalism nor a doctrine of predetermination. The past influences the present but does not dominate it, for Kamma is past as well as present. The past and present have influence the future. The past is a background against which life goes on from moment to moment. The future is yet to be. Only present moment exists and the responsibility of using the present moment for good or for ill lies with each individual. Every action produces an effect and it is a cause first and effect afterwards. We therefore speak of Kamma as the law of cause and effect. Throwing a stone, for example, is an action. The stone strikes a glass window and breaks it. The breakage is the effect of the action of throwing, but it is not the end. The broken window is now the cause of further trouble. Some of one’s money will have to go to replace it, and one is thus unable to save the money or to buy with it what one wants for some other purpose, and the effect upon one is a feeling of disappointment.[5]

We understand Kamm is the natural and impersonal law of cause and effect. Thus, It was very clear giving definition of Kamma that I give as footnote of his speech. Kamma has endless condition so long as somebody or someone achieve Ariya Maga or Pala such as Arahataship. It is moving unrest awhile depend on the past and present have influence the future.

Sayardaw, was still active and teaching rest of death moment of his life, he died peacefully his age of one hundreds one years after very long lives in Yagoon, Myanmar in 1997.

Conclusion

Approaching his whole life, he did incredible wholesome job, succeed amazingly on his missionary work, and wrote excellent books, got higher honorable degrees, travel around the world living long life else his trouble young age. Everything was goodness and respectable in his work and life for not only  Burmese Buddhist people but also all Buddhists all over the world.

References

[1] http://dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Vibhanga 9/1/2012.

2 http://store.pariyatti.org/Book-of-Analysis_p_1905.html, 2, 1, 2012.

3 Essential Themes of Buddhist Lectures, Thittila, Ashin, chapter-3, pg-22, 1992, England

4 https://www. /buddhistscholar.com/Buddhist Metta.htm, 8,10,2012.

5 What Kamma is, Sayardaw Thittila, wisdom library, http://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/what-kamma-is/d/doc3397.html, 9/1/2012.

6The Vibhanga, The Second Book of The Abhidhamma Pitaka, Edited- Mr.Rhys Davids, MA, The pali Text Society, Oxford University Press, 1904, London

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[1] http://dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Vibhanga 9/1/2012.

[2] http://store.pariyatti.org/Book-of-Analysis_p_1905.html, 2, 1, 2012.

[3]  Essential Themes of Buddhist Lectures, Thittila, Ashin, chapter-3, pg-22, 1992, England

[4] https://www. /buddhistscholar.com/Buddhist Metta.htm, 8,10,2012.

[5] What Kamma is, Sayardaw Thittila, wisdom library, http://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/what-kamma-is/d/doc3397.html, 9/1/2012.

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