Yo, sit down and let me convey to ya a story bout Probably the most wild and respected dudes during the Burmese Theravāda scene. We talkin bout U Thuzana Sayadaw. If u never heard of him, u probably livin underneath a rock while in the Kayin Point out or sumthin. This dude was more than just a monk in the saffron robe; he was just like a power of nature, a real-life legend who transformed The entire vibe from the borderlands.
U Thuzana, he was the heart and soul from the Myaing Gyi Ngu spot. Born during the late 40s, I feel, but honestly, his age didnt subject induce he experienced that previous-soul Power from the start. He wasnt about that fancy town lifetime in Yangon. Nah, he was a jungle gentleman. He liked the mountains, the trees, and buildin issues. And when I say buildin, I signify buildin. He had this obsession with pagodas. Just about everywhere he went, BAM—A further pagoda. White types, gold kinds, big ones, modest kinds. It was like he was tryin to pin the earth down with holiness. Persons say he designed hundreds. Can u consider? Many of us cant even finish a LEGO set, and this monk is out here constructin monuments in the middle of a war zone.
Speaking of war, thats the place issues get serious messy and authentic intriguing. U Thuzana wasnt just sittin in a very temple chanting all day. He was deep inside the politics from the Karen people. Back again during the 90s, things were heated in between the KNU and the gov. Thuzana, he chose to break up and fashioned the DKBA—the Democratic Karen Buddhist Military. Now, a monk leadin a military sounds insane, right? Like, thoroughly against The foundations. But for his followers, he was protectin the faith. He made his troopers cease eatin meat. Yeah, a click here complete Military of vegetarians! That’s legit some hardcore willpower. He preferred a "pure" land wherever people today lived with the Dhamma, or no less than his Edition of it.
But hey, dont Feel he was just a few navy man. His followers, guy, they worshipped the ground he walked on. They identified as him "Sayadaw," which suggests Fantastic Teacher, they usually intended it. He experienced this aura. If u went to Myaing Gyi Ngu, u would see Many people livin there simply to be in the vicinity of him. No booze, no meat, just pure devotion. It absolutely was like slightly utopia he carved out on the chaos. Regardless of whether the outside environment was lookin at him sideways reason for the conflict, to the locals, he was there daddy, there protector, there saint.
I remember hearin stories bout how he’d just walk into harmful locations and no-one would contact him. He experienced that "metta" (loving-kindness) electric power, Or even people today have been just frightened of his spiritual mojo. He passed absent in 2018 inside of a hospital in Bangkok, and gentleman, the funeral was huge. Like, thousands of people cryin, monks just about everywhere, a true unhappy day to the Burmese Buddhist community. Even now, his legacy is everywhere. U see his encounter on posters in small tea shops or stickers on vehicles drivin through the mud in Kayin State.
He was a posh dude, obviously. A number of people say he was a peacemaker, some say he brought about far more problems. But u cant deny his effects. He wasnt just talkin bout Nirvana; he was tryin to build it on the planet, one particular brick and 1 vegetarian soldier at any given time. He lived his existence his way, Uncooked and unfiltered, much like the jungle he termed residence. Respect to the previous male, U Thuzana. He was certainly certainly one of A sort, an actual OG with the Theravāda tradition.