Yo, sit down and let me notify ya a Tale bout One of the more wild and revered dudes during the Burmese Theravāda scene. We talkin bout U Thuzana Sayadaw. If u never ever heard about him, u likely livin underneath a rock during the Kayin State or sumthin. This guy was additional than just a monk within a saffron robe; he was like a drive of character, a true-existence legend who modified The full vibe from the borderlands.
U Thuzana, he was the guts and soul of your Myaing Gyi Ngu region. Born inside the late 40s, I believe, but Truthfully, his age didnt make any difference trigger he experienced that aged-soul energy from the start. He wasnt about that fancy city lifestyle in Yangon. Nah, he was a jungle person. He beloved the mountains, the trees, and buildin issues. And Once i say buildin, I signify buildin. He had this obsession with pagodas. Almost everywhere he went, BAM—another pagoda. White types, gold types, major kinds, little types. It was like he was tryin to pin the earth down with holiness. People today say he constructed hundreds. Can u visualize? Many of us cant even end a LEGO established, which monk is out below constructin monuments in the middle of a war zone.
Talking of war, thats where by things get serious messy and actual attention-grabbing. U Thuzana wasnt just sittin inside a temple chanting all day long. He was deep from the politics of your Karen people. Back again while in the 90s, matters were being heated between the KNU and also the gov. Thuzana, he decided to break up and fashioned the DKBA—the Democratic Karen Buddhist Military. Now, a monk leadin an army sounds nuts, appropriate? Like, totally against The principles. But for his followers, he was protectin the faith. He made his troopers halt eatin meat. Yeah, an entire army of vegetarians! That’s legit some hardcore self-control. He wished a "pure" land the place people lived by the Dhamma, or not less than his Variation of it.
But hey, dont Believe he was just a few army man. His followers, gentleman, they worshipped the ground he walked on. They known as him "Sayadaw," which implies Wonderful Teacher, and so they intended it. He experienced this aura. If u went to Myaing Gyi Ngu, u would see A large number of men and women livin there in order to be around him. No booze, no meat, just pure devotion. It had been like just a little utopia he carved out in the chaos. Even when the surface world was lookin at him sideways explanation for the conflict, to your locals, he was there daddy, here there protector, there saint.
I recall hearin stories bout how he’d just wander into risky areas and no-one would touch him. He experienced that "metta" (loving-kindness) electricity, or maybe individuals were being just terrified of his spiritual mojo. He passed absent in 2018 inside of a healthcare facility in Bangkok, and guy, the funeral was huge. Like, thousands of men and women cryin, monks in all places, a real unhappy day for the Burmese Buddhist Neighborhood. Even now, his legacy is everywhere you go. U see his deal with on posters in little tea shops or stickers on vehicles drivin from the mud in Kayin Point out.
He was a complex dude, for sure. A number of people say he was a peacemaker, some say he brought on far more problems. But u cant deny his effects. He wasnt just talkin bout Nirvana; he was tryin to build it on this planet, just one brick and 1 vegetarian soldier at a time. He lived his life his way, Uncooked and unfiltered, just like the jungle he termed household. Regard for the previous gentleman, U Thuzana. He was really among a kind, a real OG from the Theravāda custom.