Mingun Sayadaw (မင်းကွန်းဆရာတော်)

Burmese. ‘Mingun Royal Teacher’. Honorific name for a Burmese Buddhist monk, who was born as Maung Khin and is fully known as Mingun Sayadaw U Vicittasarabivamsa. He became notorious for his great memory skills and was able to recite many ancient religious texts from memory. He was born near Mandalay on 1 November 1911 and after being sent to the village monastery at the age of 5 to get a basic monastic education according to Burmese Buddhist tradition, followed by a temporarily novitiate at age 7, he was at age 10 initiated into the Sangha, and was conferred the monastic name Shin Vicittasara. He successfully passed various grading religious examinations, including the Vinaya examination, and was able to recite the Abhidhamma from memory, thus gaining prominence in religious circles. He later moved to the Dhammananda Monastery in Mingun where he spent most of his life. He passed away on 9 February 1993, aged 81. 回