U Khandi (1868 – 14 January 1949) was a

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (horse), a ...

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

known for his works on

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

pagodas A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but sometime ...

and other religious buildings in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. U Khandi maintained the

Mandalay Hill Mandalay Hill ( ) is a hill located to the northeast of the city centre of Mandalay in Myanmar. The city took its name from the hill. Mandalay Hill is known for its abundance of pagodas and monasteries, and has been a major pilgrimage site for ...

and organised many religious activities for 40 years.

Early life

U Khandi was born Maung Po Maung in Ywathaya Village,

Yamethin District Yamethin District () is a district of the Mandalay Region in central Myanmar. Townships

The district contains the following Townships of Myanmar, townships: *Pyawbwe Township *Yamethin Township Yamethin District Districts of Myanmar ...

in 1868.

Hermit life

U Khandi became hermit in 1900 and meditated at the Mandalay Thakho hill and Shwe-myin-tin hill. His goodwill organisation completed construction and renovation of several building pagodas and religious buildings at hilltops, such as those on the

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda Kyaiktiyo Pagoda ( or ; ; also known as Golden Rock) is a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Myanmar. It is a small pagoda () built on the top of a granite boulder covered with gold leaves pasted on by its male worshippers. Acc ...

and at

Taung Kalat Taung Kalat () is a Buddhist monastery and temple complex located on Mount Popa in Mandalay Region, Myanmar. The site is built on a tall volcanic plug, and is one of several prominent '' nat'' spiritual sites in the vicinity of nearby Mount Popa. ...

. His work was not only recognised by the Burmese people but also the colonial

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

, which gave him and his followers’ special privileges such as free travel certificates and work permits. U Khandi suffered minor

paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...

for three years and died on 14 January 1949. Two years later funeral celebrations were held and he was cremated.

Contributions and Life Work

Stone Inscriptions

U Khandi performed vast renovation projects throughout Myanmar during his lifetime, with a focus on remote hills and forest areas. One of his projects was to copy the

Tripitaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.

s donated by

King Mindon Mindon Min (, ; 1808 – 1878), born Maung Lwin, was the penultimate king of Burma (Myanmar) from 1853 to 1878. He was one of the most popular and revered kings of Burma because of his role in the Fifth Buddhist Council. Under his half brother ...

onto marble slabs. In M.E. 1275 .E. 1913 in the compound of Sandamuni Pagoda, U Khandi inscribed Sutta,

Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...

and

Abhidhamma The Theravada Abhidhamma tradition, also known as the Abhidhamma Method, refers to a scholastic systematization of the Theravāda school's understanding of the highest Buddhist teachings ( Abhidhamma). These teachings are traditionally believed ...

from the

Tipitaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist texts, Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist Scriptural canon, scriptural canons.

. He included complete explanations on 1,772 stone slabs, as well as inscribing a historical record on an iron sheet and a stone slab. These stone slabs are: # Vinaya Pitaka – 395 slabs #Sutta Pitaka – 1,207 slabs #Abhidhamma Pitaka – 170 slabs On 3 March 2011, the

Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw The Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw (; 19 April 1928 – 25 July 2015) was a prominent Buddhist monk and weizza from Myanmar. Throughout his life, he restored nine Buddha Hair Relic Pagodas across the country, most of which were in Mon State. Early ...

had 135 of the stone inscriptions brought to the Kyaikhtisaung Compound from

Buddha Relics

The Peshawar Relics ( three fragments of bone of the

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

) were kept in his ''dazaung'' from 1923 until after the Second World War when they were moved to a building at the foot of the hill and no longer on display.

Sandamuni Pagoda

The Dhamma Cetis of Sandamuni Pagoda were built several decades after the central zedi in 1913 by U Khandi.

References

*Burmese Encyclopedia Vol 2, p-320 printed in 1955 {{DEFAULTSORT:Khandi, U 1868 births 1949 deaths Burmese hermits Burmese Theravada Buddhists People from Mandalay Region