U Paññāvaṃsa (; Pyinnyawuntha), commonly known as the Penang Sayadaw and officially titled Bhaddantapaññāvaṃsa) was a prominent Burmese Buddhist monk, known for his missionary work, particularly in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. He was first selected to perform missionary work on

Coco Islands The Coco Islands () are a small group of islands in the northeastern Bay of Bengal. They are part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar since 1937. The islands are located south of the city of Yangon. Coco Island group consists of five islands: four ...

on behalf of the Burmese government. He was the chief abbot of the

Dhammikarama Burmese Temple Dhammikarama Burmese Temple () is a Theravada Buddhist temple within George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Situated at Lorong Burma opposite Wat Chayamangkalaram, it is the only Burmese temple in the state, and a focal point for the ...

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

, where he resides. He was also abbot over the

Burmese Buddhist Temple The Burmese Buddhist Temple (also known as Mahā Sāsanā Raṃsī; ; ) is the oldest Theravada institution and the only Burmese Buddhist temple of its kind in Singapore.Ong, "Founding of Theravada Institutions", pp. 57—58. Founded in 1875, the ...

in Singapore.

Biography

Venerable Sayadaw U Paññāvaṃsa was born at Wakema, Myanmar on 10 January 1928. He was ordained as a novice at the age of fourteen and received higher ordination as

Bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimok� ...

on 16 April 1948. He studied

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

and

Buddhism 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 ...

Wakema Wakema is a town in the Ayeyarwady Division of south-west Myanmar. It is the seat of the Wakema Township in the Myaungmya District. It is home to the Government Technological Institute, Wakema (formerly the Government Technical Institute, Wakema). ...

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

and

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

's Masoyein Monastery, alongside U Kovida. In 1953, he passed Dhammacariya, the highest monastic examination in Pali, with distinction. The government of Burma awarded him the degree of ''Sasanadaja Siripavara Dhammacariya'' (Blessed Noble Dharmafarer, Banner of the Teaching)

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

by Piya Tan, a contemporary Buddhist

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

. In 1954, he was selected by the government of Myanmar for missionary work in

Cocos Island Cocos Island () is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 15 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Puntarenas Province, Province of ...

, and extended subsequently to Sri Lanka,

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

and

. In 1961, the Burmese government sent him to become the chief abbot of the

. In Malaysia, from 1970 to 1979, he served as a religious advisor to the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia and as chief examiner of the Malaysia Buddhist examination syndicate. He founded the Sunday Buddhist Institute, an organization for the study of Buddhism and meditation. In 1979, he became a lecturer in Buddha

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 ...

at the University of

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

Studies, Los Angeles. He has built eight Burmese Buddhist monasteries in cities worldwide like

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Singapore,

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

between 1979 and 2002. He has written over 9 books in English including titles such as ''Maha Paritta Pali Sacred Verses'', ''The Dawn of Buddhism'' and ''The Ten Perfections''. In recognition for his works, the Myanmar government conferred on him the religious titles of ''

Agga Maha Pandita Aggamahāpaṇḍita (, ) is an honorific Burmese Buddhist title conferred by the Myanmar government to distinguished Theravada Buddhist monks. Etymology Aggamahāpandiṭa, meaning "foremost great and wise one," is derived from the following ...

'' (Foremost Great Wise One) and ''Agga Maha Saddhamma Jotika'' (Foremost Great Light of the Sublime Dharma) in 1994 and 1998 respectively.

Death

Paññāvaṃsa passed away on 24 November 2017 from chronic kidney disease in

References

{{reflist Burmese Buddhist monks People from Ayeyarwady Region Burmese expatriates in Malaysia Burmese Buddhist missionaries 1928 births 2017 deaths Burmese recipients of Agga Maha Pandita