Friday, 13 January 2012 22:15 Kyaw Kha
(Mizzima) – The abbot of Thadu Monastery in Rangoon has lost his appeal to remain at his monastery, and the Buddhist Sangha authority has order the monastery’s education program to be suspended.
Abbot Pyinnyarthiha has been traveling outside Burma, but was scheduled to return on Friday.
Monks at the monastery were unhappy over the letter’s timing. “The reply reached us today,” said a monk close to the abbot. “We don’t know yet what our abbot will decide and do. They know his disciples and people won’t accept the decision, so we think they delayed in sending the reply to us and deliberately sent it on this day of joy with the news of the release of many political prisoners.” The directive was dated January 3.
In the abbot’s appeal letter dated December 15, he wrote, “I have always abided by the laws of the land and the cannon law of Lord Buddha, and I have never committed any offences against them. I promise and declare that I have committed no criminal acts in my life.”
The Sangha authorities had banned the popular abbot from preaching sermons for one year starting from February 2011, but the abbot preached a sermon at the Mandalay Region NLD office on World Democracy Day. On December 12, the authorities ordered him to be evicted from Thadu Monastery in Kyimyindine Township and not to conduct any training or classes in the monastery.
Abbot Pyinnyarthiha is in charge of the administration and education of more than 1,000 student-monks. Under the directive, the education programme is to be suspended.
Abbot Tayza, who is studying at Mahachula Buddhist University in Bangkok, said, “Ordering this Buddhist University in Rangoon to close undermines the Buddhist religion in Burma instead of promoting and propagating it.”
Subscribe to email feed
