background

 Biographies

U Kovida
(IBMO Co-Founder)
He was born in Irrawaddy Division in Burma in 1927. U Kovida was one of the abbots at Masoeyein Monastery, one of the oldest Buddhist schools in Mandalay, where he taught Buddhist Literature. In1990, U Kovida led a patam nikkujjana kamma—an alms boycott of military families—in response to a violent crackdown on Buddhist monks in Mandalay. He was subsequently imprisoned from 1990 to1993. Since 2001 he had been dividing his time between Burma and New York, where he guided the Sasana Joti Center. U Kovida passed away on April 29, 2008. He was 81 years old.Interview of U Kovida by Alan Senauke and Maia Duerr


Venerable Sayadaw U Pannya Vamsa
(IBMO Co-Founder and Chairperson)
He was ordained as a novice at the age of fourteen and received higher ordination as a Bikkhu (Monk) on April 16, 1948. He studied Pãli and Buddhism in Wakhema, Rangoon and Mandalay and was awarded the degree of Sãsanadhaja Siripavara Dhammãcariya and the Religious Titles of Agga Mahã Pandita and Agga Mahã Saddhamma Jotika. He began his missionary work in 1954 in places such as Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands and Southern India. He has since built Burmese Buddhist Monasteries in Los Angeles, Sydney, Chicago, Toronto, Singapore Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Auckland. He founded the International Burmese Buddhist Sangha Organization in 1985 and he is currently the chief monk of the Burmese Buddhist Temple in Penang, Malaysia. He is the Chairman of the International Burmese Monks Organization (IBMO), a worldwide organization of Burmese monks formed after the recent crackdown in Burma. U Pannya Vamsa is the author of Mahã Paritta Pãli Scared Verses, The Dawn of Buddhism and The Ten Perfections.


Venerable Ashin Kawwida
(IBMO, Canada)
Venerable Ashin Kawwida was born on November 19, 1945 in Shawdaw Village, located above Mount Popa, Myingyan District, Mandalay Division. He was ordained as a Novice at age of 15 under the supervision of Master Reverend U Wayama and received the highest ordination at age 20 as a Monk in 1965 under supervision of Master Most Venerable U Larba. After graduating with a Dhammacariya degree from the South Htilin Buddhist Pali University, he tutored students in Pali and served as a personal assistant to Reverend U Jotika [President of the All Burma Yahanpyo League, a former Secretary General of the All Burma Yahanpyo [Younk Monks] League in Mandalay H.Q. He was also a former executive member of the Sangha Leaders Organizations in Mandalay and one of the Leaders of 1988 Democracy Revolution in Mandalay. He has written a book about his pilgrimages through India and Buddha’s birthplace entitled “from Irrawaddy to the Himalayas” He currently resides in Toronto, Canada and was recently given a volunteer service awards by the Ontario Provincial Government.


Venerable U Uttara
(IBMO, Secretary-General)
He was born in Burma in 1958 and has lived in London for the last 15 years. He entered into the Buddhist order as a novice at the age of 8, and was fully ordained at the age of 20. He received his B.A. degree in Buddhism and Pali at Mandalay University in Burma. He is formerly the President of the Punna Ramsi Vihara trust in Netherlands, Dhamma Ramsi Buddhist Community in Denmark, Buddha Dhamma Ramsi Trust in Finland and Buddha Sasana Ramsi Buddhist Trust in Germany. Additionally, he was the first Buddhist monk ever to be appointed as Buddhist Chaplain of the British National Health Service (NHS) to liaise with local religious leaders about pastoral and spiritual care of patients, visitors and staff. He has lectured on the history of Buddhism at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of Lancaster, Leeds University, Warwick University, Nottingham University and Warrington Prison. As Secretary-General of the International Burmese Monks Organization, U Uttara is the lead European spokesperson second only to the Chairperson, Venerable U Pannya Vamsa, who resides in Penang, Malaysia.


Venerable Ashin Nayaka
(IBMO-New York)
Ven. Ashin Nayaka received his Ph.D in Social Science from Department of Ancient Indian and Asian Studies, Magadh University of India in 2000, and is currently Visiting Professor in the Department of History, Columbia University of New York. His doctorate dissertation focused on the diverse ethnic nationalities of their origin, growth and unresolved problems of Burma particularly on the role of Buddhism on social, cultural and political developments of Burma. His present interests at the Columbia University are in areas of conflict resolutions and religious dialogues in the context of decent people of Burma. His research on the role of Buddhism in conflict solution of contemporary Burma will be critical context to address Burma's pressing dilemma. He is founding Director of the Buddhist Missionary Society in New York. He is one of the leading monks in International Burmese Monks Organization (IBMO), which is to advocate for the promotion of peace, freedom and justice in Burma. As an expertise in areas, he has testified at United States Commission of International Religious Freedom, Japanese senate and Indonesian House, and lectured on many current issues of Burma at Colleges and Universities in United States to raise international awareness on the role of monks in critical phase of Burma. He has widely traveled Asia, Europe and Latin America to increase international support for promoting peace and freedom in Burma.


Venerable Ashin Agga Dhamma
(IBMO-New York)
He was born on Dec 7, 1952 in Wamaw village not far from Tavoy in Burma’s Thaninthayi State. His early studies were conducted at the Kyaukkone Taw Ya Medini monastery in Rangoon where he was also a member of the 1988 uprising committee. He also led a monk’s non cooperation movement in 1990 in Rangoon; a boycott of the military regimes’ donations by a group of senior Burmese Buddhist monks. The patam nikkujjana kamma --overturning the bowl -- as the boycott is known in Buddhist religious scripture, was in response to a military crackdown that year in the central city of Mandalay. Thousands of monks who wanted to mark the second anniversary of Burma’s August 1988 pro-democracy uprising had gathered in Mandalay and for his part in this popular uprising Ashin Agga Dhamma was imprisoned for 5 years (1990 to 1995). After serving 6 months in the notorious Insein prison and four and half years in Thayawadi and Tha Yat he was released and fled to the border. Ashin Agga Dhamma now resides in the United States and is Assistant Deputy Secretary of IBMO-New York.


U Gawsita
(IBMO-New York)
He was born in Pegu Division of Burma in 1979 and was ordained as novice at the age of 12.He had studied Buddhism in Pegu and from 2005 to 2007, his study was conducted at Meggin Monastery in Rangoon where he became one of the leading monks of Saffron Revolution.After the brutal crack down on the revolution by the Junta, he has to been in exile and he is now residing at Utica, New York.He testifies at US congress that the people of Burma are not only suffering from extreme poverty, hardship, substandard healthcare, education and social services, but also facing oppression by the military government on a daily basis.


Venerable Ashin Sopaka
(IBMO-Germany)
He was born in Burma in 1977 and was forced to flee to the Thai-Burma border because of religious persecution. In 2003, he moved Germany where he founded the Cologne-Buddhism-Center (KBC) in the summer of 2005. He lectures on Buddhism, peace building and human rights as he visits schools, other Buddhist centers and refugee camps around the world. In March 2006, the association's register of the district court of Cologne under the name "Saints Dhamma Vihara Cologne-Buddhology Center registered association. Ashin Sopaka works very closely with Burmese monks both inside Burma and along the Thai-Burma border. In 2008, on behalf of IBMO, he has traveled to Switzerland, Estonia, Sweden, and Finland giving media interviews and conducting interfaith services with various religious leaders. For his efforts, he was recently appointed an Ambassador of Peace by the Universal Peace Federation.


U Khemissara
(IBMO-New York)
He was born in Yangoon, Burma in 1978 and moved to United States ten years ago.He entered monkhood in 2006 and returned to Burma to study Buddhism for a while.Due to his ill health, he had to come back to United States before 2007 Saffron Revolution.Even though he missed the uprising, the Junta has blamed him as one of the ignitors that caused the movement of the people.When he was a layperson, he used to be a rock singer with tough character.On his quest for the meaning of life, his mind has been settled down by the four Noble Truths of Buddha and became a devoted monk.But the treatment of the Junta on the monks has stirred him up and now he is devoting himself for the protecting Dhamma and Sangha(the lineage of the monks)which has existed in Burma over thousand years.


U Paynnyar Thiri
(IBMO-New York)
He was born in 1979 in Pegu Division,Burma.He was ordained as a Bikkhu(Monk) in 1999 and studied Buddhism in Rangoon for 8 years.He took part in 2007 Saffron Revolution and after the military regime's crack down on the protest, he managed to escape to Thailand.Now he is residing in United States.


 1