Myanmar Buddhist Pioneer Venerable Baddanta U Chandramani Mahathera (1875-1972) Chief Resident Monk from 1920-1972, Myanmar Buddhist Vihara, Kushinagar, UP, India ‘Buddha Sasana’ or the ‘Dispensation of the Buddha’ is kept alive and prolonged through the support of ardent devotees and patrons from all over the world. Despite their efforts, history has witnessed aspects of its waning after the Parinibbana of the Buddha due in part to foreign invasions, usurpation, vandals and wanton destruction of pristine areas of original holy places, landmarks and artefacts. During such periods of unstable unsettled situations, particularly misunderstanding by local communities, devotees and patrons everywhere were prevented or deliberately barred from providing necessary assistance, a crucial factor that caused the partial decline of the Buddha Sasana.   Attempts at restoration and revival of the Sasana through reconstruction, repairs and developments to historical hol...

The greatest religious conversion in the history of mankind took place on 14 October 1956 at a 14-acre vacant plot of land now known as ‘ Diksha Bhumi ’ in Nagpur , Maharashtra. On that historic day, 380,000 Dalits (Untouchables) converted to Buddhism under the leadership of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar . The person chosen by Dr. Ambedkar to administer the Three Refuges and Five Precepts was none other than Sayadaw U Chandramani of Kushinagar, whom Dr. Ambedkar regarded as his true mentor. The Nagpur conversion was indeed a great miracle because never before in the history of any religion in the world has so many people at one time and at the instance of one man changed their religion voluntarily. Why, of all Buddhist monks living in India at that time, did such an intelligent leader as Dr. Ambedkar choose Ven. U Chandramani, a Burmese Sayadaw to be his Dhamma guru and mentor? The answer to this question is revealed by reading life story of this noble personage, whom many regard as the “H...