Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw

The Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw died on 25 July 2015 at the age of 87 at Yangon's 1000-bed military hospital in Mingaladon Township. Four days prior, he had been admitted due to heart problems and difficulty breathing. Upon his death, the Kyaikhtisayadaw was succeeded by the abbot Bhaddanta Nargadipa.

In May 2014, when he was eighty-six years old, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Buddhist Studies by the Mahachulalongkon Rajavidyalaya University in Thailand.

In 2013, Myanmar Tycoon Khin Shwe worked together with the Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw to try to raise the Dhammazedi Bell from the Yangon River. The bell had been commissioned by King Dhammazedi in 1484 as a gift to the Shwedagon Pagoda of Dagon (Yangon).

On 3 March 2011, the Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw had 135 of the stone inscriptions made by the Hermit U Khanti brought to the Kyaikhtisaung compound from Mandalay Hill.

Ashin Pannadipa was given the title "Agga Maha Saddhammajotikadhaja" by the Myanmar Ministry of Religious Affairs in 1992 in recognition of his service. This title is reserved for those who have contributed outstanding service to the propagation of the Sasana around the world. Later, in 2004, the ministry again conferred the honorary religious title of "Abhidhaja Agga Maha Saddhammajotikadhaja".

Aung Nyein had spent nine years practicing and gaining proficiency in the aforesaid arts. In 1971, he went back to Zoke Thoke village. On the 1st Waxing Day of Kason 1333 ME, he was fully ordained to monkhood at 7:50 am on Thursday (25 April 1971) at Khanda Sima (ordination hall). He was then named U Pannadipa. His preceptor for ordination was U Indasabha of Naungdawgyi Monastery of Zoke Thoke. His father San Pe and mother Saw Kyin were present and supported him by providing his four requisites: clothing, food, shelter, and medicine.

In 1969, Aung Nyein made a decision to continue his practices in the future and arranged for the living of his family. He donned the robes of a hermit and became a recluse. He began to study the way of the weizza, a type of wizardry consisting of the study of alchemy, astrology, mystical signs and meditation. He was said to have gained psychic and supernatural power, including the ability to turn water into medicine. At this time he earned the reputation as Moemakha recluse because it was said that he could keep dry during rain. This period lasted until 1971.

From 1966 to 1968, Aung Nyein kept his hair long, remained barefoot, and wore traditional white clothes to associate himself as a mystic seeker. He studied in ancient and historical pagodas and religious sites around the country. He concentrated on personal spiritual development by observing internal signs, external signs and astrology. He referred to this as his "Lunatic Stage." At this time he did not ask for donations.

Beginning in the summer of 1963, Aung Nyein began to study occult science from Manomaya Saya Khine. He practiced spiritual development at Naungdawgyi Pagoda, Shwedagon Pagoda, Shinmahti Pagoda, and Kyaikkasan Pagoda. He wore the clothes of a layman and continued this path continuously until 1965. He began to study manomaya, a form of mind cultivation. He was said to have gained psychic power at this time and referred to it as his "Sovereign Stage, Master of Sovereign Stage, White Robe Religious Devotee Stage".

The Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw (Burmese: ကျိုက်ထီးဆောင်းဆရာတော်; 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.

The third of four siblings, the Venerable Paññādīpa was born on 19 April 1928 in Bilin’s Zoke Thoke Sanpya village. His name at birth was Aung Nyein. His father was San Pe and his mother was Saw Kyin. When he was five years old, he was sent to the Nyaungthaya monastery in Zoke Thoke. There he received a monastic education as per Burmese Buddhist tradition. The abbot of the monastery was Sayadaw U Gandama. At the age of twenty, he set off for Yangon, then called Rangoon. He studied mechanics and began to work for A War Shin, Co. as a driver mechanic.