State Administration Council Vice Chairman Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win addresses meeting on organizing ceremony to confer religious titles for 2023
NAY PYI TAW February 10
A work coordination meeting of the patronage committee and leading committee for organizing the ceremony to confer religious titles for 2023 by the State Administration Council of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar took place at 1.30 pm today, attended by patronage committee Chairman SAC Vice Chairman Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win.
Also present were Union ministers, the chairman Nay Pyi Taw Council, deputy ministers, Nay Pyi Taw Council members, the deputy commander of Nay Pyi Taw Command, permanent secretaries, directors general and officials.
After the meeting was formally opened, the Vice-Senior General said today’s meeting was held with the aim of successfully holding the religious title offering ceremony at Sasana Beikman in the precincts of the Uppatasanti Pagoda in Nay Pyi Taw on March 2023.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture as the leading committee is carrying out sectorwise tasks by forming a work committee and 12 subcommittees. The respective subcommittees need to do their work in time.
The religious title conferring ceremony has been held since the times of ancient Myanmar kings. It is the highest national level ceremony annually held on a grand scale under the successive governments. The Ministry of Transport and Communications must take it seriously for the convenience of flight schedules.
This year, there will be 382 Sayadaws at home and 21 Sayadaws from abroad totalling 403, and 38 nuns. There will also be 41 laypeople at home and one lady from abroad totalling 42. Of the 42, seven are missionary title recipients and 35 Sasana Nuggaha title recipients while one lady from abroad is a Saddhamma Jotika Dhaja title recipient.
More significantly at this year’s ceremony, Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru and Abhidhaja Agga Maha Saddhamma Jotika titles were conferred on 10 late Sayadaws who were wellknown in Pariyat and Patipat missionary works including Leti Sayadaw, Taung Myo Maha Ganthayon Sayadaw, Mogok Sayadaw, Mahasi Sayadaw, and PaliRoman Sayadaw, who complied and imprinted PaliRoman words on the marble stone plaques to be kept at the stupas of the Buddha Park where the Mara Vijaya Buddha Image lies.
When it comes to accommodating the Sayadaws, four San-gha Yama monastery buildings and Nay Pyi Taw Sibin Yeiktha will be used as usual. Therefore, emphasis must be placed on making those facilities and their environs clean and tidy.
The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism needs to coordinate matters in arranging hotel rooms for the convenience of 24 title recipient Sayadaws at home and abroad.
For hotel staff who are to provide services to the Sayadaws, those familiar with a lay attendant’s duty and skilled in relevant languages should be assigned. Attention must be paid to doing work in ensuring everything is right including meals and health affairs when the Sayadaw arrive in our country so that they can feel convenient and pleased.
At Sangha Yama monastery buildings and Nay Pyi Taw SibinYeiktha also, healthy and fresh meals must be offered to the Sayadaws and nuns who will be staying. For that the health subcommittee needs to seek prior coordination. Medical checkups are necessary and other tasks must be carried out such as providing required traditional and Western medicines, keeping ambulances ready and fumigation to keep away mosquitoes and insects. All measures must be taken in accord with the prescribed COVID-19 rules. The health subcommittee needs to coordinate with other subcommittees.
Inner part of the Sasana Maha Beikman where the ceremony will take place must be splendidly decorated including the shrine room and the Sangha rostrum.
148 Sayadaws and three Buddhist nuns, 152 in total, will attend the rice offering ceremony. The Chairman of State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee and the Secretary of the Committee will be offered rice ahead of the ceremony. Therefore, the subcommittees concerned are to work together to be able to systematically present offerings to the Sayadaws and to make arrangements to hold the rice offering ceremony without any delay after the religious title awarding ceremony.
The subcommittees concerned are to systematically make arrangements for ensuring no setback in taking the tasks to be done and need to do a rehearsal.
As it is a Statelevel ceremony, it is necessary for all to pay special attention with a sense of security in order that there will be no security breach.
The committees concerned are to make systematic arrangements and plans in order that the ceremonies will be successfully held and the working committees and subcommittees are to openly submit and discuss the tasks done and their further plans and arrangements.
Then, Chairman of the Steering Committee Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Ko Ko briefed on matters on scrutinizing and conferring religious titles.
Afterwards, Chairman of the Working Committee Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Aye Tun reported on the arrangements on holding the ceremony to confer the religious titles and the ceremony to offer rice.
Then, officials of the subcommittees concerned presented their sectorwise reports respectively.
After that, the Vice-Senior General gave concluding remarks.