Bhavatu Thabba Mingala
Sunda Khin, daughter of U Chan Htoon, offers a unique perspective on Burma's history, which she shared on a recent podcast episode. Growing up within influential circles, she provides firsthand insights into significant figures and events. Her narratives blend personal experiences with broader historical context, enriching our understanding of Burma's luminaries. Sunda Khin's recollections shed light on her family's interactions with key individuals like Sao Shwe Thaik, U Nu, Aung San, Ne Win, Louisa Bensen and S.N. Goenka, among others, painting a vivid portrait of the nation's evolution through the lens of her family's experiences.
“You don’t have to go to any kind of a Buddhist places, a stupa or anywhere to go and pray in front of it and just recite all these lines that you don’t even know what it is you are reciting. I would like you all to know the essence of Buddhism.”
“[My father, U Chan Htoon,] had a lot of ties. I remember as we were growing up when we had the Tooth Relic over. The Sri Lankan government was very gracious to allow for our people to pay their respects to the Buddha's tooth from Kandy. My father, my mother, and myself included, we went by sea on one of these Bibby Lines, the Leicestershire or the Worcestershire, I don't know which one was. It was I think like a three-day thing to Colombo. And then taking another Bibby Line ship back, we brought the Tooth Relic. And my father, I think he was Deputy maybe; probably at that time the Chief Justice was U Thein Maung. I remember U Thein Maung was strict and very grim. We wouldn't dare run around in front of him, I remember, even on the boat. My father, being the younger person, he was always the one who was doing this and that. So, we went. In Kandy, they had this big thing with the elephants and all that, and then they sent these drummers as well. The Kandian dancers and drummers along with the boat to come - for I don't know how long, maybe a week or so that the Tooth Relic was there - for people to come pay their respects. I remember that my father was very pleased that he could go back to his home where he grew up. That was one of the things that I remember.
My father, then he was the Secretary General at the Buddha Sāsana Council, which was maybe a little later on. General Secretary they called it. And my brother, after my father came back out from jail after one of the coups, he too, did that. He was assigned; he took that position with the Buddha Sāsana Council. So, we did that. Of course, during all this time, I knew that he was really deeply into Buddhism, as a way of life, because that's what he taught us. He said, ‘You don't have to go to any kind of a Buddhist places, a stupa or anywhere to go and pray in front of it and just recite all these lines that you don't even know what it is you are reciting. I would like you all to know the essence of Buddhism.’
He had a tutor for us, and I think he may have passed away, but he was a leading tutor in his own area. Every day we had lessons with him. In our Burmese lessons, he was our tutor, but then when he first entered, when he would come to the house, we had to fold our hands together. This was lost. Thais kept this on, but we had lost this custom of folded hands and greeting people. We only do that to the monks, but in this case, whenever he came, he would come and we would all have to do that. And we would all sit around and we would do our lessons.
He would also recite when we wished him well. Of course, Burmese people say mingalaba, but we would have to say bhavatu thabba mingala. So, bhavatu thabba mingala, it has much more. That’s how mingala came from originated. We always would have to put our hands folded. My father made sure that even though he was busy, and my mother, too, they had us brought up with understanding.”