ABSTRACT
U Thuzana is a disciple of a famous Karen monk and vegetarian, U Vinaya, who is known as the Thamanya Hsayadaw. Thamanya is the name of a hill and a monastery where U Vinaya resides north of Paan town. More than 400 monks and women ascetics live there.1 However, U Thuzana has never acquired his master’s profound wisdom. U Thuzana is not a learned Buddhist scholar who can recite the discourses of Buddha, although he has other important qualifications and is part of a long tradition of Buddhist leaders amongst the Karen in Burma. He became known for his vegan ideas-he eats only fruit and vegetables and does not allow the killing of animals and, by simplifying Buddhist ethics into the essentials of loving-kindness and non-violence, he is able to appeal to the common people in their endless experience of violence. His message and basic rules for his followers in Myaing Gyi Ngu Temple are:
1. No politics. 2. The five Buddhist precepts strictly observed.2 3. No anger; no fighting. 4. No discussion of religious differences. 5. No gossip.
