An extraordinary year to say the least.

Feb 1, I became an octogenarian !! Just celebrated quietly with my family. Win asked me if I wanted to have a gathering I thought of previous birthdays I celebrated with my students. After 22 yrs having founded the Center, and organising so many festivals and events with STW community I felt I owe it to my family to be just with them. My family had sacrificed a whole lot when I started the Center. I could only pay partial attention to them. I felt I just wanted to celebrate with them. I had no plans. But Win took me to a local tea shop in Sebastopol. We talked for about four hours ! A time to reminiscent, a time to pick up threads where we left off. We were both at peace and we just talked and talked. It was most precious time to spend with my first born who is actually very busy with her two little boys. Shannon my Son-in-Law took care of the boys to let mother and daughter spend time together. That evening Shannon and the boys joined us at the Center for a simple dinner. Their present for me was a caricature of the two boys Khine and Zeya! It was a lovely family day !!

Then the Pandemic started in China. I had started to follow the news about Wuhan in China where it first began. I anticipated it will become a pandemic seeing that the virus was from animals . Humans have no immunity for such invaders. True to form pandemic ensued so since March I have been stay home all the time. I venture out only for visits to my osteopath and chiropractor to treat my spine and posterior pelvic joints.

I had a lot of time on my hands so began to write on daily life practice in Burmese and English on Facebook where I was able to reconnect with doctors my ex contemporaries. Then tried making videos with iPhone as Susan my secretary is quite good in taping my sessions.

I also began to teach 2 small zoom classes on DLMP daily life mindfulness practice with hands-on training. It was very enjoyable and became high lights of my stay-at-home time. It was great to interact with them on Zoom. I experimented with sandwiching parts of Abhidhamma after each mindfulness in daily life course with the objective to help to understand the Mindfulness practice against the background of Abhidhamma teachings. I was very happy to find my students highly appreciated it.

Shwedagon Pagoda building project at the Center had taken off very well but had to be stalled due to the pandemic. We are planning to restart again soon. Please check the website www.americanshwedagon.com

The top structures were made in Burma with guided stainless steel in 5 sections and will be air freighted very soon. I was instructed to complete the Pagoda by mid Jan by myGuru. The pagodas built in our lineage are like building vortices with extraordinary healing energy. Once they are crowned the astral energy will be broadcasted all over US and the world over.

With this I would like to conclude the letter with best wishes to everyone for Happy Holidays!!

With Metta

Dr Thynn Thynn

One whole year is almost over. It has been a very busy year for me as the building of our great shrine American Shwedagon has passed the critical mark of completing the foundation, the platform or Yin Pyin. Then it was followed by the First Enshrinement Ceremony on Oct 12.

Photos will show the excitement of our Burmese donors and volunteers who made the event tick! Altogether about 400 Buddha statues were enshrined in the Enshrinement Well.

The top structure of the Stupa will be built in Burma beginning next month and shipped to US. The structure will be totally made of stainless steel and the outer Stupa Robe will be made of guided stainless steel encasement.

The purpose of building stupas is to create a high energy vortex to heal the land and individuals not just for gaining merit.

The August Three Day Intensive of On the Cushion-Off the Cushion Retreat for a small group of American and BURMESE meditators was very successful. It was the first time some Burmese friends attended the combined retreat.

We designed it so that it simulate how meditators usually meditate in daily life that is one hour sitting session in the morning. Plus one hour in the evening. The rest of the day they are taught how to bring mindfulness from the sitting into daily life. This is going to be our model we will use from now on for students as well as teachers in training.

Deep gratitude goes to our benefactors who donated to keep the Center running. Special mention and appreciation to Mark MaCauliffe for donating his time and expertise in rede-signing the front space and sides of the house to prevent further damage to the foundation of the Dhamma House.
Also to Jim Morris from Nevada City in the design of diverting rain water away from the house.

As we give our thanks to donors I hope old and new donors will be energised to continue supporting the Center in Dana. We badly need operational funds in the vicinity of $1,500 a month to run the Center. Hence I would like to set up an account to which our support-ers can donate any amount big or small via your bank’s automatic monthly transfer to the Center’s Umqua Bank in Sebastopol. One of my young students has been donating $15 a month for about 4 yrs now continuously. Another student has been donating $50 monthly for over two yrs now.

We are grateful to accept yearly or biannual lump sum donations too.
Interested donors please email or text me via 707 293 4535 or email
thynnmetta@gmail.com. I will then send our bank account number to you to set up auto-matic transfer on monthly basis. This will be the lifeline for the Center to keep the teach-ings to go on and continue our teacher training which virtually stopped when I got very sick in 2012.

Those who would like to use PayPal to donate can go on our website Stw2.org to do so. The address to send checks is also on our website.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu
May you be well may you be happy.
Thynn Thynn

We have just passed a critical milestone of twenty years in existence. When I look back it’s a helluva journey to say the least. In 1999, my daughter Win had just got into Stanford and now she is a full fledged MD, married with two little sons four and two. My son was 18 in High School, now he is 38 teaching English in Saudi Arabia.

Myself? I was a much charged 59 year old full of verve and energy ready to roll no matter what. Now I am almost 79 semi-disable, white haired, starting to lose my hearing, short term memory, unable to drive with 20% of workable energy. Am I disappointed? No way!! Multitudes of local and oversea students have passed through the gate, their kids and grandkids have grown up, a few have become Dhamma teachers. I am still teaching at the Center but refraining from traveling in the country or abroad to teach.

The most popular courses were mindfulness in conflict and the Abhidhamma Introductory Course. I will be focusing mostly on teaching and training trainers and making videos as requested by our videographer Adam Titone. His intention is to collect all the teachings for future posterity. I am nearly 80 now.

We started building Pagodas in 2001, again in 2011 and still building now our third time, the replica of our great Shwedagon in Burma. We just completed the foundation and platform. Still moving forward.

With whatever faculties I have left I am doing my best for the present and the future of the Center, so that’s my main goal at present. A few of the next generation is undergoing training in teaching, joining the Board, and plans to train senior students in managing the Center is beginning soon.

I am at present focussing on our financial structure with the goal of making us solvent and debt free in two to three years’ time. That I know is a tall order but at least we do not have a mortgage. It’s mainly the property tax and operating costs we are trying to manage as best we can.

My health is stabilizing more than a few years ago thanks to the best integrative medicine available in the county and my MD daughter Win who monitors my health, and keeps me on track. And of course two little grandsons who keep me in stitches with their antics and on my toes with their demands on my attention. Both of them love to feed me my meds or supplements so my health should get better right?

Anyway at least during the last two years we spent nearly $30,000 in major repairs in shoring up the foundation of the house, the whole of the front and sides of the Dhamma House are newly rebuilt with proper cement walk ways, a lovely front entrance with a Japanese theme bridge designed by Mark McCaullif our senior student and contractor. Also Jim Morris a retired geotechnical engineer came down from Nevada City and changed the contour of the whole front and two sides of the house to divert rain water from seeping under the house. So now we have dry creeks running in front and along side the house to the back ! I love the idea of dry creeks instead of French drains.

Chat Paing Zu American Shwedagon Pagoda

View on AmericanShwedagon.com

Plea for Donations

The operating cost of the Center is around $60,000 a year. Major expenses are due to increased property tax and extensive repairs done within the last two years. We are imploring our donors and supporters to continue your generous support for this year to set off the expenses of the repairs done.

Newsletter Winter 2017

As we leave behind the old year and welcome the New Year, may I take the opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and to announce the birth of my second grandson to my daughter Dr. Win Thu Han and my son-in-law Shannon Lo Ricco. In fact,  little Yeza-Han Giovanni Lo Ricco ushered in the New Year for our community because he was born on Jan 1, 2017!!

The year 2016 gave us the opportunity to renew the Center in many crucial aspects, including reviving the teaching programs and repairing the physical premises.  I began teaching a new class, while training Melissa Titone, one of my most senior students, as a teacher trainee.  We intended to resume classes in January, but had to postpone the classes due to the storms that month and continuing this month.  I taught the Senior class on practicing mindfulness or investigating into Self and No-Self during the past year. It has been so good to dive into teaching and training again.

New Board of Directors

At the end of 2016, we recruited some new Board Members from among our old and new students. They’ve become a very active Board to my great delight.

The new lineup is:
Dr. Thynn…..President
Carol Benfell….Secretary
Joel Hack….Treasurer
Kevin Klotz….Member
Daniel Berkman…Member
Tonie Quigley…Liaison to students
Dr. Tin Aung….Member
U Zaw Min…..Member
Dr. Tin-wa…Advisor
Adam Titone…Advisor

Repairs and Other Work

Our Center is in its 18th year, and we have encountered many utility system break downs from wear and tear — the well pump, sewer pump, and boiler system just to name a few.

We are now in the midst of repairing the foundation of the Dhamma house with the help of senior students master builder Mark McLauliff and Jim Morris. Jim is a geotechnical engineer who drove down from Nevada City to give us ideas on how to channel rain water away from the house. We have completed the first phase, and the concrete work in front of the Dhamma House is first rate in terms of creative and functional design. We have been extremely pleased with the results. We still have more to do.

I have plans to construct a replica of the Shwedagon Cedi at the Center. The replica will be dedicated to peace and security in America, especially during these very uncertain times. I hope to form a Cedi Construction Committee (Gopaka) soon.

With extensive and costly repairs going on, we are very fortunate one of our senior students has given a personal loan to the Center that has enabled us to keep the Center running.  The loan is for five years, and we need to pay it back during that period. The Board of Directors and myself would like to appeal to your generosity to support us financially in terms of pledges, a one-time donation or as a beneficiary of your estate.

We would like to thank all of you, our donors, for your continuous support that has kept the Center going for the past 18 years, through which hundreds of local American students have benefited. Whenever I meet my old students, almost everyone tells me they cannot stop practicing daily life mindfulness now.

For the Center to continue bringing the Dhamma to Westerners, we will continue to need your support, large or small, on a regular basis.

Outreach Programs

The Board of Directors is very interested in initiating outreach programs, such as the day-long intensive mindfulness meditation program. This is real life practice mindfulness 101….and will help students develop equanimity (Upekkha) so that their outlook on the current situation may bring wisdom and right view as taught by the Buddha in terms of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Other outreach programs will include giving Dhamma talks to spiritual communities and publication of my second Dhamma book, among other things.

We do hope students who have studied at the Center will be enthusiastic, and participate and support our outreach activities.

I am also preparing to print my Burmese Dhamma book to distribute to the Burmese community in the Bay Area as well as nationwide and beyond.

May the teachings of the Buddha thrive and benefit the world over,

Dr Thynn Thynn on behalf of the Board of Directors
Sae Taw Win II Dhamma Center
8769 Bower St.,
Sebastopol CA 95472

For your convenience, PayPal is available on our website for donations — www.saetawwin2.org.