Natsintaya Monastery Elder Passes Away

Aggamahāsaddhammajōtikadhaja Dr. Bhaddanta Paññāteja, the elder residing at the Dewadaha Sabbasiddhi Natsintaya Monastery in Thanyin Township, Yangon Region, passed away at Kantha Yar Hospital in Yangon at approximately 1:56 AM on September 13th, while receiving medical treatment. According to U Hla Thein, the elder's attendant, the elder had been undergoing dialysis and fell ill due to travel conditions while en route to Laputta Township, leading to his hospitalization and treatment. The elder was 76 years old and had been a monk for 56 years at the time of his passing. From 2010 until his passing, he served as the Joint Executive Elder of the Sasana Council of Thanyin Township. It is also known that the elder's body has been transported from the hospital to the monastery. Details regarding the final funeral arrangements have not yet been released. Natsintaya Monastery Elder donated tens of millions of kyats for the comprehensive renovation and refurbishment of the Shin Saw Myat Zedi Pagoda in Bayargyi Gone Village, Laputta Township, Ayeyarwady Region, as well as for road construction. Furthermore, starting in 2006, he annually organized Buddhist cultural training courses. He frequently traveled to border mountain regions, making material and Dhamma donations and engaging in missionary work, while also providing educational stipends to over 1,000 orphans and ethnic children. In addition, he funded over 20,000 instances of communal meals, donated over 50 pagodas, uposatha halls, monasteries, wells, and ponds in remote areas with difficult access, and made donations to free clinics. He also conducted the recitation of the Mahā-Abhidhamma seven volumes for 90 days during the three-month rainy season retreat, marking the 17th occasion.