The remains of Sayadaw U Pandita, an internationally renowned meditation master who counted Aung San Suu Kyi among his disciples, have been returned to Burma following his death in Bangkok on Saturday.
The revered monk, who was also highly regarded as a scholar of the Pali Buddhist canon, died aged 95 while undergoing medical treatment in the Thai capital.
His body was transported on Sunday to Rangoon, where it was received at the airport by Tin Oo, a senior member of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), and Rangoon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein.
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A close lay follower of Sayadaw U Pandita said that the monk, who founded the Panditarama Shwe Taung Gon Sasana Yeiktha (meditation centre) in Rangoon in 1990, regarded Suu Kyi as his own daughter.
As a spiritual teacher to the NLD leader, Sayadaw U Pandita was sometimes forced to resist pressure from Burma’s former military rulers to distance himself from her.
His body will be cremated at the Kyaikkasan field in Rangoon on 20 April.
