U Thila Wunta, the teacher of Namyal Rinpoche, came from the Mon State of Burma. He was born June 28th 1912 and began his training at a monastery school at age 7. At the age of 15 he took the vows of a monk and in May 1932 he received full ordination as a Bhikshu in the Theravada Order under the direction of Kyaw Sayadaw. In years prior to WWII he studied with some of the greatest Burmese meditation masters
After the war he was introduced to, and became a disciple of a fully realized Burmese saint, Bodaw Aung Min Gaung, of the weizzar/wisdom tradition.
Following that meeting he went into solitary retreat with a new focus.
In 1952 U Tilla Wunta began a pilgrimage to many holy sites of the East and returned to Burma to spend another five years in meditation, eventually attaining awakening.
In the ensuing years he travelled the world teaching and inspiring all he encountered.
In 1955 the venerable Sayadaw (or Khenpo / abbot) visited Thailand, Nepal, and India. When he arrived in England, an expatriate Canadian, George Dawson, recently returned there from travels abroad himself, had a chance encounter. By 1958, under the Sayadaw's tutelage he became first a novice monk, then fully ordained as Ananda Bodhi, ultimately to become known as Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche.
The Sayadaw travelled the world, teaching and building pagodas from New Zealand to England, British Columbia to Brazil, and of course, Kinmount.
While he had returned to Burma/Myanmar after travels in 2000, by 2006 his students had completed his wish to have pagodas built on all 6 continents.
He passed on March 18th, 2011 in Burma, in his 99th year.
May our continuing gratitude inspire our efforts.
[More detail may be found at these sites:
http://www.walkingshadow.net/Walking_Shadow/Ven_Sayadaw_U_Thila_Wunta.html
http://www.dharmafellowship.org/biographies/contemporarymasters/sayadaw-u-thila-wunta.htm ]