U_Pho_Thi_Library

U Pho Thi Library

U Pho Thi Library

Buddhist library in Thaton, Myanmar

U Pho Thi Library (Burmese: ဦးဘိုးသီးပိဋကတ်တိုက်), officially known as the Sādhu-janapāsādika Mahādhammacetī (lit. 'great temple of the Dhamma which pleases good people'), is a Buddhist library or pitakataik in Thaton, Mon State, Myanmar. The library houses a rare collection of 785 traditional manuscripts, including palm leaf manuscripts and parabaiks, in a three-storey building donated by U Pho Thi, who is the library's namesake.[1] Monastic examinations are held at the library, which part of Thaton's largest centre for Buddhist studies.[2]

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History

The library was the brainchild of Burmese literature professor Kyaw Tun, and was funded and established by merchant U Pho Thi in 1923, along with the Suvaṇṇabhūmi Pariyatti Sāsanahita Trust.[1][3]

In February 2013, the Pali Text Society, Sendai University, and the University of Toronto, along with local partners, began an ongoing initiative to digitise and catalogue Myanmar's palm-leaf manuscripts, including collections from this library, and Bagaya Monastery in Inwa.[2][4] The digitised manuscripts are now available at the open-access Myanmar Manuscript Digital Library.[5]

In 2019, the Pali Text Society published the Catalogue of Manuscripts in the U Pho Thi Library.

Collection

The manuscripts date from the mid-16th century to the 1920s.[1] Extremely rare manuscripts held by the library include Saddanītiṭīkā by Paññāsāmi, an advisor to King Mindon Min, Mukhamattasāra, Commentary on the Nāmacāradīpaka, by Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla from the Inwa era.[1]

References

  1. [1]
    Ruiz-Falqués, Aleix (2022-05-06). "Pruitt, William / Ousaka, Yumi / Kasamatsu, Sunao: The Catalogue of Manuscripts in the U Pho Thi Library, Thaton, Myanmar. Bristol: The Pali Text Society 2019. XVI, 412 S. 8°. Hardbd. ISBN 978-0-86013-081-9". Orientalistische Literaturzeitung. 117 (1): 70–72. doi:10.1515/olzg-2022-0026. ISSN 2196-6877.
  2. [2]
    "Archives". Myanmar Manuscript Digital Library. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  3. [3]
    Scott, Tony (2020-04-06). "New Open Access Database of Myanmar Manuscripts and Textual Artefacts at U of T". Asian Institute | Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  4. [4]
    "The Project to Digitize". Myanmar Manuscript Digital Library. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  5. [5]
    "U of T's Myanmar Digital Library of rare manuscripts and artefacts opens access to scholars worldwide". Faculty of Arts & Science. 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
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