About The Author

U Po Sa, A.T.M., B.A., B.C.S. (1), F.R.E.S was born in 1888 in Nattalin Township, Tharyawaddy District, about 150 miles north of Yangon (Rangoon), in Lower Myanmar (Burma). His early profession as a high school teacher enabled him to pursue further studies on a part time basis in the early days of college education in the country, finally earning him a Bachelor of Arts degree from Calcutta University (India) reading English Literature, Myanmar Literature, Pali and Philosophy. These subjects obviously provided a firm foundation for his later pursuit of Buddhistic studies and authoring many articles in the "Light of the Buddha", an English language monthly journal, and several books including the present "Brief Outline". After his college degree, he joined the civil service and the pre second world war years saw him serving in succession as a District Commissioner in Dawei (Tavoy), Myeik (Mergui), as District Magistrate of Yangon (Rangoon) and a Commissioner of Land and Land mortgage Banks. The war time government appointed him first as Secretary of Finance, later as Commissioner for Ayeyarwaddy Division. At the end of the war he retired from government service and soon after the country gained her Independence in 1948, he founded the first Myanmar owned "Burmese National Bank Ltd." and became its first Managing Director till his sudden demise of a heart attack in April 1961 at the age of 73 years. He was survived by his wife and six of his eight children at the time. U Po Sa also authored a book on the "Merits of Vegetarianism" and was himself a strict vegetarian for the last l7 years of his life.