Ashin Garudhamma was born on the 11th waxing day of Wagaung, Myanmar Era 1333 (1971 CE), in Kunkan village, Wundwin Township, Mandalay Region, to his father U Tun Kywe and his mother Daw Oon Kywe. On the 10th waning day of Tabaung, Myanmar Era 1344, he was ordained a novice (sāmaṇera) at Manijotikārāma Monastery in Meiktila, with Sayadaw U Aggadhamma as his preceptor. On the 12th waning day of Nadaw, Myanmar Era 1352, he received full ordination as a monk at Mahāgandhārāma Monastery in Amarapura, with Daw Thita Maw as his supporter.
He studied Buddhist literature at Manijotikārāma Monastery in Meiktila, Mahāmyaing Monastery in Mandalay, Kyakhatwine Monastery in Bago, Mahāgandhārāma Monastery in Amarapura, and the Pariyatti Sāsana University in Mandalay. In 1998 he received the Dhammācariya B.A. (Buddhism) degree. Ashin Garudhamma came to the United States in March 1999 and has lived at Kusalakārī Monastery since then, teaching Dhamma in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley, and teaching Abhidhamma, Paṭṭhāna and Pāḷi literature.