Birth
Sayadaw U Ghositābhivaṃsa was born on Monday, the full moon day of Tabaung, Myanmar Era 1320 (23 March 1959), in Shwenartaungkya village, Tantse Township, Sagaing Region, Myanmar. He is the second of two children of his father U Tun Mya and his mother Daw Khin Pu.
Novice and monk ordination
At the age of nine he was ordained a novice. On Wednesday, 14 February 1979, at Lethtokkon Monastery in Poesakon new village, Kanbalu Township, he received full ordination as a monk, with his grandfather-monk Sayadaw U Tejavanta as preceptor and with the support of U Bo Ye and Daw Mya Khe.
Studies
He studied the pariyatti texts under Sayadaw U Tejavanta, his elder brother Dr. U Dhammapiya, the teaching Sayadaws led by Sayadaw U Ācārābhivaṃsa of Mingalarama Monastic Education Monastery in Yewu, and many well-known pariyatti Sayadaws in Mandalay, including Sayadaw U Nāyakābhivaṃsa, U Sirindābhivaṃsa, U Rājadhammābhivaṃsa, U Nāradābhivaṃsa, U Kovidābhivaṃsa, U Jayadisābhivaṃsa, U Sumanābhivaṃsa, U Aggavaṃsābhivaṃsa of Paukmyaing and U Obhāsābhivaṃsa of Phayagyi Monastery.
Examinations passed
He passed the Sāsanadhaja Dhammācariya (government), Cetiyaṅgaṇa Pariyatti Gaṇavācaka Dhammācariya and Vinayānuggaha Dhammācariya examinations.
Teaching pariyatti
He taught pariyatti texts as a novice at Mingalarama Monastic Education Monastery in Yewu, and later at Masoyein New and Old Monasteries in Mandalay, Thetgyin Gu Pariyatti Monastery in Taunggyi, and Shwetaungkon Sāsana Yeiktha in Yangon.
Practising the paṭipatti
Soon after becoming a monk he practised under Mahāsi Sayadawgyi at Mahāsi Sāsana Yeiktha in Yangon. In his first rains retreat he practised under the Hanlin Sayadaw at Mahāsi Yeiktha, Ratanapura, Chanmyathazi in Mandalay. In his second rains retreat he served as a kammaṭṭhāna teacher at Mahābodhi Yeiktha in Mandalay. Later he practised the Ledi method under a monk at Mingun Monastery in Mandalay, and for long periods learned samatha and vipassanā methods under Paṇḍitārāma Sayadawgyi at Shwetaungkon Sāsana Yeiktha in Yangon; Sayadaw U Ādicca at Taungwainglay Mahāsi Yeiktha in Mawlamyine; the Myezin Forest Sayadawgyi at Myezin Forest Monastery in Butalin Township; Pa-Auk Forest Sayadaw U Ācinna; Alodawpyie Sayadaw U Ariyadhamma; and the Gaingthaut Sayadawgyi of Ela in Naypyitaw.
Cemetery practice (dhutaṅga)
He undertook the cemetery dhutaṅga at 37 cemeteries in Myanmar (including Mawlamyine, Kyaingtong, Matthara, Thibaw, Taunggyi, Kanbalu, Nyaungyan, Dawei District, Kawthaung and elsewhere), in Mae Sai in Thailand, and at the Holy Spirit Christian cemetery in Fremont, USA. (The full list of sites is given in the Burmese text.)
Other dhutaṅga practices
He also undertook other dhutaṅga practices as far as he was able, at Pa-Auk Forest Monastery in Mawlamyine, on Madé Mountain, which juts into the sea near Jeitto village in southern Rakhine State, and at Manosukha Monastery in Myothit village, Matthara Township.
Teaching Dhamma and Dhamma courses
He has taught samatha and vipassanā at the Ngakyampyan Sāsana Yeiktha and Shwetaungkon Sāsana Yeiktha in Yangon, at Tathāgata Dhamma Retreat in San Jose, California, at Mettānanda Vihāra Dhamma Retreat in Fremont and Cazadero, and at Satipaṭṭhāna meditation centres in Singapore. He has taught Buddhist culture courses for young people, served as an advisory teacher at the Theravāda Dhamma Association in Daly City in the San Francisco Bay Area, held one-day retreats, and emphasised practical instruction in his courses.
He holds retreats from time to time in Canada and several US states, annual retreats at Alodawpyie Retreat in Arizona and at Dhammadīpa Monastery in Kingston, Jamaica and other cities, and teaches at the places in Myanmar where he undertook the cemetery dhutaṅga. He has taught in Thailand (Phitsanulok, Pattaya, Mae Sai), and holds annual retreats in Taiwan at Nandārāma Monastery in Taipei, Mahākassapa Dhamma Retreat in Taoyuan, Power of Wisdom Meditation Center in Shenzhen, and Mitoh Monastery in Miaoli. He teaches the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta at the Abhidhamma class hall in Taipei and elsewhere, and gives talks from time to time in South Korea, Indonesia, Penang in Malaysia (Mettānanda Vihāra Dhamma Retreat), the KKB Bodhiyārāma retreat near Kuala Lumpur, and Satoshi Vihāra Burmese Monastery in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Published books
1. Try Living in Peace. 2. Metta Radiance: Devotional Verses. 3. Life's Milestones. 4. Metta Radiance Chanting. 5. The Hearts of the People of Good Disposition. 6. Pāramī Merit. 7. May this Little Life be Long. 8. Prepare Before Starting Meditation. 9. Be Honest in Practising the Dhamma. (Titles are translated from the Burmese.)
Today the Sayadaw, together with his elder brother Dr. U Dhammapiya, carries out pariyatti and paṭipatti work and work for the public benefit, and lives at Mettānanda Vihāra Dhamma Retreat (California, USA).