Place and date of birth
Ashin Kovida was born on Monday, the 10th waxing day of Waso, Myanmar Era 1338 (5 July 1976), to his father U Nyunt Maung and his mother Daw Khin Hla. His birthplace is Thetkegyin village, Seikphyu Township, Magway Region.
Education
At the age of seven he began to learn the basics of Buddhism, the Great Protection (Paritta) and devotional verses, on the slate under Sayadaw Bhaddanta Nandamāla, the abbot of his village monastery. In the same year he also began government primary school.
In 1990 he began studying the basic pariyatti texts under Sayadaw Bhaddanta Paññājota and Bhaddanta Paṇḍicca at Mahāvisutārāma Monastery in Hsinbyugyun. In the same year (13th waxing day of Tazaungmon, Myanmar Era 1352, 30 October 1990), with his parents' support, he was ordained a novice and sat the basic primary examination.
On 10 April 1996 (Myanmar Era 1357), in southern Dagon Myothit, Yangon, with the support of U Aung Myat Moe, Daw Nan Khin Su Hlaing, their son Sai Bo Bo Khun Aung and daughter Nan Nanda Su Su Aung, he received full ordination as a monk.
He passed the Junior, Intermediate and Senior examinations in successive years, and in 2000 studied the texts for teaching under the teaching Sayadaws led by Sayadaw Bhaddanta Sirindābhivaṃsa at Masoyein New Monastery in Mandalay.
In 2003 he passed the Dhammācariya examination, and in 2004 he received the title Sāsanadhaja Dhammācariya. During the rains retreat of the same year he began studying English at Ratanapura Monastery, Dhammikārāma, in Mandalay, under Sayadaw Bhaddanta Uggasena (Chintwin). He also practised spoken English at the Intensity Speaking Centre, at the corner of 35th Street and 90th Street, with Saya U Aung Than Htut.
While studying English he taught Pāḷi texts for one year at Masoyein New Monastery. He studied for the Paṭisambhidāmagga honours examination (Burmese), but he gave too much time to English and did not pass.
From his 29th birthday in 2005 he practised kammaṭṭhāna meditation for the three months of the rains retreat at the Mahāsi headquarters in Yangon. His kammaṭṭhāna teachers were Bhaddanta Jaṭila (Pyinmana) and Bhaddanta Theravaṃsa (Myin Aung). After the rains retreat he continued for about 25 days at Shwe Min Wun Monastery under Bhaddanta Sobhana.
In 2006 he passed the entrance examination of the International Theravāda Missionary University. After the examination he began practising kammaṭṭhāna at the Pa-Auk branch meditation centre in Thanlyin, with Bhaddanta Dhammapati as his meditation guide.
In the first week of March of that year, by arrangement of the Thanlyin Pa-Auk centre, he went to Pa-Auk Forest Monastery (main) in Mawlamyine. After one rains retreat of practice under the Pa-Auk Sayadaw, when the Sayadaw went to the Himalayas, he continued to learn the method under Sayadaw Bhaddanta Kovida (Pakokku), Bhaddanta Kañcana (Ye-U) and Bhaddanta Revata (Mawlamyine).
From 2008 he taught kammaṭṭhāna to yogis from Myanmar and abroad at Pa-Auk Forest Monastery (main). In 2010, together with Ashin Revata (Mawlamyine), he travelled to Latvia (Europe) for the first time to teach. In the same year he spent the rains retreat in South Korea and went on to open meditation retreats there.