U San Lin and his excavation committee has received permission to excavate the ancient bell, and asked Nai Maung Toe to participate in the Dhammazedi Bell excavation mission during a July 20th Mon Historical Research meeting held at Mon Hall in Moulmein, Mon State. Nai Maung Toe turned down the request, as he does not believe in the use of supernatural powers to unearth the bell.
“It is impossible to salvage the bell by using methods of nat spirits or supernatural techniques,” said Nai Maung Toe, “We do not believe in [unearthing the bell using supernatural powers].”
U San Lin maintains that the Dhammazedi Bell is on Naga (Dragon) Guard, and the use of science will not be successful in excavating the bell.
“Since this [bell] will be salvaged with the help of dragon, we have to choose the time [that it is] raining a lot, with a strong current, during rainy season. On [the] 13th (waxing of the moon) of Warso, we will put Pyayar [ceremony to put Buddha’s life in the image]. Then, on [the] 14th, we will start digging. And later, after the full moon, we can show all [what we find],” said U San Lin, in an interview with IMNA.
U San Lin and his group has attempted to find and retrieve the bell four times, on June 10, 1997; June 26, 1998; October 13, 1998; and July 5, 2000. The group has yet to succeed in excavating the ancient bell.
According to U San Lin, the aim of salvaging the Dhammazedi Bell is to return it to its original site, on the hill of Shwedagon Pagoda, where Mon King Dhammazedi had donated it to the Shwedagon Pagodas 400 years ago.
The Great Bell of Dhammazedi is reputed to weigh 180,000 Viss (290 tons), with an area of 12 cubits in height and 8 cubits in width. The bell is alleged to have been cast on the 8th day of the month Ta-baung, in the Mon/Burmese year of 837 and was donated to the Swedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, which at the time was Dagon, on the Thadinkut day of the full moon, in the year 838.
According to historical records, in 1608, Portuguese mercenary Filipe de Brito y Nicote, known as Nga Zinka in Burmese, allegedly stole the bell, with plans to melt it down to make cannons, when the raft carrying the bell sank at the meeting of the Rangoon and Pegu rivers.
At a November 2013 press conference held at the Myanmar Journalist Network office, in Rangoon, members of the Mon Literature and Culture Committee stated that rescuing the Dhammazedi Bell should not be monopolized by one person, but that it must be a cooperative effort, led by the government, while including the involvement of several parties.
After the Union government granted U San Lin permission to rescue the bell at any time, the Rangoon Division government granted U San Lin and his group a permit to search for the bell on July 14, 2014.
