Taungpulu Sayadaw may be known to this forum as he is cited as being one of Bill Hamilton's teachers in Hamilton's book "Saints and Psychopaths" (pp.126-129):
"Silence:
"One of the ways of acknowledging attainments is silence. Frequently people would invite the Buddha to come to their houses to receive alms food. It was the custom of the Buddha to remain silent when he assented.
"Tungpulu Sayadaw of Burma was one of the most widely recognized Arahants of the twentieth century. I [Bill Hamilton] heard the following story about how it became known that he was an Arahant: While he was meditating in his cave for thirty- nine years,... Finally, after many years [a friend] asked him if he had become an Arahant, and Tungpulu remained silent. Once a woman asked him in public if he was an Arahant. Tungpulu raised up his hand to her indicating that she should not ask that question.
"I [Bill Hamilton] had intended to ask two question~, one of which was, "Why would it be impossible for an Arahant to take a vow to reincarnate?" I elected to ask my other question about mind moments. Tungpulu gave a lengthy answer to my one question. Interestingly, he also included an answer to my second unasked question. He said "The reincarnation of Arahants is a paradox." I thought that was a particularly skillful answer because he avoided the controversy of contradicting the traditional Theravada view by directly saying that Arahants reincarnate. At the same time, he acknowledged that Arahants can reincarnate by saying it was a paradox. If they did not reincarnate, there would be no paradox. " --B. Hamilton
In "Blooming in the Desert: Favorite Teachings of the Wildflower Monk", Taungpulu Sayadaw is quoted in regards to nibbana, August 24, 1978 (translated by Rina Sircar, pp 39-40):
"So, with the first stage of nibbana, one has to do everything, but one's speech, thought, and actions are beyond greed, hatred and delusion, and are carried out without attachment for anything.
(...)
"The is the first stage of nibbana, tha u pa di the ta neban, the nibbana remaining with the physical bases.
"The second stage of nibbana is called anu pa di the ta neban --- the nibbana remaining without the bases; that is, the enlightened mind and body are separated. But even then something remains. It is the Third Noble Truth --- Nirodha --- the Cessation of {Dukkha}. All the other Noble Truths are gone. (...) In this stage of nibbana, the "person" ---the Five Khandas --- is no longer there, and there are no more pleasureable or painful states.
(...)
"All of us are breathing, but none of us can see the breath of one another. So also in the same way, no one can see nibbana, but we can experience nibbana. As you can experience breath, so you can experience nibbana even though you cannot see it. Please try very hard to attain these stages."
