Nā Uyana Aranya Senāsanaya ( Sinhala: නා උයන ආරණ්‍ය සේනාසනය, meaning 'Ironwood Grove Forest Monastery') is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

forest monastery in

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, associated with the

Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...

. It spreads over more than 5000 acres of forest on the 'Dummiya' mountain range and is residence to about 150 Buddhist monks. Na Uyana is so named because of the old Ceylon ironwood forest that forms part of the monastery.

History

Ancient cave dwellings with Brāhmī inscriptions, as well as ruins of a small

Stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circum ...

complex, have been found at Na Uyana which date back to 3rd century BCE. The new stupa of the monastery is built on the location of this complex. One inscription states that King Uttiya has donated his pleasure grove to the Sangha. As Uttiya was the successor to King Devanampiya Tissa, during whose reign Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka, the ancient monastery at Na Uyana seems to have been one of the first in the country established outside

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

. The ancient monastery was rediscovered by Ven. Wigoda Bodhirakkhita Thera in 1954. Sayadaw U Nandavamsa and Sayadaw U Javana, senior Burmese disciples of Mahasi Sayadaw, visited the monastery in 1956. Ven. Angulgamuwe Ariyananda Thera moved to Na Uyana in 1997 with a group of monks and started a revival that has made it the largest monastery in the Yogasrama Samstha. It is also one of the main international monasteries in Sri Lanka, with about 25 foreign monks. Ven.

Nauyane Ariyadhamma Mahathera Most Ven. Nauyane Ariyadhamma Maha Thera‍ ( si, අතිපූජ්‍යය නා උයනේ අරියධම්ම මහා ථේර, 24 April 1939 – 6 September 2016) was a Sri Lankan ''bhikkhu'' (Buddhist monk) and a senior ...

, the Spiritual Director of Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha, also used to reside at Na Uyana.

Layout

Na Uyana has 4 main sections: Pansiyagama (or Kurunegala), 'Mountain', Matale and Aandagala, each about 30 minutes of a walk apart from the other. Pansiyagama section is the ancient monastery within the ironwood forest and contains the

uposatha The Uposatha ( sa, Upavasatha) is a Buddhist day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time (600 BCE), and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind ...

hall, meditation hall, refectory, library and offices in addition to about 80 kutis (monks' residences). 'Mountain' is the newly developed area on the main hill of the monastery, which has about 80 kutis and the main meditation hall. This area is being reforested. Matale section, which has about 20 kutis and a smaller meditation hall, is situated among grassy hills with less forest cover. Aandagala is a remote, densely forested area in the monastery which is not in direct contact with others, and is reserved for the most austere

dhutanga Dhutanga (Pali ''dhutaṅga,'' si, ධුතාඞ්ග) or dhūtaguṇa (Sanskrit) is a group of austerities or ascetic practices taught in Buddhism. The Theravada tradition teaches a set of thirteen dhutangas, while Mahayana Buddhist sources t ...

practitioners. There are 4 mud huts in this area, and the occupants must go on almsround to the nearby villages. Meals are provided separately for the first three sections, yet some monks prefer going for alms.

Meditation

Na Uyana is one of the two principal meditation monasteries of the Yogasrama Samstha, along with

Nissarana Vanaya Nissarana Vanaya ( Sinhala: නිස්සරණ වනය) is a renowned meditation monastery in Sri Lanka. It is located in Mitirigala in the Western province close to the town of Kirindiwela. History Meetirigala Nissarana Vanaya is a mona ...

. The main meditation method taught is 'Pa-Auk Samatha Vipassana',http://www.nauyana.org/myfiles/Na_Uyana_Monastery_Information_2017_Ver_1.pdf and the senior meditation teacher is Ven. Ariyananda Thera. It was possible to have interviews with Ven. Ariyadhamma Mahathera, while he was there and before he passed away. Practitioners may join the group sittings conducted in the two main meditation halls, or continue on their own in their kutis. The Most Ven.

Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa , image = Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa.jpg , alt = Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa in Pyin U Lwin , other_name = Pa-Auk Sayadaw , website = , birth_date = , birth_place = Hinthada Township, Ayeyarwady, Myanmar , mother = Daw Saw ...

, the current

Pa-Auk Mawlamyine Township ( my, မော်လမြိုင်မြို့နယ်) is a township of Mawlamyine District in the Mon State of Myanmar. The principal town is Mawlamyine. Demographics 2014 The 2014 Myanmar Census reported that Maw ...

sayadaw A sayadaw ( my, ဆရာတော်, ; , and alternatively spelled ''hsayadaw'', ''sayado'', ''sayāḍo'' or ''sayāḍaw'') is a Burmese Buddhist title used to reference the senior monk or abbot of a monastery. Some distinguished sayadaws wo ...

, undertook a long-term personal retreat at Na Uyana Aranya in 2007, staying in seclusion and suspending his teaching schedule throughout the year.

Directions

Take the road to Madahapola at the Melsiripura junction (between

and

Dambulla Dambulla ( si, දඹුල්ල ''Dam̆bulla'', ta, தம்புள்ளை ''Tampuḷḷai'') is a town situated in the north of Matale District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre af ...

) on the A6 highway. At the Pansiyagama junction on the Madahapola road, take the road to Galewela. About 1 km on this road is the Na Uyana road, which leads to the monastery.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Na Uyana Aranya Official Website

{{Buddhism topics Buddhist monasteries in Sri Lanka Buddhist temples in Kurunegala District Theravada Buddhist monasteries Pa-Auk Society