Ledi Sayadaw
Ledi Sayadaw U Ñaṇadhaja (, ; 1 December 1846 – 27 June 1923) was an influential Theravada Buddhist monk. He was recognized from a young age as being developed in both the theory ( Abhidhamma) and practice of Buddhism and so was revered as being scholarly. He wrote many books on Dhamma in Burmese and these were accessible even to a serious lay person, hence he was responsible for spreading Dhamma to all levels of society and reviving the traditional practice of Vipassanā meditation, making it more available for renunciates and lay people alike. Biography Sayadaw began his studies at age 20 in Mandalay at Thanjaun. While there he was considered to be a bright and ambitious young monk but his work was scholarly; there is no evidence that Sayadaw engaged in a serious meditation practice during his years in Mandalay. Leaving Mandalay after a great fire in 1883 caused the loss of his home and his written work to that time, Sayadaw returned to the village of his youth. Soo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abhidhamma
The Theravada Abhidhamma tradition, also known as the Abhidhamma Method, refers to a scholastic systematization of the Theravāda school's understanding of the highest Buddhist teachings ( Abhidhamma). These teachings are traditionally believed to have been taught by the Buddha, though modern scholars date the texts of the ''Abhidhamma Piṭaka'' to the 3rd century BCE. Theravāda traditionally sees itself as the ''vibhajjavāda'' ("the teaching of analysis"), which reflects the analytical (''vibhajjati'') method used by the Buddha and early Buddhists to investigate the nature of the person and other phenomena. According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, a modern Theravāda scholar, the Abhidhamma is "simultaneously a philosophy, a psychology and an ethics, all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation."Bodhi (2000), p. 3. There are different textual layers of Abhidhamma literature. The earliest Abhidhamma works are found in the Pali Canon. Then there are exegetical works whi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theravada Buddhist Monks
''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhism), Dhamma'' in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia. The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a Indo-Aryan languages, classical Indian language, Pāli, which serves as the school's sacred language and ''lingua franca''.Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity'', p. 2. In contrast to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine (''pariyatti'') and monastic discipline (''vinaya''). One element of this Religious conservatism, conservatism is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras (which appeared onwards). Consequently, Theravāda generally does not recognize the existence of many Buddhas and bodhisattva ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, government, and service. It also caters to students from other Harvard schools that are interested in the former field. HDS is among a small group of university-based, non-denominational Divinity (academic discipline), divinity schools in the United States. History Harvard College was founded in 1636 as a Puritan/Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalist institution and trained ministers for many years. The separate institution of the Divinity School dates from 1816, when it was established as the first non-denominational divinity school in the United States. (Princeton Theological Seminary had been founded as a Presbyterian institution in 1812. Andover Theological Seminary was founded in 1807 by orthodox Ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mahasi Sayadaw
Mahāsī Sayādaw U Sobhana (, ; 29 July 1904 – 14 August 1982) was a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of vipassanā (insight) meditation in the West and throughout Asia. In his style of practice, derived from the so-called New Burmese Method of U Nārada, the meditator lives according to Buddhist morality as a prerequisite for meditation practice. Meditation itself entails the practice of "bare insight," using '' satipaṭṭhāna'', the four foundations of mindfulness, to anchor the attention on the sensations of the rising and falling of the abdomen during breathing, observing carefully any other sensations or thoughts. This is coupled to reflection on the Buddhist teachings on causality, thereby gaining insight into '' anicca'', '' dukkha'', and '' anattā'' and attaining stream entry. Mahāsī Sayādaw was a questioner and final editor at the Sixth Buddhist Council on May 17, 1954. Biography Mahās ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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SN Goenka
Satya Narayana Goenka (ISO 15919: ''Satyanārāyaṇa Gōyaṅkā''; ; 30 January 1924 – 29 September 2013) was an Indian teacher of '' vipassanā'' meditation. Born in Burma to an Indian business family, he moved to India in 1969 and started teaching meditation. His teaching emphasized that the Buddha's path to liberation was non-sectarian, universal, and scientific in character. He became an influential teacher and played an important role in establishing non-commercial Vipassana meditation centers globally. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2012, an award given for distinguished service of high order. Early life and background Born on 30 January 1924 in Burma to Indian parents from the Marwari ethnic group, Goenka grew up in a conservative Hindu household. He was a successful businessman, when in 1955 he started experiencing severe, debilitating migraines. Unable to find medical relief, and on the suggestion of a friend, he met with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mother Sayamagyi
Daw Mya Thwin, known as Mother Sayamagyi (, ; 12 March 1925 – 28 January 2017) was a Theravada Buddhist meditation teacher who has established centres for vipassana meditation around the world. She was a senior disciple of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, a vipassana master, and fulfilled his aspiration to teach Buddhist meditation in the West. Life and works Mya Thwin was born on 12 March 1925 in Moulmein, British Burma. She grew up with her grand parents as her mother died in child birth. Through her marriage to U Chit Tin she came into contact with Sayagyi U Ba Khin when her husband was transferred to the Accountant General's Office in Rangoon. Mya Thwin took her first course in 1953 at the International Meditation Centre (IMC) founded by Sayagyi U Ba Khin to teach meditation to his office staff. As her progress was very rapid, Sayagyi U Ba Khin visited her and her husband every day after the course and continued to teach her. In May of the same year, in a second 10-day course, she comp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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U Ba Khin
Sayagyi U Ba Khin (, ; 6 March 1899 – 19 January 1971) was the first Accountant General of the Union of Burma. He was the founder of the International Meditation Centre in Yangon, Myanmar and is principally known as a leading twentieth century authority on Vipassana meditation. Life and works Ba Khin was born in Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ... during the British colonial rule on 6 March 1899. He attended St. Paul’s High School and passed the final high school examination, winning a gold medal (for placing First in Burma) as well as a college scholarship. Family pressures forced him to discontinue his formal education to start earning money. His first job was with a Burmese newspaper called The Sun, but after some time he began working as an accou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Buddhist Publication Society
The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status, whose objective is to disseminate the teachings of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka, in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratna and Richard Abeyasekera, and a European-born Buddhist monk, Nyanaponika Thera. Originally conceived as a limited effort to publish small, affordable books on fundamental Buddhist topics, the Society expanded in scope in response to the reception of their early publishing efforts. The Buddhist Publication Society's publications reflect the perspective of the Theravada denomination of Buddhism, drawing heavily from the Pāli Canon for source material. The BPS supplies Buddhist literature to over 3,000 subscriber members in 80 countries. Its titles have been translated into many languages, including German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Hindi, and Chinese. Publications The Buddhist Publication Society publishes a variety o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wisdom Publications
The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) was founded in 1975 by Gelugpa Lamas Thubten Yeshe and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, who began teaching Tibetan Buddhism to Western students in Nepal. The FPMT has grown to encompass over 138 dharma centers, projects, and services in 34 countries. Lama Yeshe led the organization until his death in 1984, followed by Lama Zopa until his death in 2023. The FPMT is now without a spiritual director; meetings on the organization's structure and future are planned. Location The FPMT's international headquarters are in Portland, Oregon, United States. The central office has previously been located at: * 2000-2005 Taos, New Mexico * 1989-2000 Soquel, CaliforniaLand of Medicine Buddha * 1984-1989 Pomaia, Italy (Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa) * 1975-1984 Kathmandu, Nepal (Kopan Monastery) As of 2023, the FPMT has 138 centers, projects, and services in 34 countries worldwide, of which about 85 are dharma centers (monasteries an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chindwin River
The Chindwin River (), also known as the Ningthi River (), is a river in Myanmar and is the largest tributary of the Irrawaddy River. Sources The Chindwin originates in the broad Hukawng Valley of Kachin State of Burma, roughly , where the Tanai, the Tabye, the Tawan, and the Taron (also known as Turong or Towang) rivers meet. The headwaters of the Tanai are at on the Shwedaunggyi peak of the Kumon range, north of Mogaung. It flows due north until it reaches the Hukawng Valley. In 2004, the government established the world's largest tiger preserve in the Hukawng Valley, the Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, with an area of approximately ; later, the Sanctuary was extended to , making it the largest protected area in mainland Southeast Asia. The river then turns to the west and flows through the middle of the plain, joined by the Tabye, the Tawan, and the Taron rivers from the right bank. These rivers drain the mountain ranges to the north and northeast of the Hukawng valley. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |