[Honore] Departed Dhamma teacher - Im Gedenken an Verstorbener Dhamma Lehrer

[Dhammañāṇa]

This should be a collection of projects, blogs and websites in dedication of deceased Bhikkhus, Bhikkhunis and Dhamma teacher. Please contribute such infos here.

Dies ist als eine Sammlung von Projekten, Blogs und Webseiten in Anerkennung an verstorbene Bhikkhus, Bhikkhunis und Dhammalehrer. Bitte teilen Sie solche Informationen hier.

[Dhammañāṇa]

Ñanavira Thera

Ñāṇavīra Thera (born Harold Edward Musson; 5 January 1920 – 5 July 1965) was an English Theravāda Buddhist monk, ordained in 1950 in Sri Lanka. He is known as the author of Notes on Dhamma, which were later published by Path Press together with his letters in one volume titled Clearing the Path. (source: Wikipedia ) more: Ñanavira Thera


Website: nanavira.org/

There are 200 web pages on this site, containing biographies, pictures, many writings of Ven. Ñānavīra Thera (Notes on Dhamma, other books and articles, letters), articles written by others, and more — all of which may be a bit overwhelming if you're new to the site or to the teachings of the Buddha and Ven. Ñānavīra. Here are some starting points to help you get oriented

[Dhammañāṇa]

Maha Ghosananda

(full title Samdech Preah Maha Ghosananda - សម្ដចព្រះមហាឃោសានន្ទ) (1929 – March 12, 2007) was a highly revered Cambodian Buddhist monk[1] in the Theravada tradition, who served as the Patriarch (Sangharaja) of Cambodian Buddhism during the Khmer Rouge period and post-communist transition period of Cambodian history. His Pali monastic name, 'Maha Ghosananda', means "great joyful proclaimer".[2] He was well known in Cambodia for his annual peace marches. (source: Maha Ghosananda - Wikipedia )

website: ghosananda.org/

"Our journey for peace begins today
and every day.
Each step is a prayer,
each step is a meditation,
each step will build a bridge."

Maha Ghosananda biography - video youtube


Maha Ghosananda on facebook

[Mirco]

The Venerable Sadhanananda Mahasthavira had been the foremost spiritual leader of the Buddhist community of Bangladesh.

English translations of his teachings:
Sermon of the Ariyasavaaka, Saadhanaananda Mahaathera (BanaBhante) (Series I)

___
Brief biography: https://banavantey.blogspot.com/2009/08/
Some info: https://sites.google.com/site/sutapaisawesome/
Dhamma talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBVJjicVBa0 (Bengali)

* Johann hat sich erlaubt den Link zu SERMON OF THE ARIYASĀVAKA auszutauschen, die Anlage zu entfernen (da über den Link erreichbar) und diesen Beitrag wieder dem "Gedenken an Verstorbene Dhammalehrer" Thema zuzuführen. 

[Dhammañāṇa]

Anagarika Dharmapala

(wikipedia )

"(17 September 1864 - 29 April 1933) was a Ceylonese Buddhist revivalist and writer. He was one of the founding contributors of Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalism and Buddhism. He was also a pioneer in the revival of Buddhism in India after it had been virtually extinct there for several centuries, and he was the first Buddhist in modern times to preach the Dharma in three continents: Asia, North America, and Europe. Along with Henry Steel Olcott and Helena Blavatsky, the creators of the Theosophical Society, he was a major reformer and revivalist of Ceylonese Buddhism and very crucial figure in its Western transmission. Dharmapala is one of the most revered Buddhists in the 20th century."

Vipassana Fellowship - Archive

Anagarika Dharmapala
(1864 - 1933)

    "The Blessed One made no distinction of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis, upasakas and upasikas. They were all to learn the Pali Dhamma and study it and proclaim it for the welfare of others. The consummation of the Brahmachariya life was not only for the Bhikkhus and the Bhikkhunis, but also for upasakas and upasikas. The door to Nibbana is open to all."

Anagarika Dharmapala - dhammawiki.com

"Just before he died in Sarnath in 1933 he said, I would like to be reborn twenty-five more times to spread Lord Buddha’s Dhamma. "

[Dhammañāṇa]

Germany 1990

Acarya Godwin Samararatne

Acarya Godwin Samararatne was one of the best known lay meditation teachers in Sri Lanka in recent times, based at his meditation Centre at Nilambe in the central hill country near Kandy. After his death in March 2000 letters and tributes poured in as many people around the world attested to the impact that Godwin and his teaching had made on their lives.

Godwin was born 6th September 1932. He grew up as one of seven children in a Kandy-based family, in the central hills of Sri Lanka. He attended a well-reputed Buddhist school, but later admitted to neglecting his studies there in favour of exploring the deeper philosophical questions of life. After school he became a Librarian, serving in libraries in and around the Kandy area before being promoted to the post of Chief Librarian at the main Kandy Public Library.

While his brothers and sisters all married, Godwin remained living at home, devotedly supporting his widowed mother until her death in 1977. By that time Godwin was already involved with a Buddhist lay group who were studying the Dhamma and practising meditation, so when in 1979 this group founded a Meditation Centre at Nilambe, at the top of a tea estate some distance outside Kandy, he gave up his work as a librarian and took up residence in the new Centre.

He subsequently became the Centre's chief meditation teacher. Godwin based his teaching on his own practice and the understanding he gained of the Dhamma through that. He had no particular teacher himself, but he discussed the Buddha's teachings widely with many experienced monks, scholars, and other meditators.

News soon spread about Godwin and the new Centre, passed on by word of mouth by those who had been there and benefited from their stay. Young Westerners especially who were seeking a spiritual dimension to their lives were attracted to the Centre, appreciating Godwin's ability to translate the Dhamma into a language relevant to people's everyday lives and concerns.Portrait, Sri Lanka, 1990s

Godwin's reputation as a meditation teacher grew steadily throughout the 80's both in Sri Lanka and abroad. By the mid-80's Godwin had already been invited to teach in Europe and South Africa, and he became over time an internationally acclaimed and much loved teacher.

In the 1990's his teaching tours extended to many more countries, including England, Germany, and Holland; and other Asian countries such as India, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Fortunately many of the talks and retreats he gave on these tours were recorded, and it is transcriptions of these recordings that form the heart of this website.

At the end of 1999 he made another teaching trip to South Africa and Botswana, and it was shortly after his return to Sri Lanka that he passed away on 22nd March 2000 in Peradeniya Hospital of a progressive liver disease. He was 67 years old.

What was so special about Godwin was that he lived what he taught - his teaching and his life were seamless. He had the marvellous ability to put the teachings of the Buddha concerning suffering and the way out of suffering into his own simple words which were relevant to the everyday lives and experience of the people he was speaking to, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist.

Godwin's deepest concern was to help people free themselves from their suffering, and having realised the fruits of the Buddha's teaching himself, he brought a great depth of wisdom and compassion to his explorations of the Dhamma with others. He also evinced a lightness, humour, and sense of the absurd, as much in his talks as in his day-to-day life.

His teaching style was direct and practical, and he always insisted that his students concentrate on the realities of their lives, rather than getting lost in theoretical speculation. With simple stories, similes and examples he was able to communicate the Dhamma he had imbibed so well to audiences who were perhaps unfamiliar with the often difficult language of the books.

What Godwin taught then was for us to explore and find out for ourselves the simple truth of the Dhamma in the context of our everyday lives, by putting the practice of awareness and loving-kindness at the centre of our lives, and thereby experiencing a natural unfolding of our inherent capacity for wisdom and compassion.Teaching Seriously, Sri Lanka, 1990s

Godwin didn't see meditation as being about having special experiences; rather he saw the spiritual path as encompassing the whole of life, and providing a set of tools for meeting all the challenges and difficulties of everyday life. By practising and consistently applying these tools he believed we could overcome our suffering and find a lightness, joy, and contentment in our lives just as they are.

Not only was he a living example of this himself, but so many meditators around the world who took to heart his teachings were able to experience the benefits of the practice, and the Centre where he taught for 20 years continues to this day to provide the opportunity for people from all different backgrounds to find the space and support for their own spiritual journey.

Jeanne Mynett,
Nilambe Meditation Centre,
January 2005

Godwin Home Page
godwin-home-page.net

Memorial Tributes (from Remembering Godwin, 2010)
Edited and Compiled by Dennis Candy and Sampath Dissanayake
Copyright © 2010 Nilambe Buddhist Meditation Centre Trust Board (used with permission)

Memorial Tributes in PDF Format

Foreword

By Bhikkhu Bodhi
(Pali scholar and translator, President of the Buddhist Publication Society)

As a predominantly Theravada Buddhist country, Sri Lanka has secured its place in the international Buddhist arena primarily through its distinguished monastic order, which has included some of the most erudite and eloquent monks of the modern world. However, in addition to its monks, Sri Lanka can also boast of a corps of outstanding lay Buddhist teachers who have achieved international renown as scholars, thinkers, preachers, and spiritual guides. Among these are Anagarika Dharmapala, who spearheaded the Buddhist revival in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; the Buddhist scholars G.P. Malalasekera, O.H. de A. Wijesekera, and Lily De Silva; the philosophers K.N. Jayatilleke, David Kalupahana, Y. Karunadasa, and P.D. Premasiri; and the social activist and proponent of peace, A.T. Ariyaratne, founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana movement.

Belonging to this same current of eminent lay teachers was a quiet, thoughtful, and serene resident of Kandy named Godwin Samararatne, with whom I had the fortune to be closely associated during my twenty-three years living in Sri Lanka. I first met Godwin within two months of my arrival in Sri Lanka, in late 1972, when I was visiting the great German elder Ven. Nyanaponika at the Forest Hermitage. At the time, Godwin was working as librarian at the Kandy Municipal Library, but his keen interest in Buddhism, psychology, and human spirituality often drew him to the Forest Hermitage to borrow books and discuss ideas with Ven. Nyanaponika. It was Ven. Nyanaponika's books, The Heart of Buddhist Meditation and The Power of Mindfulness, that inspired Godwin to take up the practice of meditation. Within a decade his commitment to the practice had become so serious that he left his job as librarian to become a full-time meditator, then a local meditation teacher, and finally an international meditation teacher.

For close to twenty years, Godwin had been the resident teacher at the Nilambe Meditation Centre in the lovely Sri Lankan hill country. He had also taught meditation at the Lewella and Visakha Meditation Centres (two affiliates of Nilambe), in Kandy itself, at the University of Peradeniya, at private homes, and at the Buddhist Publication Society. But Godwin did not belong to Sri Lanka alone. He belonged to the whole world, and he was loved and esteemed by people around the globe. Thousands of people from many lands came to Nilambe to practise under his guidance, and they also invited him to their own countries to conduct meditation courses and retreats. Thus for over two decades Godwin had become an international Buddhist figure, constantly in demand in countries ranging from Europe to Singapore and Hong Kong. He was also a regular visitor to South Africa, where he conducted his last meditation retreat just months before his death.

What was so impressive about Godwin was not what he did but what he was. I can say that Godwin was above all a truly selfless person, and it was this utter selflessness of the man that accounts for the impact he had on the lives of so many people. I use the word "selflessness" to describe Godwin in two interrelated senses. First, he was selfless in the sense that he seemed to have almost no inner gravitational force of a self around which his personal life revolved: no pride, no ambition, no personal projects aimed at self-aggrandizement. He was humble and non-assertive, not in an artificial self-demeaning way, but as if he had no awareness of a self to be effaced. Hence as a meditation teacher he could be utterly transparent, without any trips of his own to lay on his students.

This inward "emptiness" enabled Godwin to be selfless in the second sense: as one who always gave first consideration to the welfare of others. He empathized with others and shared their concerns as vividly as if they were his own. In this respect, Godwin embodied the twin Buddhist virtues of loving-kindness and compassion, metta and karuna. Even without many words, his dignified presence conveyed a quietude and calm that spoke eloquently for the power of inner goodness, for its capacity to reach out to others and heal their anxiety and distress. It was this deep quietude and almost tangible kindness that drew thousands of people to Godwin and encouraged them to welcome him into their lives. The trust they placed in him was well deposited, for in an age when so many popular "gurus" have gained notoriety for their unscrupulous behaviour, he never exploited the confidence and good will of his pupils.

Though Godwin taught the practice of Buddhist meditation, particularly the "way of mindfulness," he did not try to propagate "Buddhism" as a doctrine or religious faith, much less as part of an exotic cultural package. His inspiration came from the Dhamma as a path of inner transformation whose effectiveness stemmed primarily from its ability to promote self-knowledge and self-purification. He saw the practice of meditation as a way to help people help themselves, to understand themselves better and change themselves for the better. He emphasized that Buddhist meditation is not a way of withdrawing from everyday life, but of living everyday life mindfully, with awareness and clear comprehension, and he taught people how to apply the Dhamma to the knottiest problems of their personal lives.

By not binding the practice of meditation to the traditional religious framework of Buddhism, Godwin was able to reach out and speak to people of the most diverse backgrounds. For him there were no essential, unbridgeable differences between human beings. He saw people everywhere as just human beings beset by suffering and searching for happiness, and he offered the Buddha's practice of mindfulness as an experiential discipline leading to genuine peace of heart. Hence he could teach people from such different backgrounds - Western, Asian, and African; Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim; Sri Lankan Theravadins and Chinese Mahayanists - and all could respond readily to his guidance. If it was not for a chronic liver condition that he had patiently endured for years, with hardly a word of complaint, Godwin might well have lived on to actively teach the way of mindfulness for at least another decade. But this was not to be, for in late February of the year 2000, almost immediately upon his return from a teaching engagement in South Africa, his illness deteriorated and a month later claimed his precious life.

It is an act of merit that several of his students and Dhamma friends have decided to collect into a single volume a number of his discourses as well as personal tributes to this gentle ambassador of the Dhamma whose life touched so many. This volume will help to keep his legacy alive for years to come, enabling us to long bear in our hearts the memory of this calm, gentle personality.

Bhikkhu Bodhi,
Bodhi Monastery, U.S.A

[Dhammañāṇa]

Editor’s note: The following is another is the occasional series about Ven Ñāṇavimala, the revered German asctic monk who passed away in 2005. It comes this time was one of the venerable monk’s long-time supporters, Mrs. Ayoma Wickramasinghe. When Ven. Ñāṇavimala was in Colombo he would often stay in an annex of the Wickramasinghes’ residence in Colombo 7, and resided there for some time. Also for a couple of years he lived on one of the Wickramasinghe’s estates near Horana, and Ayoma was therefore very familiar with him.
The Most Venerable Ñāṇavimala Thero was one of my dearly beloved Teachers who sadly passed away in 2005. My first guru was the Most Venerable Webu Sayadaw of Burma. In my close observation and association with both of them, I was convinced, in fact, I know, they had completed their journey in this most miserable, horrifying, and endless saṁsāra. They were Heroes who purified themselves fully with great wisdom and indefatigable and never ending endeavour. How very lucky they are! How I wish, and wish, I could emulate them fully. How wonderful it must be to have Complete Peace within, with no āsavas hammering away! ...

Please feel invited to visit the whole story: My Spiritual Father (Ven. Nyanavimala)

 

[Dhammañāṇa]

Eine Interview über Ven. Nyanavimala von Bhante Guttasila ist hier zu finden: [English] Bhante Guttasila remembers Ven Nyanavimala . Eine schriftliche Aufzeichnung mag man im Buchshop als Arbeiten von Dr. Hecker finden oder hier ein kostenpflichtiger Download oder wenn man ein Facebook Mitglied ist:

The Life of Ñāṇavimala Thera
 
[23.11.1911 – 10.10.05]Posted by Anandajoti on Sunday, 6th May, 2012http://records.photodharma.net/ Editor’s Note: The following was written by Bhikkhu Ñāṇatusita and Bhikkhu Bodhi shortly after thepassing away of Ven. Ñāṇavimala. It was first published in the Buddhist Publication Society’s Newsletter in 2005. It has the most complete account of Ven. Ñāṇavimala’s life story to date. Two other articles about the venerable monk can be found on this blog: Ajahn Brahm meets Ven. Ñāṇavimala and Chittapala’s Ven. Ñāṇavimala’s Advice

 
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[Dhammañāṇa]

Erinnerung und Würdigung an unseren Maha Thera Dr. Georg Grimm
www.die-lehre-des-buddho.de



Georg Grimm (1868-1945)

Georg Grimm hat wesentliche Teile von Buddhas Lehrreden aus den alten Pali-Texten neu übersetzt und vielen Interessierten verständlich dargelegt. Um zur Erhaltung und Verbreitung seiner herausragenden Werke beizutragen, ist diese Internetseite entstanden. Das ist uns ein Bedürfnis und zugleich tiefer Wunsch, weil Georg Grimm unser buddhistischer Lehrer war und ist. Ebenso mögen diese Inhalte auch noch manchem „religiösen Sucher“ Leitfaden und Wegweiser sein. Der Leser kann durch Hingabe und Vertiefung in diese Schriften „rechte Erkenntnis“ gewinnen.

Georg Grimm erfährt weltweit Würdigung durch uns, seine Schüler und treuen Anhänger, denn er hat uns die ursprüngliche Buddha-Lehre zugänglich gemacht.  Er hat uns den beispiellosen Weg gezeigt, der zum vollkommenen Glück führt. Dieser Aufgabe weihte Grimm sein ganzes Leben. Seine Darlegungen der Reden des Buddha sind unsere wertvollsten Begleiter.

Georg GRIMM
www.georg-grimm.at


Georg Grimm (1868-1945)

Willkommen

Georg Grimm war einer der geistesmächtigsten und überzeugendsten Verkünder der Buddhalehre im deutschsprachigen Raum und weit darüber hinaus.

Er gilt als der Wiederentdecker der religiös-philosophischen Natur der Buddhalehre und ihrer fundamentalen, zentralen Anattā-Lehre, die dem Verständigen auch gerade in dieser Zeit hier und für die Große Zukunft nach dem Tode Führung gibt.

Durch seine mächtig aus ihm strahlende Überzeugungskraft und durch sein Richtung weisendes Beispiel zog Georg Grimm viele Menschen in den Bann der Buddhalehre, und sein Werk gilt bis heute als unübertroffene Darlegung des Saddhammā, der guten Wirklichkeitslehre des Vollkommen-Erwachten.

Die vorliegende Darstellung versucht, mit Hilfe des Internets an Georg Grimm zu erinnern, das Gedenken an ihn hochzuhalten, und ihn, so gut es geht, zu würdigen. Vielleicht gelingt es auch, ohne damit vermessene Ansprüche stellen zu wollen, da und dort, bei Vorhandensein tieferen Interesses, zum Studium der Werke Georg Grimms und damit zum Sich-Befassen mit der Buddhalehre anzuregen. Führt dieses Studium zu ernsthafter Praxis, hat das auf dieser Website Dargebotene mehr als seinen beabsichtigten Zweck erfüllt.

Namo Buddhāya!

Blog:

FRÜH-BUDDHISMUS
Die Lehre des Buddha aus der Sicht des Früh-Buddhismus
frueh-buddhismus.blogspot.com

Herzlich Willkommen!

Wir freuen uns, dass Sie sich für die Lehre des Buddha interessieren. Unsere Absicht ist es, anhand der Vielheit der Themen, verschiedene Lehrer zu Wort kommen zu lassen; vor allem natürlich Dr. Georg Grimm. Sie können auch gerne einen Kommentar an uns abschicken, wir werden alsbald antworten.

Die Hauptseite des Frühbuddhismus finden Sie unter:

www.Die-Lehre-des-Buddho.de

Viele Mettagrüße