Most Ven. Mātara Sri Ñāṇārāma Mahā Thera (December 11, 1901 – April 30, 1992) (spelled Ñāṇārāma in
Pali
Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
, sometimes called Gnanarama or Nyanarama in Sinhala, Sinhala: අති පූජ්ය මාතර ශ්රී ඤාණාරාම මහා ථේර) was an influential Sri Lankan meditation master, scholar and forest monk of the 20th century.
Childhood
On December 11, 1901, Dedduwa Jayathungage Don Bastian, from Bajjima Village in Tikkannagoda (now known as Uduwe) in the deep south of Sri Lanka, welcomed the birth of a son. Named Don Dias Jayathunga, the devoted parents dedicated their young child to the service of the Buddha Sasana on his seventh birthday, placing him under the guidance of Ven. Dedduwe Wimalajothi of Aliyatholla Temple, who was a family relative from his lay life.
Ordination
Young Jayathunga was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
in December 1917 with the given name of Ven Matara Nanarama under the patronage of Ven Matale Aggadhammalankara Thera. Young
samanera
A (Pali; ), is a novice male monk in a Buddhist context. A female novice nun is in , and in or . In Tibetan Buddhism, a female novice nun is known by the Tibetan language term , and a male novice monk is a .higher ordination on 10 July 1922 under Ven Sastrawelliye Upasena Nayaka Thera.
Bent on experiencing wisdom, Ven. Nanarama gave up almost all mundane comforts for the sake of the final goal. Some nights he spent without a wink of sleep absorbed in the study of Suttas. Having mastered all the aspects of Tipitaka, Logics, Chandolankara, and other contemporary philosophies, the young Nanarama pursued on the path to
Nibbana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
with diligent practice.
Meditation Master
In 1951 the Most Venerable
Kadawedduwe Jinavamsa Mahathera
Most Ven. Kaḍaveddūve Shrī Jinavaṁsa Mahāthera (1 April 1907 – 13 July 2003) (Pali: Siri Jinavaṃsa, sometimes spelled Jinawansa, Sinhala: අති පූජ්ය කඩවැද්දූවේ ශ්රී ජිනව ...
started a programme of activities for upholding the diminishing status of Sangha in Sri Lanka, and invited Ven Nanarama to head the program of the newly established
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha
Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Saṁsthā (, ), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part of the Sri Lankan Amarapura–Rāmañña Nikāya Buddhist ordination line, with their headquarters in Galduva, Kahawa, Ambalangoda. ...
. This organization was set up as an association of hundreds of forest monasteries throughout Sri Lanka of the Ramanna Nikaya ordination line. Young monks were properly trained in the monastic code, connections with the Burmese Sangha were intensified and meditation training was guided by Ven. Nanarama.
During the auspicious year of 2500 Buddha Jayanthi several Burmese meditation masters arrived in Sri Lanka. Ven Matara Nanarama Thera joined the retreats conducted by these excellent teachers at the Danawkande Sri Mangala Yogasramaya, and advanced rapidly on the path of insight meditation. Having observed the extraordinary talent and zeal of Venerable Nanarama, the Burmese masters taught him every aspect of the practice and acknowledged his status as a Kammatthanacariya (Meditation teacher) in the Burmese Vipassana system.
Nissarana Vanaya
During this time another rare opportunity opened up for the advancement of sasana in Sri Lanka. The Buddhist philanthropist Asoka Weeraratna who selected a land and developed the forest hermitage at Meethirigala, called Nissarana Vanaya, was searching for a teacher to head this meditation center for Bhikkhus. Mr Weeraratna was able to persuade Venerable Nanarama Thera to take up this position. At this Nissarana Vanaya countless Bhikkus and lay devotees both local and foreign received instructions for their advancement on the path and many reaped benefit. Some of these instructions were recorded on tape and were made available in printed form as well. The recorded talks can be downloaded from the internet. Several books written based on the talks have been translated to western languages and have helped hundreds of seekers in the west.
A few years later Venerable
Katukurunde Nanananda Thera
Ven. Kaṭukurunde Ñāṇananda Mahāthera (10 July 1940 – 22 February 2018) (sometimes spelled Nyanananda or Nanananda in English language, English, sometimes called Gnanananda in Sinhala language, Sinhala: පූජ්ය කටු ...
, a former Pali lecturer at the
University of Peradeniya
The University of Peradeniya (, ) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka, University Grants Commission. It is the largest university in Sri Lanka, which was origin ...
joined Nissarana Vanaya and became one the closest disciples of Venerable Nanarama Thera. Other leading monks included Venerable Khemananda and Dhammajiva.
Venerable Sri Matara Nanarama Thera died on 30 April 1992 and the cremation took place on 7 May 1992 among thousands of devotees at the Galduwa Yogasrama premises.
See also
*
Kadawedduwe Jinavamsa Mahathera
Most Ven. Kaḍaveddūve Shrī Jinavaṁsa Mahāthera (1 April 1907 – 13 July 2003) (Pali: Siri Jinavaṃsa, sometimes spelled Jinawansa, Sinhala: අති පූජ්ය කඩවැද්දූවේ ශ්රී ජිනව ...
*
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha
Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Saṁsthā (, ), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part of the Sri Lankan Amarapura–Rāmañña Nikāya Buddhist ordination line, with their headquarters in Galduva, Kahawa, Ambalangoda. ...
Monks
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...