Medawi (; 1728–1816) was a Burmese

Theravada ''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 (Buddhi ...

Buddhist monk credited with being the first author of extant modern vipassanā manuals and thus may have been the first practitioner in the modern

vipassana movement The Vipassanā movement refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (''sukha-Vipassana'') meditation practice to develop insight into the three marks of existence and attain stream entry. It gained ...

. Medawi's first manual dates from 1754. Medawi was highly critical of the Burmese attitude at the time, which did not see meditation as important and did not believe that enlightenment was possible at the time due to the decline of the Buddha's teachings. Most believed that the only option left was to make enough

merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Buddhism) * Merit (Christianity) Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes * Merit Energy Company, an international energy company * Merit Motion Pictures, an independent documentar ...

to be reborn in the presence of the future Buddha, Metteya.Pranke, Patrick. On saints and wizards, Ideals of human perfection and power in contemporary Burmese Buddhism In his 1756 meditation text ''Nama-rupa-nibbinda Shu-bwe'' Medawi argues that the decline of the Buddha's "religion of practice" (paṭipatti sāsana) is individual, only to the extent that someone has given up practicing has the sasana truly declined:

Should anyone ever believe, ‘I am unable to practice even so much as is necessary to attain the path and fruit of stream-entry!’ and n the basis of this beliefonly abandon what should be abandoned… and being content with the moral purity so attained, not engage in any further practice, then for that person it can be said that the religion of practice has gone extinct.

Medawi's meditation manual focuses on the

three marks of existence In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: ''tilakkhaṇa''; Sanskrit: त्रिलक्षण ''trilakṣaṇa'') of all existence and beings, namely '' anicca'' (impermanence), '' dukkha'' (commonly translated ...

and the

five aggregates ' (Sanskrit) or ( Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings, clusters". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the perpetual process of craving, cl ...

, and cites Pali textual sources. He wrote over thirty meditation manuals. His teachings were promoted by the court of the Burmese king Bodaw-hpaya (r. 1782–1819) who gave him a title and an endowment. According to Patrick Pranke, Medawi's efforts may have been instrumental in changing the attitudes of the Burmese

Sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

, making them more likely to accept the possibility that

arahant In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved '' Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. The und ...

ship was possible through

Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are ''bhavana, bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and ''Dhyāna in Buddhism, jhāna/dhyāna'' (a state of me ...

in the present era and leading to the widespread adoption of vipassana practices by monks.

References

Theravada Buddhist monks Burmese Buddhist monks Scholars of Buddhism 18th-century Buddhists 19th-century Buddhists Burmese philosophers Burmese scholars of Buddhism 1728 births 1816 deaths {{Theravada-stub