Venarable Madawala Punnaji Maha Thera
Venerable Mahathera Punnaji has come to the West to
introduce his discoveries to intelligent readers who have an open mind
free from prejudice. He is a Researcher of the original teachings of
the Buddha, and has served in North America as a Teacher of Buddhism
and a Meditation Master, for nearly 30 years. He is well known for his
clear and accurate presentation of Buddhism and has grateful students
the world over. He has spent more than fifty years making an in-depth
intensive study of both the theory as well as the practice of Buddhism.
He studied various schools of Buddhist thought including what modern
scholars consider to be the earliest source of the teachings of the
Buddha, the Pali Nikaya. Venerable Punnaji is well-versed in Western fields
of scientific knowledge, including medicine, and has a thorough understanding
of comparative religions, philosophy and psychology. His interpretations
of the original teachings of the Buddha have been much enriched by these
forays beyond a mere study and practice of Buddhism. He has played a significant role in the dissemination
of Buddhism in the West and is well known to Buddhists in Canada, U.S.,
and abroad. Sought by many as a resourceful spiritual guide, Ven. Punnaji
shares his time between the Buddhist centres in Canada, the U.S. , Sri
Lanka and other countries. He is currently residing at the Sarathchandra
Meditation Centre, North Hollywood, California, USA.
The
founder and president of the Bhavana Society,
in W. Virginia, is Venerable
Henepola Gunaratana, a Sri Lankan who has been a monk since the age of
12, came to the United States in 1968 as general secretary of the Washington
Buddhist Vihara, itself the first Theravada Buddhist Vihara (or monks'
dwelling) in the United States.
Venerable Gunaratana is an internationally
recognized author and meditation instructor who blends life-long meditation
practice with in-depth knowledge of Buddhist teaching and its practical
application. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the American University
in Washington, , where he has served as chaplain, and down through the
years has taught courses in Buddhist thought and practice throughout the
U.S.A. and the world.
Venarable Madawala Seelawimala Maha Thera
Venerable Seelawimala is a Theravada Buddhist monk.
He was ordained as a novice in 1957 when he was ten years old and received
full ordination in 1968. After the necessary monastic training Venerable
Seelawimala attended University of Sri Lanka, majoring in Buddhist Philosophy.
In 1976 he was invited to join the teaching staff at the Institute of
Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, which is now affiliated with the Graduate
Theological Union. For the past 25 years he has been teaching Buddhism
at the graduate level to many Western students of religion. The courses
he teaches include Introduction to Buddhism, Principles of Buddhist
Meditation, Early Buddhist Texts, Buddhist Ethics, Major Buddhist Traditions
and Sanskrit. Ven. Seelawimala also has been serving many Buddhist
communities in the United States and Canada. Together with his teacher,
in 1978 he started the Toronto Maha Vihara, the first Theravada Buddhist
center in Canada. He also established the Buddhist temple in Vancouver,
British Columbia in 1989. While continuing to teach in Berkeley, he
is presently leading the Theravada center in Sacramento,
California.
Born on May 21, 1967 in the historical city of Kandy in
Sri Lanka, Bhante Upananda (Reverend Dedunupitiye Upananda), led by his own devotion in Buddha, was
ordained a novice monk at the age of 14. Having completed the required
monastic training, he received his full ordination at the age of 20.
In addition to his monastic education, he received national higher education and entered the University
of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka and graduated with a BA Honours degree in Pali
(language of the Buddha) and Japanese, and an MA in Buddhist Philosophy
respectively. From 1994 to 1997, Bhante Upananda was a lecturer in Buddhism
and Pali at the same university. He had this appointment until he resigned
and left for Singapore where he taught Buddhism for one and a half years
at a university college. Then he
came to Los Angeles where he taught Buddhism and meditation as a resident
teacher of a Buddhist centre in north Hollywood. In 2001, Bhante Upananda
immigrated to Canada. Currently he is the chief incumbent of the
Ehipassiko Buddhist
Centre, in Calagary, Alberta, Canada. He travels in different parts
of North America to teach Buddhism and meditation.
