Ledi Sayadaw
Ledi Sayadaw U Ñānadhaja Template:My | |
|---|---|
 The Venerable Ledi Sayadaw | |
| Title | Sayadaw |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1 December 1846 (13th waxing of Nadaw 1208 ME) |
| Died | 27 June 1923 (aged 76) |
| Nationality | Burmese |
| Education | Agga Maha Pandita, D.Litt. (Hons.) |
| Occupation | Buddhist monk |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Theravada |
| Lineage | Ledi |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Ledi Monastery, Pyinmana |
Students
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Ledi Sayadaw U Ñanadhaja (Template:Lang-my, Template:IPA-my; 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 and practice of Buddhism and so was revered as being both scholarly and saintly. 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 vipassana meditation, making it more available for renunciates and lay people alike.
It is claimed by some that he learned the technique of Vipassana still being taught in the caves of the Sagaing Hills. However, Ledi himself is not know to have ever made such a claim, and there appears to be no reference anywhere to Ledi ever having learned meditation from any teacher. Thus Erik Braun concludes "What seems likely, in fact, given Ledi's textual focus, is that he formulated his own method out of the texts". [1]
After developing his technique, he began to teach it to others. His vihara (monastery) was in Ledi village near the town of Monywa. There he meditated most of the time and taught the other bhikkhus. Among Ledi's disciples, Theik-cha-daung Sayadaw(1871-1931) and Mohnyin Sayadaw(1872-1964) are well-known. [2] Theik-cha-daung Sayadaw taught the layman Saya Thetgyi, who would go on to receive training from Ledi himself. [3] Thetgyi's lineage continues to the present, the most prominent being Ba Khin and his disciple [Mother Sayamagyi Daw Mya Thwin]. Previously only the monks were taught vipassana.
In 1885, he wrote the Nwa-myitta-sa (Template:My), a poetic prose letter that argued that Burmese Buddhists should not kill cattle and eat beef, since Burmese farmers depended on them as beasts of burden to maintain their livelihoods, that the marketing of beef for human consumption threatened the extinction of buffalo and cattle and that the practice and was ecologically unsound.[4] He subsequently led successful beef boycotts during the colonial era, despite the presence of beef eating among locals and influenced a generation of Burmese nationalists in adopting this stance.[4]
At other times he travelled throughout Myanmar. Because of his knowledge of pariyatti (theory), he was able to write many books on Dhamma in both Pali and Burmese languages such as, Paramattha-dipani (Manual of Ultimate Truth), Nirutta-dipani, a book on Pali grammar and The Manuals of Dhamma. At the same time he kept alive the pure tradition of patipatti (practice) by teaching the technique of Vipassana to a few people.
Ledi Sayadaw was perhaps the most outstanding Buddhist figure of his age. He was instrumental in reviving the traditional practice of Vipassana, making it more available for renunciates and lay people alike. In addition to this most important aspect of his teaching, his concise, clear and extensive scholarly work served to clarify the experiential aspect of Dhamma. Many of his works are still available, including in English through the Buddhist Publication Society.
Writings
- Manual of Insight (Vipassanā Dīpanī)
- Manual of Conditional Relations (Patthanuddesa Dīpanī)
- Manual of Right Views (Vipassanā Dīpanī)
- Manual of the Four Noble Truths (Catusacca Dīpanī)
- Manual of the Factors of Enlightenment (Bodhipakkhiya Dīpanī)
- Manual of the Constituents of the Path (Magganga Dīpanī)
- Five Kinds of Light (Alin Kyan)
- 5 Questions on Kamma; Anattanisamsā
References
- ^ Ledi Sayadaw, Abhidhamma, and the development of the modern insight meditation movement in Burma - Braun, Erik Christopher
- ^ Ledi Sayadaw, Abhidhamma, and the development of the modern insight meditation movement in Burma - Braun, Erik Christopher
- ^ Ledi Sayadaw, Abhidhamma, and the development of the modern insight meditation movement in Burma - Braun, Erik Christopher
- ^ a b Charney, Michael (2007). "Demographic Growth, Agricultural Expansion and Livestock in the Lower Chindwin in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries". In Greg Bankoff, P. Boomgaard (ed.). A history of natural resources in Asia: the wealth of nature. MacMillan. pp. 236–40. ISBN 978-1-4039-7736-6.
External links
- On-line Collection of Writings of Ven. Ledi Sayadaw
- "Ven Ledi Sayadaw". Vipassana Research Institute. Retrieved 23 December 2011. A longer bio of Ledi Sayadaw
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