Hello,
Dear friend.
In this audio,
I want to tell you about the teachers who made this course possible.
The Venerable Pa Aok Tauya Sayadaw is the abbot and chief teacher of the Pa Aok Forest Monastery.
In Burmese,
Sayadaw translates to respected teacher.
Pa Aok Sayadaw was born in 1934 in the village of Le Chaung in the Hinthada district,
About 100 miles northwest of Burma's capital,
Yangon.
In 1944,
At the age of 10,
He received novice ordination in the village monastery.
Over the following years,
Sayadaw delved into studying the Pali texts,
The Suttas,
Vinaya and Abhidhamma under various teachers.
As a samanera,
He passed three exams in the Pali language.
In 1954,
At the age of 20,
He took higher ordination as a bhikkhu and continued studying the ancient texts under senior monks.
In 1956,
He passed the prestigious Dhammacharya exam and was awarded the title of Teacher of the Dhamma.
For the next eight years,
Sayadaw continued studying the Dhamma,
Traveling throughout Burma to listen to renowned teachers.
In 1964,
During his 10th Vassa,
Rains retreat,
He began living in the forest and practicing meditation more intensively.
He continued studying the texts,
Seeking out respected meditation teachers and receiving guidance.
For the next 16 years,
Pa'auk Sayadaw made the forest his primary practice space.
Spending these years in southern Burma,
He lived a simple life,
Meditating and continuing his study of ancient texts.
In 1981,
The abbot of the Pa'auk Forest Monastery,
Agapana,
Called Sayadaw and asked him to look after the monastery before his passing.
Five days later,
Agapana passed away and the new abbot,
Achina,
Became known as Pa'auk Tauya Sayadaw.
Although he led the monastery,
He spent much of his time in seclusion,
Meditating in a bamboo hut in the upper part of the monastery,
Which later became known as the Upper Monastery.
Starting in 1983,
The monastery began attracting both monks and laypeople seeking to learn meditation under Sayadaw's guidance.
In the early 1990s,
The first foreigners visited the monastery.
Sayadaw's reputation grew,
And the Upper Monastery gradually expanded from one bamboo hut to over 200 monastic kuti.
A two-story meditation hall for men,
A library,
Clinic,
Hospital,
Offering hall,
Dining hall,
Guest reception area,
And a separate residence for Sayadaw were constructed.
In the Lower Monastery,
There were over 180 monastic kuti,
A dining hall,
A three-story meditation hall for women,
And a five-story dormitory.
By March 2007,
Over 130 foreign monks,
Nuns,
And laypeople were living in the monastery,
And during the rains retreat season,
This number grew to 600 to 700 people.
During festivals,
Around 1,
500 people would come to the monastery.
In 1997,
Pa Auk Sayadaw published a large five-volume book titled The Practice Leading to Nibbana,
Detailing the path of practice with citations from the Pali texts.
In 1999,
The Burmese government awarded Sayadaw the title of Agamaha Kamatanacharya,
Meaning Highly Respected Teacher of Meditation.
Pa Auk Sayadaw is fluent in English and has lectured outside Burma.
His international teaching began in 1997,
And in 2006,
He spent a full year in seclusion in Sri Lanka.
Since then,
He has been invited to lead long retreats in various countries,
Including the United States,
Germany,
And Malaysia.
Thank you for your attention.
Remember,
During the day,
You will need to listen to one more audio recording as part of your practice,
After which you can proceed to the meditation audio.
That's all for now.
Feel free to move on to the next audio recording.
