Henepola Gunaratana

Information about Henepola Gunaratana

The Most Venerable Dr. Henepola Gunaratana Maha Thera
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Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk. He is often affectionately known as Bhante G.

Bhante is a title which literally means something like reverend sir in Pāli. In addition to being a polite form of address in Pāli conversation, it is commonly used as a term of respect for Theravada monks.

Early life

Henepola Gunaratana was born December 7, 1927 in the small Sri Lankan village of Henepola. He was ordained as a monk at the age of 12, and received his education at Vidyasekhara Pirivena, a monk's school at Gampaha. He received upasampada when he was 20, in Kandy.

Bhante Gunaratana attended higher education in Sri Lanka at Vidyalankara College in Kelaniya and the Buddhist Missionary College (an affiliate of the Maha Bodhi Society) in Colombo.

Missionary work

After his education, he was sent to India for missionary work as a representative of the Maha Bodhi Society. He primarily served the Untouchables in Sanchi, Delhi, and Bombay.

He also served as a religious advisor to the Malaysian Sasana Abhivurdhiwardhana Society, Buddhist Missionary Society, and Buddhist Youth Federation. Following this he served as an educator for Kishon Dial School and Temple Road Girl's School. He was also the principal of the Buddhist Institute of Kuala Lampur.

Arrival in the United States

Bhante Gunaratana came to the United States at the invitation of the Sasana Sevaka Society in 1968 in order to serve as the General Secretary of the Buddhist Vihara Society of Washington, D.C. He was elected president of the society twelve years later. While serving in this office, he has conducted meditation retreats and taught courses in Buddhist studies.

Since his arrival in the United States, he has expanded his scholarly knowledge by earning a bachelor's, master's, and doctorate in philosophy at American University. He has also taught graduate level courses on Buddhism at American University, Georgetown University, Bucknell University, and the University of Maryland, College Park. He also lectures at universities throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia. He is the author of the considerably influential work Mindfulness in Plain English.

Bhante Gunaratana is currently the abbot of the Bhavana Society, a monastery and meditation retreat center in High View, West Virginia. He opened the Bhavana Society in 1984 as a retreat and school to train and ordain monks, nuns and lay people to become future Dhamma and meditation teachers.

Published works

Public Comments

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is a very well respected chief monk in the Theravada branch of Buddhism. He is much loved the world over and has many students and disciples from all over the world. His immense wisdom and vast knowledge attract listeners from all traditions of Buddhism and other faiths and religions. As a highly revered monk, Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, has extensive experience in meditation, which he teaches on a regular basis. Although the renowned philosopher and highest-ranking monk in North America insist being referred to as Bhante G, to his followers he is known as the Most Venerable Dr. Henepola Gunaratana Maha Thera, the founder and abbot of Bhavana Society and Chief Monk of the U.S.A. Due to his simplicity and loving attitude to all he is able to reach out to everyone who comes his way. Some of his students have compared him to the equivalent of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and others claim he is a living Saint. The Most Venerable Dr. Henepola Gunaratana speaks with the simplest terminology, but somehow achieves to deliver the most positive results in meaning. His simple nature and smile draws much respect and love from everyone who knows him. With his great knowledge and use of the English language he continues to reach out to thousands every year through his travels around the world. With so many requests to teach around the world, Bhante G can only be found living at his residents, The Bhavana Society, in the United States part-time. With his loving presence, the Buddhist community is assured Arahants (Saints, Fully Enlightened Beings) are still teaching the Dhamma (teachings of the Buddha) in the world today. He has been called a living Buddha by many, but still he insists being called Bhante "G". Most are puzzled by his age when it comes to his energy and stamina. He continues to out paste those much younger than him in his daily walks time and again. Bhante G echoes the great teachings of the Buddha effortlessly through his sermons, workshops, books and simple nature. He is among only a handful of chief monks around the world who openly and verbally support the ordination of Theravada Buddhist nuns - a wonderful cause he is greatly applauded for. He claims Buddhism and meditation is not the second best, but the very best that has ever happened to him. More information can be found on the Most Venerable Dr. Henepola Gunaratana Maha Thera at www.bhavanasociety.org

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Buddhism is often described as a religion[1] and a collection of various philosophies, based initially on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Gautama Buddha.
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The History of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. This makes it one of the oldest religions practiced today.
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1st Buddhist council (c. 5th century BCE)

Main article: First Buddhist council
According to the scriptures of all Buddhist schools, the first Buddhist Council was held soon after the nirvana of the Buddha under the
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Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term. Below are given a number of important Buddhist terms, short definitions, and the languages in which they appear.
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The Four Noble Truths (Pali: Cattāri ariyasaccāni, Sanskrit: Catvāri āryasatyāni, Chinese: Sìshèngdì, Thai: อริยสัจสี่, Ariyasaj Sii
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Noble Eightfold Path (Pāli: Ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo; Sanskrit: Ārya 'ṣṭāṅga mārgaḥ; Chinese: 八正道, Bāzhèngdào; Japanese: 八正道,
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Śīla (Sanskrit) or sīla (Pāli) is usually rendered into English as "behavioral discipline", "morality", or ethics. It is often translated as "precept". It is an action that is an intentional effort.
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Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem, are the three things that Buddhists give themselves to, and in return look toward for guidance, in the process known as taking refuge.
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Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term. Below are given a number of important Buddhist terms, short definitions, and the languages in which they appear.
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Dukkha (Sanskrit duhkha) or unsatisfactoriness, 'dis-ease' (also often translated "suffering," though this is somewhat misleading). Nothing found in the physical world or even the psychological realm can bring lasting deep satisfaction.
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The five skandhas (Sanskrit) or khandhas (Pāli) are the five "aggregates" which categorize or constitute all individual experience according to Buddhist phenomenology.
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Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries.

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Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the consciousness of a person (as conventionally regarded), upon the death or dissolution of the aggregates (skandhas) which make up that person, becomes one of the contributing causes for the arising of a new group of skandhas which may
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For a general discussion of the concept, see Dharma.

Dharma (Sanskrit: धर्म) or Dhamma (Pāli: धम्म) in Buddhism has two primary meanings:
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Karma (Sanskrit: कर्मन karman, Pāli: कमा Kamma) means "action" or "doing"; whatever one does, says, or thinks is a karma.
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A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists.

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Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent and the founder of Buddhism.[1] He is generally recognized by Buddhists as the supreme Buddha (Sammāsambuddha) of our age.
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buddha   (help info ) (Sanskrit: Awakened) is any being who has become fully awakened (enlightened), and has experienced Nirvana.
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The four stages of enlightenment in Buddhism are the four degrees of approach to full enlightenment as an Arahant which a person can attain in this life. The four stages are Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami and Arahant.
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Buddhism

History of Buddhism

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Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of meditation techniques that develop mindfulness, concentration, tranquility and insight. Core meditation techniques are preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through the millennia of teacher-student
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In English translations of Buddhist literature, householder denotes a variety of terms. Most broadly, it refers to any layperson, and most narrowly, to a wealthy and prestigious familial patriarch.
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