Nyanaponika Thera
Encyclopedia
Nyanaponika Thera or Nyaniponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901, Hanau
– 19 October 1994, Forest Hermitage, Kandy
, Ceylon) was a German-born Sri-Lanka-ordained Theravada
monk, co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society
http://www.bps.lk, contemporary author of numerous seminal Theravada books, and teacher of contemporary Western Buddhist leaders such as Bhikkhu Bodhi
.
Detailed Biography:
Ven. Nyanaponika Thera (Siegmund Feniger) was born in Hanau
, Germany on July 21, 1901 as Siegmund Feniger, the only child of a Jewish family.
In 1922, he moved with his parents to Berlin
, where he met with other German Buddhists and also had access to Buddhist literature in German language. He first came across the writings of Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera (1878–1957), the former German violin virtuoso Anton Gueth, which had already been published in Germany. Young Siegmund had learned Ven. Nayanatiloka Thera had established a monastery for Western Monks on an island lagoon (opposite the Railway station) Polgasduwa, Dodanduwa named Island Hermitage. This news stirred his conscience to go to Asia and become a Buddhist Monk.
However this expectation did not concretecize for some time. In 1932, his father died and did not wish to leave his widowed mother in the lurch. Then Adolf Hitler
came to power in Germany.
In November 1935, he left Germany along with his mother to Vienna
, where they had relatives. Having arranged his mother to stay in Vienna, in early 1936 he left Europe for Sri Lanka and joined Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera at the Island Hermitage, Polgasduwa, Dodanduwa.
After several months of studies in June 1936 he was ordained as a novice under the name Nyanaponika and in 1937 was conferred Higher Ordination (Upasampada), under the Tutelage of Nyanatiloka Thera.
In 1939, after the Nazis invaded Poland
, Ven. Nyanaponika Thera arranged for his mother and other relatives to come over to Sri Lanka. Through the influence of her son and the generous hosts she embraced Buddha Dhamma and became a devoted Buddhist lady. She died in Colombo in 1956.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, and the British Government had all German males resident in their colonies consigned for interment suspecting them to be German spies. The interment was first at Diyatalawa
Army cantonment in Sri Lanka and later at Dehra Dun in northern India.
Despite these traumatic experiences as prisoner of war, during this period, Ven. Nayanaponika Thera completed the German translations of the Sutta Nipata, the Dhammasangani (the first book of the Abhidhamma Pitaka) and its commentary. He also compiled an anthology of texts on Satipattana Meditation. That was when at Diyatalawa and the balance writing of what Ven. Nyanaponiak Thera began was concluded at Dehra Dun, India.
With the cessation of war, the two Bhikkhus were released from interment at Dehra Dun and returned to Sri Lanka in 1946 and resided at the Island Hermitage, Dodanduwa. In early 1951 they were conferred citizenship of Sri Lanka.
In 1946, Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera was offered a hermitage in the Udawattekelle Forest Reserve, and being advanced in age preferred the cooler climate of Kandy rather than to the hot and stuffy sea - coast climate of Dodanduwa. In 1947, Ven. Nyanaponika Thera too joined him at the new Kandy Hermitage.
In 1952, both Venerable Nyanatiloka Thera and Nyanaponika There were invited by the Burmese (Myanmar) Government for consultation in preparation of the Sixth Buddhist Council, to be convened in 1954 to re-edit and reprint the entire Pali Canon and its commentaries. On the conclusion of the consultations Ven. Nyanaponika Thera stayed in Burma for a period of training in Insight Meditation (Vipassana) under the renowned meditation teacher Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw Thera.
The experience he gathered motivated him to write his best known work, The Heart of Buddhist meditation published by Buddhist Publication Society with many editions and translated into more than seven languages. This is a prescribed text in universities in the Study of Buddhism.
In 1954, the teacher and the pupil returned to Burma for the opening ceremonies of the Council, which was held in a cave-structure built similar to the Sattaprani Caves in Rajagaha (Rajgir) of India, where first Buddhist Council was held. For the closing ceremonies in 1956 Ven. Nyanaponika Thera went to Burma alone as his teacher was indisposed.
In 1957, the health of Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera deteriorated and he moved to Colombo for easy and ready medical attention. Finally on May 28, 1957, the great pioneering scholar monk died and was accorded a State Funeral at the Independence Square, Colombo attended by the Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, many State officials, both the laity and religious dignitaries and prelates of all Nikayas.
His ashes were enshrined at the Polgasduwa Island Hermitage, Dodanduwa and a tombstone was built to perpetuate his memory. Ven. Nyanaponika Thera, thereafter keeping up to the request of his teacher, revised Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera's German translation of the complete Anguttara Nikaya, retyping the five volumes in full by himself, and also compiling a forty paged index to the work.
Six months after the death of his teacher, the career of Ven. Nyanaponika Thera was to be launched in a new direction, a permanent contribution to the spread of Buddhism worldwide. A prominent lawyer in Kandy A.S. Karunaratne suggested to his friend, Trinity College
teacher in retirement Richard Abeysekera, that they start a society for the publication of Buddhist literature in English, mainly to be distributed abroad. The unanimous decision was Ven. Nyanaponika Thera in the Udawattekelle Forest Reserve Aramaya would be the best director of the Institution. Thus on the New year's Day of 1958, the Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) was born.
Devoting his entire time and energy to writings of the society, he wrote tracts, encouraged others to write, collated important Suttas, translated them and had them published. In addition to his own writings he had 200 Wheel titles and 100 Bodhi Leaves (booklets) authored by numerous scholars and books were issued during his editorship of the BPS.
Ven. Nayanaponika Thera's biography is completely submerged in his writings. With advancing age having a heavy toll on his strength, in 1984, Ven. Nayanaponika Thera retired as editor of BPS and in 1988 he retired as President, accepting appointments as BPS's distinguished Patron. His fame and recognition as an exponent of authentic Theravada Buddhism reached all corners of the globe.
In 1978, the German Oriental Society appointed him an honorary member in recognition of his combination of objective scholarship with religious practice as a Buddhist Monk. In 1987, the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka
at its first convocation, conferred on him its first ever Honoris Causa Degree of Doctor of Literature.
In 1990, he received the Honoris Causa Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Peradeniya
. In 1993, The Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha to which he belonged for 56 years, conferred on him the honorary title of Amarapura Maha Mahopadhyaya Sasana Sobhana (The Great Mentor of the Amarapura Maha Sasana Sabha, Ornament of Teaching).
His last birthday which fell on July 21, 1994, was celebrated by his friends and the BPS staff with the release of the BPS edition of his book. The Vision of Dhamma, a collection of his writings from Wheel and Bodhi leaves series. On the 19th of October 1994, the last day of his 58th Rains Retreat as a Bhikkhu, he breathed his last in the pre-dawn quietude of the Udawattekelle forest hermitage.
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
– 19 October 1994, Forest Hermitage, Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
, Ceylon) was a German-born Sri-Lanka-ordained Theravada
Theravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
monk, co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society
Buddhist Publication Society
The Buddhist Publication Society is a charity whose goal is to explain and spread the doctrine of the Buddha. It was founded in Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan Buddhist laymen, A.S. Karunaratna and Richard Abeyasekera, and a European-born Buddhist monk, Nyanaponika Thera...
http://www.bps.lk, contemporary author of numerous seminal Theravada books, and teacher of contemporary Western Buddhist leaders such as Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi , born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York/New Jersey area...
.
Chronology
- 1901: born Siegmund Feniger in Germany.
- 1936: moved to Sri Lanka, Island HermitageIsland HermitageIsland Hermitage on Dodanduwa Island, Galle District, Sri Lanka is a famous Buddhist forest monastery founded by Ven. Nyanatiloka Mahathera in 1911. It has an excellent English and German library...
, where he was ordained as a Buddhist monk by Ven. NyanatilokaNyanatilokaNyanatiloka Mahathera , born as Anton Gueth, was one of the earliest westerners in modern times to become a Bhikkhu, a fully ordained Buddhist monk.-Early life and education:...
Thera (1878–1957). - 1958: helped to found the Buddhist Publication Society:
- served as editor-in-chief until 1984,
- served as president until 1988.
- 1994: died at the Forest Hermitage outside of Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Detailed Biography:
Ven. Nyanaponika Thera (Siegmund Feniger) was born in Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
, Germany on July 21, 1901 as Siegmund Feniger, the only child of a Jewish family.
In 1922, he moved with his parents to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he met with other German Buddhists and also had access to Buddhist literature in German language. He first came across the writings of Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera (1878–1957), the former German violin virtuoso Anton Gueth, which had already been published in Germany. Young Siegmund had learned Ven. Nayanatiloka Thera had established a monastery for Western Monks on an island lagoon (opposite the Railway station) Polgasduwa, Dodanduwa named Island Hermitage. This news stirred his conscience to go to Asia and become a Buddhist Monk.
However this expectation did not concretecize for some time. In 1932, his father died and did not wish to leave his widowed mother in the lurch. Then Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
came to power in Germany.
In November 1935, he left Germany along with his mother to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where they had relatives. Having arranged his mother to stay in Vienna, in early 1936 he left Europe for Sri Lanka and joined Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera at the Island Hermitage, Polgasduwa, Dodanduwa.
After several months of studies in June 1936 he was ordained as a novice under the name Nyanaponika and in 1937 was conferred Higher Ordination (Upasampada), under the Tutelage of Nyanatiloka Thera.
In 1939, after the Nazis invaded Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Ven. Nyanaponika Thera arranged for his mother and other relatives to come over to Sri Lanka. Through the influence of her son and the generous hosts she embraced Buddha Dhamma and became a devoted Buddhist lady. She died in Colombo in 1956.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, and the British Government had all German males resident in their colonies consigned for interment suspecting them to be German spies. The interment was first at Diyatalawa
Diyatalawa
Diyatalawa is a garrison town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, in the Badulla District of Uva Province. It is at an altitude of and has become a popular destination for local holiday makers...
Army cantonment in Sri Lanka and later at Dehra Dun in northern India.
Despite these traumatic experiences as prisoner of war, during this period, Ven. Nayanaponika Thera completed the German translations of the Sutta Nipata, the Dhammasangani (the first book of the Abhidhamma Pitaka) and its commentary. He also compiled an anthology of texts on Satipattana Meditation. That was when at Diyatalawa and the balance writing of what Ven. Nyanaponiak Thera began was concluded at Dehra Dun, India.
With the cessation of war, the two Bhikkhus were released from interment at Dehra Dun and returned to Sri Lanka in 1946 and resided at the Island Hermitage, Dodanduwa. In early 1951 they were conferred citizenship of Sri Lanka.
In 1946, Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera was offered a hermitage in the Udawattekelle Forest Reserve, and being advanced in age preferred the cooler climate of Kandy rather than to the hot and stuffy sea - coast climate of Dodanduwa. In 1947, Ven. Nyanaponika Thera too joined him at the new Kandy Hermitage.
In 1952, both Venerable Nyanatiloka Thera and Nyanaponika There were invited by the Burmese (Myanmar) Government for consultation in preparation of the Sixth Buddhist Council, to be convened in 1954 to re-edit and reprint the entire Pali Canon and its commentaries. On the conclusion of the consultations Ven. Nyanaponika Thera stayed in Burma for a period of training in Insight Meditation (Vipassana) under the renowned meditation teacher Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw Thera.
The experience he gathered motivated him to write his best known work, The Heart of Buddhist meditation published by Buddhist Publication Society with many editions and translated into more than seven languages. This is a prescribed text in universities in the Study of Buddhism.
In 1954, the teacher and the pupil returned to Burma for the opening ceremonies of the Council, which was held in a cave-structure built similar to the Sattaprani Caves in Rajagaha (Rajgir) of India, where first Buddhist Council was held. For the closing ceremonies in 1956 Ven. Nyanaponika Thera went to Burma alone as his teacher was indisposed.
In 1957, the health of Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera deteriorated and he moved to Colombo for easy and ready medical attention. Finally on May 28, 1957, the great pioneering scholar monk died and was accorded a State Funeral at the Independence Square, Colombo attended by the Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, many State officials, both the laity and religious dignitaries and prelates of all Nikayas.
His ashes were enshrined at the Polgasduwa Island Hermitage, Dodanduwa and a tombstone was built to perpetuate his memory. Ven. Nyanaponika Thera, thereafter keeping up to the request of his teacher, revised Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera's German translation of the complete Anguttara Nikaya, retyping the five volumes in full by himself, and also compiling a forty paged index to the work.
Six months after the death of his teacher, the career of Ven. Nyanaponika Thera was to be launched in a new direction, a permanent contribution to the spread of Buddhism worldwide. A prominent lawyer in Kandy A.S. Karunaratne suggested to his friend, Trinity College
Trinity College, Kandy
Trinity College, Kandy founded in 1872 by Anglican missionaries, is an Independent elite private boys’ school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka...
teacher in retirement Richard Abeysekera, that they start a society for the publication of Buddhist literature in English, mainly to be distributed abroad. The unanimous decision was Ven. Nyanaponika Thera in the Udawattekelle Forest Reserve Aramaya would be the best director of the Institution. Thus on the New year's Day of 1958, the Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) was born.
Devoting his entire time and energy to writings of the society, he wrote tracts, encouraged others to write, collated important Suttas, translated them and had them published. In addition to his own writings he had 200 Wheel titles and 100 Bodhi Leaves (booklets) authored by numerous scholars and books were issued during his editorship of the BPS.
Ven. Nayanaponika Thera's biography is completely submerged in his writings. With advancing age having a heavy toll on his strength, in 1984, Ven. Nayanaponika Thera retired as editor of BPS and in 1988 he retired as President, accepting appointments as BPS's distinguished Patron. His fame and recognition as an exponent of authentic Theravada Buddhism reached all corners of the globe.
In 1978, the German Oriental Society appointed him an honorary member in recognition of his combination of objective scholarship with religious practice as a Buddhist Monk. In 1987, the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka
University of Sri Lanka
The University of Sri Lanka was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1972 until 1978. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced the University of Ceylon with the University of Sri Lanka. In 1978 it was separated...
at its first convocation, conferred on him its first ever Honoris Causa Degree of Doctor of Literature.
In 1990, he received the Honoris Causa Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Peradeniya
University of Peradeniya
The University of Peradeniya is a world renowned state university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission...
. In 1993, The Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha to which he belonged for 56 years, conferred on him the honorary title of Amarapura Maha Mahopadhyaya Sasana Sobhana (The Great Mentor of the Amarapura Maha Sasana Sabha, Ornament of Teaching).
His last birthday which fell on July 21, 1994, was celebrated by his friends and the BPS staff with the release of the BPS edition of his book. The Vision of Dhamma, a collection of his writings from Wheel and Bodhi leaves series. On the 19th of October 1994, the last day of his 58th Rains Retreat as a Bhikkhu, he breathed his last in the pre-dawn quietude of the Udawattekelle forest hermitage.
Publications (partial list)
- Abhidhamma Studies: Buddhist Explorations of Consciousness and Time (1998)
- Great Disciples of the Buddha : Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy (2003)
- The Heart of Buddhist Meditation (1954)
- Numerical Discourses of the Buddha (2000), with Bhikkhu Bodhi
- The Vision of Dhamma (1986)