U Vimala

Mogok Sayadaw U Vimala
Religion Buddhism
School Theravada
Dharma names Vimala
ဝိမလ
Personal
Nationality Myanmar
Born (1899-12-27)27 December 1899
Uyindaw Village, Mandalay Province, Burma
Died 17 October 1962(1962-10-17) (aged 62)
Amarapura, Mandalay Division, Burma
Senior posting
Based in Mogok Monastery, Amarapura, Burma
Title Agga Maha Pandita
In Burmese names, U is an honorific, not a surname.

U Vimala (Burmese: မိုးကုတ်ဆရာတော် ဦးဝိမလ, commonly known as the Mogok Sayadaw; 27 December 1899 - 17 October 1962) was a renowned bhikkhu and vipassanā meditation master of Theravada Buddhism.[1]

Early life

Mogok Sayadaw seated.

He was born Maung Hla Baw to Daw Shwe Ake and U Aung Tun in a small village close to Amarapura in Mandalay Province, Burma on 27 December 1899.[2] Hla Baw began his education at 4, and enrolled as a samanera or novitiate at age 9 under U Jagara.[2] He later left for Mingala Makuna Monastery at Amarapura to continue his religious studies.[2]

Monkhood

In 1920,[2] he was ordained as a bhikkhu (monk) in the tradition of Burmese Buddhism with the dharma name Vimala (ဝိမလ) which means "stainless, Undefiled." As his monkhood was sponsored by the residents of Mogok, a town well known for rubies and gems, Vimala became known as "Mogok". In 1924, Vimala became the chief abbot of Pikara Monastery. He began to give sermons focusing on abhidhamma and teaching vipassana meditation.[2]

Legacy

U Vimala established the Mogok tradition of vipassana meditation, which is independent of the meditation traditions established by his Burmese predecessors, Ledi Sayadaw and Mahasi Sayadaw.[3] U Vimala stressed dependent origination and cittanupassana as part of meditation practice.[3] There are currently over 300 meditation centers in Burma that teach his form of meditation.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Aung Chi (2000). The Mogok Sayadaw: A Translation. Yangon.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Sway Tin (15 November 1999). "The Mogok Sayadaw". Nibbana.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Crosby, Kate (2013). Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118323298.

Further reading

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