December 2nd, Opening Ceremony – Keynote Speaker
Most Venerable Sitagu Sayadaw, Dr Ashin Nyanissara Myanmar
The Venerable Sitagu Sayadaw Dr.Ashin Nyanissara was born on 23th February 1937, in the town of Thegon, Bago Division, in central Myanmar.In 1957 He received his higher ordination as a Buddhist monk in 1957. He completed his Master Degree in Buddhism and was conferred a Sasanadhaja Dhammacariya Title in 1961. From 1975 onward he gives Dhamma talk to the public throughout the country and abroad. In 1978 He founded the Sitagu Missionary Association. In 1980, he began to contribute the water supply as a charity work all over the Sagaing hills upto date. In 1990, the Sitagu Ayudana Hospital was opened for all as a Medical Charity work.In 1996, The Sitagu International Buddhist Academy was opened for all as Educational Charity work.In 2003, he was conferred the degree of the Doctor of Literature by the University of Yangon, Myanmar. In 2005 He was offered the Ph.D degree by Mahachulalong kornrajavidyalaya University, Bangok, Thailand.
Up to now, more than 100 books in Myanmar and 30 books in English have already been published.Every year, his outstanding students are sent abroad to study, sponsored by Sayadaw, and as a result there have been (40) monks who hold M.A. degree and (21) monks who hold Ph.D. degree.
He was conferred the titles, Maha Dhammakathika Bahujanahitadhara, Aggamaha Saddhammajotikadhaja, Aggamaha Ganthavacaka Pandita and Aggamaha Pandita, by the Government of the Union of Myanmar. At present, though he has reached the age of 76 he is continuously doing the missionary works by taking base at The Sitagu International Buddhist Missionary Center which was newly established in Yangon, Myanmar.
December 3rd
Sayadaw U Gandhamalalankara is the ninth recipient of the Tipitakadhara award at the age of 33.
Sayadaw U Gandhamalalankara is a dhamma son of Sayadaw U Vicittacara, the first recipient of the Tipitakadhara, who passed all parts of the examination with distinction. He was mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records for his phenomenal memory and his ability to recite 8000+ pages of the Tipitaka. Sayadaw U Vicittacara served as the Expositor at the Sixth Buddhist Council. Sayadaw served as Chief Abbot of Tipitaka Dhamma Nada Pariyatti Sar Thin Daik. Sayadaw later established the Tipitaka Nikaya Kyaung Daik [monastic school for the monks who aspire to be Tipitakdhara] in Mingun. The Sar Thin Daik is currently being managed by Sayadaw U Gandhamalalankara.
December 4th
Phra Ajahn Jamnean Seelasettho, Thailand
Luang Por Jamnian was born in 1936 in a rural village in Southern Thailand. He began practicing meditation at the age of five, studied the tipitaka at the age of eight and took up full ordination at the age of twenty. He spent first seven years as a monk ardently practicing several vipassana meditation techniques available at that time. Not until when he applied the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the Eight-Fold Noble Path that he found a way to lasting results. The Eight-Fold Noble Path, along with the Four Foundation of Mindfulness, and the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, remain at the core of his Dhamma teachings today. Luang Por Jamnian currently teaches the Dhamma throughout Thailand, the United States, Europe, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, and India.
His life continues to be dedicated to helping others realize the truth of their own nature and to spreading the teachings of the Buddha with great compassion, wisdom, and with a lighthearted smile.
December 5th
Venerable Phramaha Thanat Inthisean, Wat Thai D.C., USA
Phramaha Thanat Inthisan, Ph.D., is a well-traveled Buddhist missionary monk born in Thailand and now serving at the Wat Thai Washington, D.C., Thai Buddhist temple in Silver Spring, Maryland, in the United States. He received his Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Magadh University, India, in 2003. His dissertation concerned the“problem of self” in Buddhism. He is the author of several works, including The Buddhist Missionary in the USA (in Thai), Walking on the Path of the Buddha (in English), Buddhist Traditions &Thai Culture (in English) etc. He is also an expert in meditation practices and in yoga. His wide range of experiences includes trips to Russia to teach Vipassana (Insight) meditation, and participation in the last three World Parliament. He has been the tour guide for several recent pilgrimages to Buddhist holy sites in the South and Southeast Asian countries such as Nepal-India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar(Burma), Indonesia, Laos PDR ,Cambodia etc.
December 6th – 10th
