We are very honoured to welcome the visit of Venerable Sri Pandit Henepola Gunaratana Māha Nāyaka Thero to Malaysia! Ven. Gunaratana at 86 years of age is the Theravada Sangha Nāyaka (senior-most and honorary ‘Chief monk‘) of the USA and North America. Also popularly known as ‘Bhante G’, he is a renowned Buddhist meditation teacher and author of several influential works, such as the best-selling ‘Mindfulness in Plain English’.
‘Bhante G’ was once a resident monk at the Buddhist Maha Vihara Kuala Lumpur from 1958 to 1968, assisting the late Ven. K Sri Dhammananda in pioneering Dhamma-propagation activities in newly-independent Malaya. ‘Bhante G’ holds an esteemed position in the Buddhist world – being acknowledged as a scholar and practitioner – a rare and distinguished accomplishment in both ‘Pariyatti’ (vast-learning) and ‘Patipatti’ (practice).
With such a potent combination of elucidation and wisdom, it is no wonder that he has amassed a great following worldwide, and received numerous accolades, including ecclesiastical honours from Sri Lanka and the ‘Agga Mahapandita’ award from Myanmar. In recognition of his exemplary missionary spirit and leadership, Nalanda Institute Malaysia awarded Ven. Dr. Gunaratana its highest honour in 2009 – the Nalanda “Sri Pandita Award”.
Ven. Gunaratana will be hosted at NEO Centre Johor Bahru on 21 – 22 November, and at Nalanda House (opposite Nalanda Centre) in Sri Serdang from 22 – 29 November.