Achariya Vijaya will be stepping down as Director of Nalanda Institute after 4 years at the helm.

After four years of helming Nalanda Institute Malaysia, Achariya* Vijaya Samarawickrama will be stepping down as the Institute’s Director tomorrow (1 July).  Achariya Vijaya was appointed as the second Director of Nalanda Institute on 1 July 2010, for a 3-year period.  However, his term was extended by one year last July to oversee the completion of ongoing programmes at the Institute.

During Achariya Vijaya’s term, the Institute introduced many new courses, including the popular 6-month Buddhist Course in Mandarin.  Achariya Vijaya also taught many shorter commentarial courses especially for beginners.  Many participants have benefited from his insightful sharing and enjoyed his down-to-earth demeanor and great sense of humour.

Achariya Vijaya will continue as a faculty member to teach at the Institute.  He is also stepping up to his new position as Chairman of Nalanda Education Team (NET), effective 1 July 2014.  On behalf of Nalanda Buddhist Society members and Nalanda Institute officers, we would like to record our deep appreciation to Achariya for leading and guiding the Institute for the past 4 years.  We look forward to working with him as the Chairman of NET to bring Buddhist education in Malaysia to greater heights.  Thank you, Achariya!

*Achariya means ‘teacher’ in Pāli Language, and is an honorific title for the Director of Nalanda Institute.