This Spring, 2019, join us at The Divinity School for three series on Theravada Buddhist teachings and meditation. Attend one workshop, a whole series, or pick and choose among the three series. Workshops are free and open to the public.
All workshops will be held in Swift Hall’s Common Room (1st floor).
Series I and II will be offered by Venerable Kovida. Series I, Dhamma teaching, will take place on Saturdays and will feature selected discourses from “The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha.” Copies of the two documents may be downloaded here and here.
Series II, Meditation teaching, will be held on Sundays and will focus on mindfulness of breathing. Download the suggested reading.
A third series will be offered by Venerable Mahinda. “Mindfulness and Meditation” will consist of sitting and walking meditation workshops.
Persons with a disability who need an accomodation to attend an event, please contact Suzanne Riggle in advance at 773-702-8219.
VENERABLE KOVINDA
SERIES I – Dhamma teaching on seven Saturdays: April 20, 27; May 4, 11, 18; June 1, 8; 3:30-5:00pm.
SERIES II – Meditation teaching on nine Sundays: April 7, 14, 21, 28; May 5, 12, 19; June 2, 9; 1:30-3:00pm.
Ven. Kovinda, from Myanmar, was ordained as a sāmanera (novice) in 1990. His upajjhāya (preceptor) is Venerable U Nandamālā . He was higher ordained as a Theravada bhikkhu (monk) on April 10, 1996. He received Sāsanadhajadhammācariya (the equivalent of a BA). He studied Buddhism at Mahāvisudhārāma Monastery in Sin-byu-gwin from 1990 to 1999 and Ma-soe-yein-teik-thit in Mandalay from 2000 to 2003 and taught Buddhist Scriptures at Ma-soe-yein-teik-thit in Mandalay from 2003 to 2004. Ven. Kovinda studied Meditation at (1) Mahāsi Meditation Center (main), Yongon, Myanmar in 2005 under the guidance of Pyinmanar Sayadaw) and (2) Pa-Auk Tawya Forest Monastery (main), Mawlamyine, Myanmar under the guidance of Pa-Auk Sayadaw from 2006 to 2008. After Pa-Auk Sayadaw went to the Himalaya, he studied under the guidance of Sayadaw U Kovida (Pakhukku), U Kañcana (Ye Oo), U Revata (Mawlamyine). He started to teach meditation in April 2008 at Pa-Auk Tawya Forest Monastery (Main), Mawlamyine, Myanmar. He conducted meditation retreats in foreign countries such as South Korea in 2010, Latvia in 2010, and Malaysia in 2013. He gave Dhamma-talks in foreign countries such as Singapore in 2010, Malaysia in 2011, Mainland China in 2013, Taiwan in 2013, Indonesia in 2013, and Thailand in 2015.
VENERABLE MAHINDA
SERIES III: “Meditation and Mindfulness”: April 30, May 3, May 9, 8:00-9:20am
Venerable Mahinda, Executive Director of the Yunnan Buddhist Association, has been teaching meditation for more than 10 years. Fluent in English, Burmese, and Pali, he teaches meditation all over the world. He strictly follows the Buddha’s teachings in Pali texts, which are Buddhist scriptures preserved in their original language. Ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk in 2002, he studied with internationally renowned meditation master Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw at Pa-Auk Tawya Forest Monastery in Myanmar (Burma). In 2006 he was appointed by the most Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw as a meditation teacher. He has conducted meditation retreats in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia; and taught Pali texts. In 2011 he became Meditation Master at the Dhammasukha Meditation Center, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China, and in 2013 started the Dhammavihari Forest Monastery, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China where he was named the Meditation Master. He was named Executive Director of the Yunnan Buddhist Association in China in 2015. He has published over 20 books, including translations from Pali and English into Chinese, on the subjects of Buddhism and meditation. In 2018 he formed a team to translate the Pali texts into Chinese.