Theravāda is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed Theravādins, have preserved their version of Gautama Buddha's teaching or Buddha Dhamma in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia.
Chah Subhaddo also known by his honorific name "Phra Bodhiñāṇathera" was a Thai Buddhist monk. He was an influential teacher of the Buddhadhamma and a founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition.
Mahāsī Sayādaw U Sobhana was a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of vipassanā (insight) meditation in the West and throughout Asia.
Ajahn Khemadhammo OBE is a Theravāda Buddhist monk. He is one of the founders of the Thai Forest Tradition in the West.
Prajñā or paññā, is a Buddhist term often translated as "wisdom", "intelligence", or "understanding". It is described in Buddhist texts as the understanding of the true nature of phenomena. In the context of Buddhist meditation, it is the ability to understand the three characteristics of all things: anicca ("impermanence"), dukkha, and anattā ("non-self"). Mahāyāna texts describe it as the understanding of śūnyatā ("emptiness"). It is part of the Threefold Training in Buddhism, and is one of the ten pāramīs of Theravāda Buddhism and one of the six Mahāyāna pāramitās.
Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā and jhāna/dhyāna.
The Vipassanā movement, also called the Insight Meditation Movement and American Vipassana movement, refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (sukha-Vipassana) to attain stream entry and preserve the Buddhist teachings, which gained widespread popularity since the 1950s, and to its western derivatives which have been popularised since the 1970s, giving rise to the more dhyana-oriented mindfulness movement.
Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school, which is followed by roughly 93.4% percent of the population. Thailand has the second largest Buddhist population in the world, after China, with approximately 64 million Buddhists. Buddhism in Thailand has also become integrated with folk religion (Bon) as well as Chinese religions from the large Thai Chinese population. Buddhist temples in Thailand are characterized by tall golden stupas, and the Buddhist architecture of Thailand is similar to that in other Southeast Asian countries, particularly Cambodia and Laos, with which Thailand shares cultural and historical heritages. Thai Buddhism also shares many similarities with Sri Lankan Buddhism. Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Laos are countries with Theravada Buddhist majorities.
The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand, commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.
The Dhammakaya Tradition or Dhammakaya Movement, sometimes spelled as Thammakaai movement, is a Thai Buddhist Tradition founded by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro in the early 20th century. It is associated with several temples descended from Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Bangkok.
Buddhism is a minority religion in Argentina, where, in addition to the majority of the Christian population, the rate of self-professed Buddhists is about 0.5%.
Sati, literally "memory" or "retention", commonly translated as mindfulness, "to remember to observe," is an essential part of Buddhist practice. It has the related meanings of calling to mind the wholesome dhammas such as the four establishments of mindfulness, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven awakening-factors, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the attainment of insight, and the actual practice of maintaining a lucid awareness of the dhammas of bodily and mental phenomena, in order to counter the arising of unwholesome states, and to develop wholesome states. It is the first factor of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. "Correct" or "right" mindfulness is the seventh element of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery is an organization of Buddhist monasteries of Sri Lankan origin established to benefit from the spiritual development of human beings using the teachings of Gautama Buddha. Its main monastery is in Polgahawela, Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka is home to 40 branches of the organization. Overseas branches are in Canada, USA, Australia, UK, Dubai, South Korea, India, Italy, and Germany. And Mahamevnawa is home to more than 1000 Buddhist monks.
Dhammakaya Meditation is a method of Buddhist Meditation developed and taught by the Thai meditation teacher Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro (1885–1959). In Thailand, it is known as Vijjā dhammakāya, which translates as 'knowledge of the dhamma-body'. The Dhammakaya Meditation method is popular in Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia, and has been described as a revival of samatha (tranquility) meditation in Thailand.
Commonly referred to as Luangpor Thong, Luangpor Thong Abhakaro is a Buddhist monk and teacher of Mahasati Meditation, a meditation method developed by his teacher, Luangpor Teean Jittasubho. The title Luangpor is used in Thailand to express respect for senior Buddhist monks and it means 'venerable father'.
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha, "the awakened one".
Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro, also known as Phramongkolthepmuni, was a Thai Buddhist monk who served as the abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen from 1916 until his death in 1959. He founded the Thai Dhammakāya school in the early 20th century. As the former abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, he is often called Luang Pu Wat Paknam, meaning 'the Venerable Father of Wat Paknam'. He became a well-known meditation master during the interbellum and the Second World War, and played a significant role in developing Thai Buddhism during that period. He is considered by the Dhammakaya tradition to have rediscovered Vijja Dhammakaya, a meditation method believed to have been used by the Buddha himself. Since the 2000s, some scholars have pointed out that Luang Pu Sodh also played an important role in introducing Theravāda Buddhism in the West, a point previously overlooked.
Samatha, "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and vipassanā, literally "special, super, seeing ", are two qualities of the mind developed in tandem in Buddhist practice.
Bhante Vimalaramsi was an American Buddhist monk and Abbot of the Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center in Annapolis, Missouri.
Knowing Buddha is a Buddhist advocacy group based in Thailand. It campaigns against disrespectful uses of images of the Buddha, and lobbies for laws to protect Buddhism in Thailand.
