Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa
The Most Venerable Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa (ဘဒ္ဒန္တအာစိဏ္ဏ), more commonly referred to as the Pa-Auk Sayadaw (Burmese: ဖားအောက်ဆရာတော်; MLCTS: Hpa:auk Hca.ratau.), is a Burmese Theravāda monk, meditation teacher and the abbot of the Pa-Auk Forest Monastery in Mawlamyine.
Bhaddanta Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa | |
|---|---|
| Title | Dhammācariya (1956), Aggamahā Kammaṭṭhānācariya (1999), Hrwekyang Nikāya Rattaññūmahānāyaka (2009), Abhidhaja Aggamahā Saddhammajotika (2018), Aggamahāpaṇḍita (2021), Abhidhajamahāraṭṭhaguru (2024) |
| Personal | |
| Born | June 24, 1934 Hinthada Township, Ayeyarwady, Myanmar |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| Nationality | Burmese |
| Parents |
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| School | Theravāda |
| Notable work(s) | The Practice That Leads to Nibbāna |
| Other names | Pa-Auk Sayadaw |
| Dharma names | Āciṇṇa အာစိဏ္ဏ |
| Occupation | Monk |
| Order | Shwekyin Nikāya |
| Senior posting | |
| Teacher | Mahasi Sayadaw, U Paṇḍitā |
| Based in | Mawlamyine, Mon State; Pyin U Lwin, Mandalay |
| Predecessor | Aggapañña |
Students
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| Initiation | May 2, 1944 by U Soṇa |
| Ordination | May 10, 1954 (70 years ago) |
| Website | www |
Āciṇṇa ordained as a novice in 1944, receiving full ordination in 1954. Immersed in the study of the Pāli Canon from his days as a novice, Āciṇṇa gradually broadened his scope of attention to include meditation, initially training under Mahasi Sayadaw and U Paṇḍitā. Not long after, Āciṇṇa would also decide to become a forest monk. In the months and years to follow, he would deepen his meditation abilities under the Kathitwaing, Thanlyin and Shwetheindaw sayadaws, eventually developing his own set of meditation methods, often collectively referred to as the "Pa-Auk method".
On July 21, 1981, Āciṇṇa succeeded the Phelhtaw Sayadaw Aggapañña, at the latter's invitation, as the abbot of the Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. The monastery would then grow into a network of meditation centres across Southeast Asia and beyond, and is currently the largest network in Myanmar.