Chain of Vipassana Teachers
VEN LEDI SAYADAW 1846 - 1923
His concise, clear and extensive scholarly work served to clarify the experiential aspect of Dhamma.The Venerable Ledi Sayadaw was perhaps the most outstanding Buddhist figure of his age. All who have come in contact with the path of Dhamma in recent years owe a great debt of gratitude to to this scholarly, saintly monk who was instrumental in reviving the traditional practice of Vipassana, making it more available for renunciates and lay people alike. In addition to this most important aspect of his teaching, his concise, clear and extensive scholarly work served to clarify the experiential aspect of Dhamma.
SAYA THETGYI 1873-1945
He was born in a poor farming village and in 1915 was appointed as a teacher by Ledi Sayadaw.For 30 years he taught meditation to all who came to him, guided by his own experience and using Ledi Sayadaw's manuals as a reference. He instructed all who came to see him to be diligent in their practice, to treat the monks and nuns who came to practice meditation with respect, to be well-disciplined in body, speech and mind, and to pay respects to the Buddha in everything they did. By 1945, when he was 72, he had fulfilled his mission of teaching thousands.
VEN WEBU SAYADAW 1896 - 1977
Ven. Webu Sayadaw was one of the most highly respected monks of this century in Burma.(Sayadaw is a title used for monks. It means "respected teacher monk.") He was notable in giving all importance to diligent practice rather than to scholastic achievement. He practiced (and later taught) the technique of Anapana-sati (awareness of the in-breath and out-breath). He said that by working with this practice to a very deep level of concentration, one is able to develop Vipassana (insight) into the essential characteristics of all experience: anicca (impermanence), anatta (egolessness) and dukkha (unsatisfactoriness).
SAYAGYI U BA KHIN 1899-1971
He was Goenkaji's teacher and also an outstanding civil servant of Burma.
Dhamma eradicates suffering and gives happiness. Who gives this happiness? It is not the Buddha but the Dhamma, the knowledge of anicca within the body, which gives the happiness. That is why you must meditate and be aware of anicca continually.
- Sayagyi U Ba Khin
SHRI S.N. GOENKA 1924 - 2013
As the principal teacher, Goenkaji, as he is known, has been instrumental in the spread of Vipassana in modern times. Over a period of almost 45 years, Mr. Goenka and the teachers appointed by him taught hundreds of thousands of people in courses in India and other countries, East and West. Today, meditation centers established under his guidance are operating in Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australasia.