Session 3: Buddhism and Science—Buddhist Practice and Science-Based Functions that
Address Physical and Mental Health

The Practice of Compassion: A Brief Reflection onSome Theravada Buddhist Meditation Traditions

Khammai Dhammasami

T

HERE is a popular opinion which assumes that Theravada Buddhism teaches less compassion in the path to enlightenment. I wish
to briefly consider the structure of some meditation mindfulness—based
insight meditation practices in the Theravada tradition today and ponder
on it here if there is a point to this perception. In so doing, I refer, not somuch to the canonical texts, but to some Theravada meditation traditions
current these days.
To become enlightened, the majority of the meditation traditions in
the Theravada today argue, that one must realize impermanence throughcontemplation of the process of mind and matter. Tried and tested experiences of the teachers are used to formulate meditation techniques.
Relevant passages from the canonical and commentarial literature areusually considered to give authority to those techniques.

Some Mindfulness Practices in Myanmar and Thailand
Staying at the Present Moment
One of the prominent Theravada meditation masters of our time, Mahasi
Sayadaw (1904–1982), who founded in 1947 one of the main vipassana
meditation traditions, Mahasi, in Myanmar today, writes in his meditation manual:
While seeing, hearing, smelling, eating, touching, walking, standing,sitting, sleeping, bending, stretching and thinking, one should contemplate on the experience at the present moment so that one can see mind

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the practice of compassion

and matter, impermanence, suffering and lack of unchanging self.
Should one fail to contemplate on the experiences at the present
moment this way, one may wrongly perceive them as “being permanent,
pleasant, good, attractive and the unchanging essence capable of providing lasting happiness and then become attached to them.”1[My own translation]

In the normal meditation retreat in around four hundred Mahasi centres in Myanmar, all efforts of a meditation practitioner are dedicated todeveloping mindfulness in all postures throughout the day and using
mindfulness to constantly observe the process of mind and body and see
their nature. Even for a beginner, there is a routine of an hour of sitting
and walking practice taking place alternatively for as many as eight
sessions a day. Retreats of various lengths, ranging from seven days
to three months, are held throughout the year in those centres.
Many people have benefitted from this mindfulness practice ofMahasi Sayadaw, who uses the Satipatthana-sutta of the Pali canon as
the core instruction. There are Mahasi branches in Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Nepal and the West. Some well-known western
meditation teachers such as Nyanaponika Thera (1901–1994), Joseph
Goldstein (1944– ), Jack Kornfield (1945– ) and Sharon Salzberg(1952– )2 have been trained in this tradition. Nyanaponnika Thera’sbook The Heart of Buddhist Meditation describes meditation practiceas taught by Mahasi Sayadaw and his teacher, Mingun Sayadaw (1868–
1955); this book has been one of the main sources for western scientists
engaging in mindful-ness and research, from Eric S. Fromm, a
German social psychologist, who recommends Nyanaponika Thera’sbook as “[a] work of unique importance ... written with great depth,
extraordinary knowledge, deep humanity... I do not know of any
book which could be compared to this work as a guide to
meditation”, to the pioneer of MBSR, Prof. Jon Kabat-Zin of MIT
and of MBCT, Prof. Mark Williams of Oxford University.

“From seeing impermanence, clinging is eradicated”
Another Burmese vipassana meditation tradition equally popular inside
the country, is Mogok vipassana meditation. Mogok Sayadaw (1899–
1962), the founder of this tradition, emphasized a similar approach andthis can be seen in one of the instructions given to his students as below:
Mogok Sayadaw (MGS): Something which is dear to you most, maybe
your own physical body or that of your spouse and children, or any-the practice of compassion

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thing from material property to philosophy of life… everything should
be contemplated through vipassana; this way you will see their birth,decay and death, their coming and going. This is to see impermanence.
To see the arising and ceasing of something is to see suffering as it is.
Isn’t suffering of the nature of arising and ceasing?
Students: Yes, sir.
MGS: Even, anattå is… ?
Students: Impermanent, sir.
MGS: The truth of suffering is also… ?
Students: Impermanent, sir.
MGS: When one sees the arising and cessation, what would happen to
their habit of attachment? It ceases.
Students: Yes sir, it does.
MGS: When attachment ceases, taˆhå (thirst) and upådåna (clinging)cease. The process of karma also ceases; if this is the case, would there
be any no more rebirth?
Students: No more, sir.…..
MGS: From seeing impermanence, clinging is eradicated.
Students: Yes sir.
MGS: Similarly, if you see suffering?
Students: Clinging is overcome, sir.…
MGS: [If] you see the absence of non-changing self3?
Students: Clinging is overcome, sir.…
MGS: [If] you see the truth of suffering?
Students: Clinging is overcome, sir.4[My own translation]

Mogok Vipassana Association which has more than four hundred centres around the country preserves the meditation techniques as taught by
Mogok Sayadaw, also known as U Vimala. He centres his teaching on
mindfulness of breathing and the law of dependent origination. He argues that a theoretical understanding of the law of dependent originationis necessary, and its twelve links are considered in the light of the four
noble truths, emphasizing how the cycle of suffering is enforced or
brought to an end. The theoretical teaching of the dependent origination
is provided daily at least for an hour to the meditators during the retreat.
Concentration and mindfulness are established using the awareness ofbreathing. Once concentration is achieved to a certain level, the meditator is asked to observe the arising and passing away, impermanence, of
their experiences at the present moment.
One other well-known meditation tradition in Myanmar, Pa Auk,
named after its founder, Pa Auk Sayadaw, U Acinna (1934– ) also

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stresses seeing impermanence in the practice. This tradition differs fromthe previous two in that it requires the student to go through various
techniques and steps of samatha meditation to calm and steady the mind
at the jhana levels before beginning vipassana practice. After establishing concentration, also through mindfulness of breathing, student has tocontemplate the many aspects of the four elements, the kasiˆa, the 32
parts of body5, then kasiˆas6 again before proceeding to the four types ofprotective meditation, some of which will be explained more later. Oncethe student has been through this process to the satisfaction of the teacher, they are introduced to vipassana meditation; from here they change
their focus to impermanence, the realization of which will lead the practitioner to enlightenment. The Pa Auk tradition is one of the only two topractice jhåna in Myanmar, the other being Mye-zin tawya (Mye-zin
forest meditation tradition); the rest follow the dry vipassana method.

“To destroy attachment to personality view”
In Thailand, Ajahn Chah (1918–1992) is perhaps the best known forest
Thai meditation master to the westerners. He seems to combine both
samatha and vipassana approaches in his practice and teaching. He hasaround two hundred branches world-wide, including five monasteries inEngland and a few others in Europe, USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Ajahn Chah describes the process of meditation practice like this:The calm mind is the mind that is firm and stable in Samadhi…. Thereis awareness of the impermanent but it’s as if you are not aware. This isbecause you let go. The mind lets go automatically. Concentration is so
deep and firm that you let go of attachment to sense impingement quite
naturally. … Investigating from within a state of calm leads you toclearer and clearer insight… The clearer and more conclusive theinsight, the deeper inside the mind penetrates with its investigation, constantly supported by the calm of Samadhi. This is what the practice of
kammatthåna involves. Continuous investigation in this way helps you
to repeatedly let go of and ultimately destroy attachment to personality
view.
The Four Noble Truths are things to be realized through insight….
Understanding of each Noble Truth emerges at the same place within
the mind. They come together and harmonize as the factors of the Noble
Eightfold Path; … As the path factors converge in the centre of themind, they cut through any doubts and uncertainty you still have concerning the way of practice.7

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From these excerpts, one can see how Theravada meditation practices
popular nowadays in Myanmar and Thailand stress the development of
mindfulness, concentration and insight. Needless to say, they all pay sufficient attention to the importance of morality as described in the Five
Precepts for lay people and the Påtimokha monastic disciplines for themonks and nuns. In the general sense though, those moral codes (s¥la)give weight to what to refrain from rather than what to develop.

Brahma-vih āra as the Practice of Compassion
One particular practice that seems less obvious, if not absent, from theirteachings is Brahma-vihåra, one of the four practices usually considered
as protective meditation and not as core practice. It is in the Brahmavihåra where the practice of compassion is found. Brahma-vihåra istranslated in the Pali English Dictionary (P.E.D.)8 as “sublime or divine
state of mind”; Gombrich translates it as “living with Brahma”. This is aform of meditation that has four in one package, namely mettå (benevolence), karunå (compassion), muditå (joy) and upekkhå (balanced mind/balanced emotion). I shall say more about them shortly.
One of the reasons for the absence of the Brahma-vihåra may be thatmany Theravadin practitioners classify Brahma-vihåra as a Samatha
type of meditation and place it below Vipassana in the path to liberation.
All the teachers in Theravada Buddhism agree, as just observed above,that mettå is only a protective meditation, which is what we find in the
Visuddhimagga. It is there to protect the insight meditation.9 Brahmavihåra, the Theravadins say, has conventional reality or concept(paññatti) and not ultimate reality (paramattha) as its focus of meditation. Pa Auk Sayadaw writes:“[t]his meditation (Mettå) takes concept (paññatti) as the object, notultimate reality (paramattha)”.10

As we have seen earlier, for enlightenment to be realized, Theravadins
insist, the pure process of mind and matter has to be discerned as impermanent (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and not unchanging self (anattå).
Among the publications of the four teachers I have discussed here,
only Pa Auk Sayadaw has some teaching on the Brahma-vihåra, and thatis also in the context of Jhåna development; and for that reason, one is
not supposed to cultivate mettå for oneself as one would do for others(i.e. respected person, relatives, neural ones and enemy) because it is believed that cultivating mettå for oneself does not lead to jhåna. This is

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likely to put us in contradiction with the teaching of the Buddha, as
found in the Dhammapada verses Nos. 129–130 which require us to put
ourselves in the place of others, in order to develop consideration andcompassion. This instruction which is similar to the practice of tong
liang in the Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice is certainly present in
Theravada scripture, but it has not been developed as a practice among
many of the current meditation traditions. Besides, in Theravada practices it seems that metta, not the other three factors of the Brahma-vihåra,is given more attention to. Perhaps it may be due to this that upekkhå ismuch misunderstood in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand. More of thiswill be discussed later.

“Without contemplating dukkha, it is difficult to arousecompassion”
Although there is evidence that these great meditation masters havepracticed a great deal of metta meditation themselves and indeed theyoften recommend it to their students who have an aversive character11, I
am yet to find the record of their teaching on the Brahma-vihåra as elaborate as they have done with vipassana. Pa Auk Sayadaw has written
a five-volume meditation manual, running 3,320 pages; Mahasi
Sayadaw’s Vipassana Shu-nee Kyan runs 1,122 pages; Ajahn Chah’s The
Collected Teachings is 744 pages and Mogok Sayadaw’s collected talks,
as published, are more than the last two combined. Pa Auk Sayadaw has
only around ten pages on the Brahma-vihara practice. The practice does
not usually feature prominently in the teachings of Mahasi Sayadaw,
Mogok Sayadaw and Ajahn Chah, as recorded by their pupils. And, nor
is the metta meditation practice prominently featured in Nyanaponnika’s
deservedly well-acclaimed book.
Here before I explain the Brahma-vihåra, I wish to point out that as
we have seen from the excerpts the entry point to insight for those meditation teachers is contemplation of impermanence, which is one of thethree characteristics of the world (ti-lakkhaˆa). I personally think that it
is possible to enter from any one of the three and then connect it withthe other two through contemplation. For example, in the Dhammacakka-pavattana-sutta, considered to be the First Sermon of the Buddha,
if we read it as it is, dukkha, suffering, is the central point ofcontemplation. The realization, however, when expressed by Koˆdañña,
is formulated in terms of seeing impermanence. This shows the relationship between the two. And in the Anatta-lakkhaˆa-sutta, traditionally
thought of as the Second Sermon of the Buddha, also has the mostobvious aspect of dukkha, suffering, of the five processes of ourthe practice of compassion

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experience as the starting point for contemplation. From this easily
noticeable dukkha, one goes on to contemplate anattå. Here anattå
seems to mean that no one has real control over these five processes ofexperience because they are subject to affliction.
The second section of this sutta proceeds to draw our attention toimpermanence of the same five processes of experience, and link that
insight to the understanding of dukkha and anattå. Here, the meditator
is urged to inquire three aspects of those experiences: is this mine, isthis me and is this my unchanging self ? These inquiries awaken themind to its impurities, namely attachment, conceit and wrong viewconcerning non-changing self, respectively.
The reason for making this point concerning the entry to the threecharacteristics is to draw our attention to the Theravadins’ own understanding that without contemplating dukkha, it is difficult to arousecompassion in our heart. This is to say that when suffering is not sufficiently contemplated, there is less opportunity for the mind to develop
compassion. Compassion (karuˆå) is the quality of the heart that is
moved and shaken when in touch with suffering. As we have seen fromthis brief discussion, even when suffering is contemplated in those
meditation traditions, it is only as an extension of the contemplation ofimpermanence; this is true also of the contemplation of anattå.12

How we can replace anger with compassion and desire with joy
Now, let me return to the four Brahma-vihåra. I consider this set ofteaching by the Buddha to be for emotion development. The
Visuddhimagga describes six stages of the Brahma-vihåra practice, thatis to begin with oneself and then extend it to family members, friends,
neutral persons, enemy and finally the unspecified people. I think thesesteps really help us recognize the boundaries we set up in our own
mind between each of these groups. Those boundaries limit our ability
to connect with the suffering as well as the joy of others; in that limited
emotional state, we tend to see our suffering or joy as being unique, andnot universal. It is within those emotional limits that human beings
develop negative emotions, become selfish and at worst commit atrocity.
By gradually extending the Brahma-vihåra outward we work on our
automatic judgmental minds which are an emotional state and thedeluded perception associated with it.
Usually, Theravada teachers follow the sequence of the four: mettå,karuˆå, muditå and upekkhå, in both theoretical explanation and practice. P.A Payutto, a highly respected Thai scholar monk, explains mettå
as a friendly attitude wishing to see the happiness of others; karuˆå as

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the practice of compassion

the quality of mind that is shaken when one sees someone in trouble;
muditå as joyous feeling when seeing others doing well; and upekkhå
as the ability to remain neutral or indifferent, when examining withwisdom, with regard to the trouble someone immoral has put himself
in.13
However, P.E.D. defines upekkhå as “hedonic neutrality or indifference, zero point between joy and sorrow; disinterestedness,
neutral feeling, equanimity”. I think the P.E.D. interpretation of upekkhå
is ques-tionable. I can, however, understand the P.E.D.’s point when it
equates upekkhå with the “feeling which is neither pain nor pleasure”.
That is to include upekkhå in vedanå-kkhandha, the aggregate offeeling; this is true only to upekkhå as part of jhåna factors. In fact,
upekkhå in the Brahma-vihåra is part of sankhara-kkhandha, which it isabout intention, thought and emotion.
I think upekkhå is somewhat different from that. To me, it is the stateof balanced and a more stable mind between two seemingly contradictory emotions: compassion and joy. Contradictory, because they focus on
different objects: suffering and happiness respectively; and, without
being closely supported and sustained by mindfulness and concentration, when one contemplates suffering, it is possible that one becomes
angry or depressed; and when facing a happy situation, one may feel
jealous and insecure. As repeatedly described in the Satipatthåna-sutta,
one uses mindfulness (satimå), effort (åtåp¥) and understanding (sampajåno) to address those hindrances, usually summarized as two: covetousness (abhijjhå) and destructive mind (domanassam). On overcoming
those hindrances to compassion and joy, one reaches the state of
upekkhå. The Buddha was the embodiment of all the Brahma-vihåra; he
was not disinterested in people’s sorrow and joy; indeed, he was movedby them and spent all his life helping people to overcome them.
Upekkhå is how to stay connected with suffering and joy
while not being overwhelmed by them but preserving your own
calm and objectivity.
It should be stressed here that upekkhå is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Theravada communities of Myanmar, Thailand and
Sri Lanka. As in the P.E.D.’s interpretation, people usually take it as
being indifferent or ignoring someone’s pain or joy, especially pain. I
think the problem may have arisen like this. In many suttas, upekkhå isdescribed with jhånic states and in that situation; even happiness (sukha)
is absent in the state of upekkha. But I think this is true only when one isin a jhånic state. Otherwise, upekkhå is accompanied with rapture (p¥ti)
and calm (passaddhi) just as it is with mindfulness (sati), investigation

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of nature (dhamma-vicaya) and concentration (samådhi) as one of theseven components of enlightenment (bojjhanga).14 The jhånic state of
upekkhå is, however, what many in the Theravada tradition take it for
the quality of upekkhå at any time. So, I agree with Nyanatiloka’sinterpretation of upekkhå when he says of uepkkhå in his Buddhist
Dictionary as “equanimity, also tatramajjhattatå, is an ethical quality
belonging to the sankhara group and therefore should not be countedwith indifferent feeling (adukkha-masukha-vedanå). Upekkhå is one of
the four sublime states and one of the factors of enlightenment”.
Here, I wish to argue that it is for this kind of situation to purify andrefine emotion that one should develop mindfulness first before practicing Brahma-vihåra, not using Brahma-vihåra as merely protective of
mindfulness. This is actually what suttas such as the Såmaññaphalasutta and the Tevijja-sutta suggest. First, one establishes oneself in
morality (s¥la), before following the practice of guarding the senses(indriya-saµvara) and mindfulness in all postures (sati-sampajañña);both are commonly recommended by most vipassana meditation masters today as part of vipassana practice. These three practices are supposed to help one deal with desire (abhijjha) and aversion (domanassa),
two strong emotions that all forms of the four Satipatthana mindfulness practices are designed to overcome (vineyya loke abhijjhådomanassam).15 When these two emotions are overcome at their grosslevel, contentment arises and the five hindrances can be managed
because they are one way or another rooted or manifested in these two.
At this point, according to the Såmaññaphala-sutta and theTevijja-sutta, emotions become largely positive; qualities such as satisfaction (påmojja), rapture (p¥ti), calm (passaddhi) and happiness (sukha)
develop. They in turn condition concentration (samådhi) to arise. This is
the time to develop the Brahma-vihåra, according to the suttas. The concentration achieved at this level is conducive to the development ofjhåna. So, this is how the suttas describe the practice of the Brahmavihåra with jhånic states.
Here a crucial point should be repeated: because mostly current
vipassana meditation traditions use Brahma-vihåra only as a supportive
meditation for vipassana, many do not dedicate enough time to the
Brahama-vihåra practice. Contrary to this trend, many of the suttas
in the S¥lakkhandha-vagga of the Digha-nikåya seem to suggest thatpractices such as the satipatthåna or mindfulness, should come first inorder to deal with two dominant negative emotions: desire (abhijjhå)and aversion (domanassam), which I have translated as covetousness
and destructive mind earlier.

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My own personal view is that karuˆå (compassion) based on mindfulness manages and finally eradicates aversion; in other words, it transforms the habit-energy of aversion into compassion; and muditå (joy)established on mindfulness transforms the energy of desire into pure joy.
In brief, the practice helps one to replace aversion and desire with compassion and joy, respectively. To have achieved a stable and balanced
point between these two emotions is upekkhå. Upekkhå obviously requires more concentration and mindfulness; it is about responding tosuffering with compassion without diminishing the ability to feel joyous
when necessary, and about responding to good fortune of oneself andothers with joy without diminishing the ability to feel the pain of others
as the occasion arises. To be able to do that at the most difficult situationand for the most difficult person i.e. enemy is to have finally overcome
ego.
From this brief discussion, one can see that Theravada Buddhist canonical literature is endowed with a comprehensive way of practice forcompassion that at the same time transform selfish energy into selflessone, based on a worldview that sees things as they are. However, thepractice tradition in many cases may not have given sufficient attention
to the development of compassion.
So, it is clear to us that if we take Brahma-vihåra not on its own, but
as part of the whole meditation practices as in the suttas, or to put it theother way round, if we take vipassana as part of the whole meditation process that firmly includes Brahma-vihåra, we will avoid what
Gombrich describes as the problem of “literalism” in Theravada Buddhism. And, it may also make sense that “compassion and kindness” canbe considered “a means to enlightenment”, whether or not we go as far
as taking “living with Brahman” in the Tevijja-sutta to mean nirvana as
he suggested in his famous Gonda Lecture at the Royal Netherland
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Notes
Vipassana Shu-nee Kyan (A Manual on the Techniques of Vipassana Practice), Vol.
1, 2008; p. 232. This two-volume work contains the vipassana meditation techniques
and their explanations as taught by Mahasi Sayadaw. It has been translated into English
under the title A Practical Way of Vipassana and published by the Buddha Sasananuggaha Organization, Yangon in 2011.
2
She has been practicing and teaching metta meditation more than many others in the
Theravada tradition in the West.
3
I follow Richard Gombrich’s translation here and use non-changing self, instead ofself. In the suttas, the word atta is usually accompanied with words such as nicco, dhuvo
avipariˆåmadhammo.
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Mogok Sayadaw, Thitsar laypah tayah-daw [The Four Noble Truths]. Pp. 242–3.
Hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin; flesh, sinews, bones, marrow,kidneys; heart, liver, membranes, spleen, lungs; bowels, intestines, gorge, dung, brain;bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat; tears, grease, snot, spittle, oil of the joints and urine.
6
Earth, water, air/ wind, fire, blue/ green colour, yellow colour, red colour, whitecolour, enclosed space and bright light).
7
The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah. Pp. 406–10.
8“sublime or divine state of mind”, blissful meditation (exercises on a, altruistic
concepts; b, equanimity; see on these meditations).
9
There are four protective meditations (caturå-rakkha): loving-kindness meditation(metta), meditation on the loathsome nature of the body (asubha), meditation on the
Buddha (Buddhånussati) and meditation on death (maranassati).
10
Pa Auk Tawya Sayadaw, Light of Wisdom: Meditation in Pa Auk Forest Monastery,
Kuala Lumpur: Wisdom Audio Visual Exchange, 1997. P. 52.
11“You must use loving-kindness. When angry states of mind arise in meditation,balance them by developing feelings of loving-kindness”. The Collected Teachings of
Ajahn Chah. P. 271.
12
“Examine these five khandhas as they come and go. You will see clearly that they
are impermanent, that this impermanence makes them unsatisfactory and undesirable,
and that they come and go of their own—there is no ‘self’ running things”. The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah. P. 221.
13
Phra Dhammapitaka (P.A. Payutto), Khun pitah martah (The Gratitude of Parents).
Pp. 26–7; Phum tham chao phut (The Foundation of Dhamma for Buddhists). Pp. 14–8.
Pa Auk Tawya Sayadaw, Light of Wisdom. Pp. 50–57.
14
Some take upekkhå in the seven factors of enlightenment to mean a special state in
the Vipassana meditation process, that is the feeling of indifference towards the conditioned phenomena, sakhårupekkha. By this, one seems to remove upekkhå from the
Brahma-vihåra.
15
Satipa††hăna-sutta, DN.
4

5

Selected References
1. Gombrich, R. How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early
Teachings, London, 1996.
2. Mogok Sayadaw, Thitsar laypah tayah-daw [The Four Noble Truths], (in Burmese)
Publication Serial No. 26, 4th reprint, The Association for Promotion of Mogok
Vipassana Teaching and Practice, Yangon, 1994.
3. Nyanaponika Thera, The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, 1992.
4. Nyanatiloka Mahathera, Buddhist Dictionary, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy,
1980 (Fourth Revised Edition).
5. Pa Auk Tawya Sayadaw, Light of Wisdom: Meditation in Pa Auk Forest Monastery,
Kuala Lumpur, 1996.
6. Phra Dhammapitaka (P.A. Payutto), Khun pitah martah (The Gratitude of Parents)(in Thai), Bangkok, 2000.
7. ____ Phum tham chao phut (The Foundation of Dhamma for Buddhists) (in Thai),
Bangkok, 2003.
8. Vipassana Shu-nee Kyan (A Manual on the Techniques of Vipassana Practice) (inBurmese), Vol. 1, 7th reprint, Thathana Yeiktha Buddha Sasananuggaha Organiza-

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the practice of compassiontion, Yangon, 2008.
9. The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, 2nd edition, Aruna Publications,Northumberland, UK, 2011.
10. Såmaññaphala-sutta, Tevijja-sutta and Satipa††håna-sutta, Digha-nikåya.
11. Rhys Davids. T.W and Stede. W, Pali English Dictionary, The Pali Text Society,1921.
Author Biography
Venerable Khammai Dhammasami, a Theravada Buddhist monk of some thirty yearsof standing, obtained his DPhil at Oxford under Prof. Richard Gombrich. He is a
Research Fellow at the OCBS and Buddhist Chaplain to Oxford University. He is also
founder-abbot of the Oxford Buddha Vihara, UK. Recently he founded Shan State Buddhist University in Taunggyi, Myanmar. He is executive secretary of the International
Association of Buddhist Universities. His main interests are Pali, monastic educationand meditation. His short introduction to meditation, Mindfulness Meditation Made Easy
has been translated into Thai, Tai, Spanish, Serbian, Hungarian, Korean and Portuguese.
He has led a project with some twenty international Buddhist scholars in compiling acommon Buddhist text, translating from the canonical texts of Theravada, Mahayana andVajrayana traditions. His scholarly articles include: Idealism and pragmatism: A dilemma in the current monastic education system of Burma and Thailand in “Buddhism,
Power and Political Order”, ed. I. Harris, London, 2007; Seeing Myself as Another Person: The Autobiography of a Burmese Monastic Thinker in the Twentieth Century in“Lives Lived, Lives Imagined”, eds. L. Covill, U. Roesler & S. Shaw, Boston, 2010 and;Buddhism in the Union of Myanmar in “2600 Years of Global Journey of Awakening”,
eds. O. Abeynayake & A. Tilakaratne, Colombo, 2012.