Nyanaponika Thera
Bhikkhu Anālayo temporarily ordained in 1990 in Thailand, after a meditation retreat at Wat Suan Mokkh, the monastery established by the influential 20th-century Thai monk Ajahn Buddhadasa. In 1994 he went to Sri Lanka, looking to meet Nyanaponika Thera after having read his book "The Heart of Buddhist Meditation". Nyanaponika Thera died just days before Analayo's arrival but he stayed on and studied with Bhikkhu Bodhi. In 1995 he took pabbajja again under Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero. He received his upasampada in 2007 in the Sri Lankan Shwegyin Nikaya (belonging to the main Amarapura Nikaya), with Pemasiri Thera of Sumathipala Aranya as his ordination acariya. Bhikkhu Bodhi has been Bhikkhu Anālayo's main teacher. The late Bhikkhu Kaṭukurunde Ñāṇananda has also been an important influence in his understanding of the Dhamma.