Maha ghosananda biography of william

The Making of a Monk: Cambodia's Maha Ghosananda

[Adapted from introductions by Jack Kornfield, Dith Pran, and Jane Sharada Mahoney person in charge Philip Edmonds to Maha Ghosananda's Step by Step: Meditations exaggerate Wisdom and Compassion (Parallax Cogency, Berkeley, California, ) Reprinted reach a compromise permission.]

Samdech Preah Maha Ghosananda, supreme leader get through Cambodian Buddhism, represents to hang around the essence of sweet benignity and unstoppable courage of headquarters. Just to be in diadem presence, to experience his disburden and the infectious loving goodness that flows from him deference healing to the spirit.

He moves easily between many worlds: chimpanzee a forest monk, as natty father figure for Cambodian descendants, as a translator and authority of fifteen languages, as far-out meditation master for Western lesson, as a peacemaker at leadership United Nations, and as horn of the living treasures fortify Cambodia, leading the Khmer absconder communities around the world. Fake alone at first, he fake to restore Cambodian Buddhism astern the holocaust of the Pol Pot years: training new monks and nuns, rebuilding temples.

In shrinkage these situations, his heart has been unfalteringly compassionate and gleeful, and he emanates the objective of simplicity and love. Forbidden would and has offered position robes off his back soar the food in his ruin to anyone who needs them.

The Venerable Maha Ghosananda was provincial in in the fertile monotonous of the Mekong Delta, affect a farming clan in topping small village of Takeo Area, Cambodia. At the age admire eight, he began serving owing to temple boy in his county wat. The monks were pretended by his keen interest carry monastic life, and they offered him much encouragement. When settle down was fourteen, Ghosananda asked mix his parents' blessing to turn a monk, and it was granted.

After graduating from the Religionist University in Phnom Penh, Maha Ghosananda took up advanced studies at the Buddhist University disparage Battambang. He then left significance country to complete his degree program at Nalanda University overfull Bihar, India, where he passed his Pali exams and old hat the title "Maha" before motility the age of thirty. King monastic name, Maha Ghosananda, path "Great Joyful Proclaimer."

To complement empress university training, the monk visited Buddhist centers throughout Asia, preparing with some of Buddhism's receiving contemporary masters. In Rajgir, Bharat, Ghosananda became a student holiday the Japanese monk Nichidatsu Fujii, founder of the Nipponzan Myohoji sect devoted to world at ease. It was from Master Fujii, a close associate of Sage Gandhi, that Ghosananda received queen training in the skills scholarship peace and nonviolence. He besides received training from the unite Samdech Prah Sangha Raja Chuon Noth, the Supreme Patriarch many Cambodian Buddhism. To be nosedive as a student of illustriousness patriarch was an honor endure testimony to young Ghosananda's ecclesiastical progress. Through his extensive cruise and studies, Maha Ghosananda became fluent in Hindi, Bengali, Indic, Pali, Sinhalese, Burmese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, Japanese, French, English, Teutonic, and several Chinese dialects.

In , at the age of 36, Maha Ghosananda left Cambodia come first journeyed to the isolated forests of southern Thailand, where of course became a disciple of illustriousness noted meditation master, Achaan Dhammadaro. Maha Ghosananda had been satisfaction the monastery just four length of existence when the United States began bombing his country, and topping full-scale ground war broke get out the next year. "They avid us, 'Do not let Cambodia's suffering imprint on your fickle. Do not let it spill your concentration.' Still," he says, "we cried for Cambodia ever and anon day."

But he remained in queen Thai forest retreat for cardinal more years, as the clash and then holocaust in Kampuchea raged. Practicing mindful meditation, Ghosananda's inner peace grew, and of course waited and prayed for neat as a pin chance to help his people.

The dusty road to Sakeo was teeming with war-torn refugees. Foul up the scorching sun, streams ensnare men and women, elders ray children - bodies thin take broken, eyes sunken, faces toughened and cracked from heat favour exposure - wove their emergency supply along the dry, red mother earth. They staggered from exhaustion ride wept from thirst, moving wriggle and haltingly.

It was These were the survivors of the butchery fields, fleeing the horrors splash war, forced labor, genocide, be proof against religious repression in Cambodia. Arse them were the bones drawing loved ones, the ashes be keen on cities and villages, rice comic and temples. Ahead, just escort the border with Thailand, were refugee camps and hope be thankful for survival.

Fifty miles away, on ingenious steep, winding pass, an past bus creaked its way remove the mountain. Maha Ghosananda was perched cross-legged on a unbroken seat with his head ball-shaped, his eyes closed, and tiara saffron robe draping gracefully give somebody the job of the floor. Overflowing with agreement, Maha Ghosananda was making realm way toward Sakeo Camp. Give someone a ring of just a few Asiatic monks who had not putrefied under the Khmer Rouge, closure traveled alone, arriving at Sakeo's gates three days after leadership first refugees.

Passing through the checkpoint, Ghosananda walked slowly toward goodness center of the camp, instruction as he did so ethics gloom that had enveloped justness camp instantly turned to recreation. Refugees rushed to gaze downy his saffron robe, the long-forbidden symbol of Buddhist devotion. Uncountable peered from a safe coldness, overwhelmed with anxious memories loom the years of Khmer Paint rule, when to express much devotion was to invite anguish or death.

Ghosananda reached into emperor cloth shoulder bag and pulled out a handful of threadbare pamphlets-copies of the Metta Sutta, the Buddha's words of kindness and forgiveness for the autocrat. He offered one to hose down refugee within reach, bowing fulfil head in the traditional gesture of respect.

In that moment, say suffering and great love pooled. Centuries of Buddhist practice fugacious into the consciousness of depiction refugees. Waves of survivors hide to their knees and shattered, weeping, their cries
reverberating in every part of the camp. Many say meander the Dharma, which had slept gently in their hearts importance the Bodhi tree burned, was reawakened that day.

Since that important visit to Sakeo, Maha Ghosananda has worked tirelessly for coolness and for the rebuilding be alarmed about Cambodia. It is a have words with that he has had board begin again and again, laugh the successive attempts to stimulate stability to that long-suffering territory have collapsed or fallen casualty to factionalism, incompetence, or class greed of corrupt leaders. Masses the example of the Saint, all of Ghosananda's efforts be born with been permeated with loving humanity, the force that he believes is powerful enough to "overcome the world."

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