Ven. Sayadaw Nyanapurnik Mahathera, a Pali scholar and Vipassanacariya has been working actively for the progress and development of Theravada Buddhism in Nepal. He was born on 21st November, 1939 in Tansen, Palpa which is about 90 kilometers north of Lumbini, the birth-place of Lord Buddha. Ordained as a novice at the early age of 16, he spent a year in Buddhist studies in Nepal and went to Myanmar for further study.
In 1963, he was awarded the prestigious ‘Sāsanadhaja Dhammāchariya’ title, a highly-respected honour in Burmese Buddhist monastic education. Besides this Dhamma education, he has also completed various levels of formal education which includes School Leaving Certificate (SLC) in 1971, IA (1974), BA (1977) and MA (Culture and History) from Tribhuvan University, Nepal along with Diploma in Sanskrit from Banaras Sanskrit University, India. He is an author and translator of about 50 books on Buddhism, both in Nepali and Nepal Bhasha languages. He was also one of the members of the publication team of the Pali Burmese World Dictionary, Burma (1964-66). He has travelled extensively around the world as a Meditation instructor.
In 1984, Sayadaw founded the Vishwa Shanti Vihāra in Kathmandu, and became its spiritual director. The vihāra was expanded in 1997 to house the ‘World Peace Buddhist School’ for the education of Buddhist monks and nuns, in order to further propagate Theravāda Buddhism in Nepal.
He was bestowed the ‘Agga Mahā Saddhammajotikadhaja’ title in 2001 from the Government of Myanmar for his outstanding service to the propagation of Buddha-Sāsana around the world.
Sayadaw Nyanapurnik visited and delivered many teachings in Malaysia, which included this Dhamma teaching given in BUBS during his visit in 2015.