Bhikkhu Ñanananda

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grasshopper
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by grasshopper »

There is a famous native Sri lankan Bhikkhu called Kiribathgoda Ñanananda: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiribathgo ... anda_Thero" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is this the monk you guys are talking about in this thread?
Thanks.
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retrofuturist
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,

No - different person.

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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BlackBird
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by BlackBird »

Hi Retro

Since arriving in Sri Lanka I have heard Ven Ñanananda's name come up on more than a few occasions. His unorthodoxy is a bit scandalous for the majority, indeed he tends to get lumped in with Nyanavira in the 'oddball' category. Some people describe him as an Arahant, some have described him to me as an 'old rambler'. I've not had the chance to meet the Venerable Sir, and even after meeting him I would probably refrain from passing judgement, all I can really say is that from my experience his mention tends to polarize people.

metta
Jack
"For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this:
'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I." - MN. 70 Kitagiri Sutta

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tiltbillings
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by tiltbillings »

BlackBird wrote: some have described him to me as an 'old rambler'.
Ah, but such eloquent, insightful rambling.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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retrofuturist
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Jack,

Thanks for letting me know. It's quite sad, though given the picture of Sri Lankan orthodoxy painted by Nanavira Thera in his Letters, not altogether unexpected. Nice to see that some think highly of him - probably those that have actually lent an ear to what he has to say.

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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atulo
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by atulo »

interesting. I just posted a link about papanca-sanna-sankha. It is theme which is rarely discussed, and Nananada was one of rare brave ones. Here is (again) the link to Nanamoli's article http://pathpress.wordpress.com/2010/08/ ... na-sankha/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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mikenz66
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by mikenz66 »

BlackBird wrote:The two books listed above are now available for download on http://www.what-buddha-taught.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (down at the bottom) saving everyone the hassle of rapidshare.

metta
Jack :heart:
Hmm the scan is missing pages 4 and 5, and resumes near the beginning of the quote that Geoff (Ñāṇa) kindly provided here: http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... =40#p72889" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

However, the text does seem to be available here:
http://nibbanam.com/?p=49" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mike
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by Nyana »

Hi all,

Some of Ven. Ñāṇananda's books can be downloaded here: http://seeingthroughthenet.net/eng/gen. ... =other&p=1

His Ideal Solitude: An Exposition on the Bhaddekaratta Sutta can be downloaded here: http://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh188.pdf

Audio files of Ven. Ñāṇananda reading the first 25 of his Nibbāna Sermons (in English) can be downloaded here: http://seeingthroughthenet.net/eng/gen. ... cat=nn&p=1

His Seeing Through: A Guide to Insight Meditation can be downloaded as a .doc file here: http://www.beyondthenet.net/calm/SEEING%20THROUGH.doc (You will need to have the Times_CSX+ fonts installed in your operating system fonts folder for the diacritics of this .doc file to display properly. They can be downloaded here: http://www.beyondthenet.net/calm/clm_main1.asp.)

All the best,

Geoff
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mikenz66
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by mikenz66 »

There is now a Wikipedia page for Bhikkhu Ñanananda, with some useful history and links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katukurund ... anda_Thera" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:
Mike
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by Nyana »

mikenz66 wrote:There is now a Wikipedia page for Bhikkhu Ñanananda, with some useful history and links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katukurund ... anda_Thera" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks Mike.

Apparently the venerable bhikkhu is a time traveler. :D According to the Wikipedia page:
  • Ven. Nanananda Thera delivered 33 sermons on the subject of Nibbana, during the period 1998.08.12 – 1991.01.31.
If someone has a Wikipedia account it would be a good idea to correct these dates.

All the best,

Geoff
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by Paññāsikhara »

BlackBird wrote:Hi Retro

Since arriving in Sri Lanka I have heard Ven Ñanananda's name come up on more than a few occasions. His unorthodoxy is a bit scandalous for the majority, indeed he tends to get lumped in with Nyanavira in the 'oddball' category. Some people describe him as an Arahant, some have described him to me as an 'old rambler'. I've not had the chance to meet the Venerable Sir, and even after meeting him I would probably refrain from passing judgement, all I can really say is that from my experience his mention tends to polarize people.

metta
Jack
All the Sri Lankan Buddhists I know, who are mostly scholars, be they bhikkhus or upasikas, really think very highly of this Venerable. A couple of people around here remember him from his old days as a lay scholar.
My recently moved Blog, containing some of my writings on the Buddha Dhamma, as well as a number of translations from classical Buddhist texts and modern authors, liturgy, etc.: Huifeng's Prajnacara Blog.
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mikenz66
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by mikenz66 »

Paññāsikhara wrote: All the Sri Lankan Buddhists I know, who are mostly scholars, be they bhikkhus or upasikas, really think very highly of this Venerable. A couple of people around here remember him from his old days as a lay scholar.
Besides, his scholarship seems to have been quite influential. His definition of papañca, in particular, comes up in essentially any discussion of the Honeyball Sutta: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (see Bhikkhu Bodhi's notes in the Nanamoli/Bodhi translation of the MN) and is inserted in the later editions of Ven Nyanatiloka's dictionary (of course added after the Ven Nyanatiloka passed away...).
http://what-buddha-said.net/library/Bud ... pa%C3%B1ca" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Papañca: Sanskrit prapañca In doctrinal usage, it signifies the expansion, differentiation, 'diffuseness' or 'manifoldness' of the world; and it may also refer to the 'phenomenal world' in general, and to the mental attitude of 'worldliness'. In A. IV, 173, it is said:;As far as the field of sixfold sense-contact extends, so far reaches the world of diffuseness or the phenomenal world; papañcassa gati as far as the world of diffuseness extends, so far extends the field of sixfold sense-contact. Through the complete fading away and cessation of the field of sixfold sense-contact, there comes about the cessation and the coming-to-rest of the world of diffuseness papañca-nirodho papañca-vupasamo. The opposite term nippapañca is a name for Nibbāna S. LIII, in the sense of 'freedom from samsaric diffuseness'. - Dhp. 254:;Mankind delights in the diffuseness of the world, the Perfect Ones are free from such diffuseness; papañcābhiratā pajā nippapañca tathāgatā The 8th of the 'thoughts of a great man' mahā-purisa-vitakka A. VIII, 30 has:,This Dhamma is for one who delights in non-diffuseness the unworldly, Nibbāna; it is not for him who delights in worldliness papañca. For the psychological sense of 'differentiation', see M. 18 Madhupindika Sutta:;Whatever man conceives vitakketi that he differentiates papañceti and what he differentiates, by reason thereof ideas and considerations of differentiation papañca-saññā -sankhā arise in him.; On this text and the term papañca see Dr. Kurt Schmidt in German Buddhist Writers WHEEL 74/75 p. 61ff. - See D. 21 Sakka's Quest; WHEEL 10, p.

In the commentaries, we often find a threefold classification tanhā-, ditthi-, māna-papañca which probably means the world's diffuseness created hy craving, false views and conceit. - See M. 123; A. IV, 173; A. VI, 14, Sn. 530, 874, 916.
  • Ñānananda Bhikkhu, in Concept and Reality: An Essay on Papañca and Papañca-saññā-sankhā Kandy 1971, Buddhist Publication Society, suggests that the term refers to man's;tendency towards proliferation in the realm of concepts; and proposes a rendering by;conceptual proliferation,; which appears convincing in psychological context, e.g. in two of the texts quoted above, A. IV, 173 and M. 18. - The threefold classification of papañca by way of craving, false views and conceit, is explained by the author as three aspects, or instances, of the foremost of delusive conceptualisations, the ego-concept.
Since Ven Ñānananda's definition is the standard one in almost all of the material I've read, it it perhaps difficult to appreciate its novelty, but comparing the above passages one can certainly see the depth and power of his scholarship. The old section of the dictionary entry seems rather obscure in comparison...

:anjali:
Mike
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by pulga »

Papañca: Sanskrit prapañca In doctrinal usage, it signifies the expansion, differentiation, 'diffuseness' or 'manifoldness' of the world; and it may also refer to the 'phenomenal world' in general, and to the mental attitude of 'worldliness'...
Do you know whether that addition to the Buddhist Dictionary was written by the Ven. Ñanaponika? I rather like the interpretation of papañca as "worldlihood"; i.e. so long as we understand that it refers to our being-in-the-world, as opposed to our being before the world.


:anjali:
Mike[/quote]
"Dhammā=Ideas. This is the clue to much of the Buddha's teaching." ~ Ven. Ñanavira, Commonplace Book
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mikenz66
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by mikenz66 »

pulga wrote: Do you know whether that addition to the Buddhist Dictionary was written by the Ven. Ñanaponika?
Yes, I think so:
http://what-buddha-said.net/library/Bud ... -titel.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Fourth Revised Edition,
edited by Nyanaponika Mahathera
As a small help in the situation described, a number of alternative renderings used by other translators have been included in some articles of this edition. In a very few cases, unacceptable though familiar renderings have been bracketed. The Venerable Nyanatiloka's own preferences have been placed in inverted commas. Generally it may be said that his renderings, based on his comprehensive knowledge of texts and doctrine, are very sound and adequate. Only in a very few cases has the editor changed the author's preferred rendering e.g. 'fermentation' for āsava (instead of 'bias'), 'right view' for sammā-ditthi (instead of 'right understanding'). The latter change was made for the sake of economizing with the few English equivalents for the numerous Pāli synonyms for 'knowing', etc.; and also to avoid having to render the opposite term, micchā-ditthi by 'wrong understanding'.
NYANAPONIKA :
Kandy, Ceylon
February 1970
Only few and minor revisions have been made to the text of the Fourth Edition which is now issued by the Buddhist Publication Society.
NYANAPONIKA :
Kandy, Sri Lanka
March 1980
It would be interesting to know if the comment was added in 1970 or 1980. Presumably Ven Nyanaponika would have already seen Ven Nanananda's work at that point, though the book did not come out until 1971, since, as I understand it, he encouraged Ven Nanananda to publish it.
pulga wrote: I rather like the interpretation of papañca as "worldlihood"; i.e. so long as we understand that it refers to our being-in-the-world, as opposed to our being before the world.
Yes, that's a good observation.

:anjali:
Mike
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Re: Bhikkhu Ñanananda

Post by rowyourboat »

I just wanted to share some good news: I will be meeting Ven Nananda for 2-3 hours in a few days time. :bow:
With Metta

Karuna
Mudita
& Upekkha
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