Thanissaro

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Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu , also Ajaan Geoff (* 1949 on Long Island , New York as Geoffrey Furguson DeGraff ), is an American Buddhist of the Theravada tradition who, as a monk of the Thammayut order (Dhammayutika Nikaya ), belongs to the Thai forest tradition ( kammatthana ) . He is the abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County , California . He also works as a translator of the Pali canon .

biography

Ajaan Geoff on a begging round

After Geoffrey DeGraff 1971 at Oberlin College had a degree in European intellectual history, he traveled to Thailand, where he Ajaan Fuang Jotiko , a student of Ajaan Lee Dhammadaros , meditation learned.

He was ordained a Buddhist monk ( bhikkhu ) in 1976 and lived at Wat Dhammasathit, where he stayed after the death of his teacher in 1986. Ajaan Fuang had asked Ajaan Geoff before his death to succeed him as abbot of the monastery. Ajaan Geoff was also made abbot, but as a Western foreigner he had no authority in a wat founded by Thais.

At the request of Ajaan Suwat Suvaco , he traveled to the mountains of San Diego County in southern California in 1991, where he helped Suwat build Wat Mettavanaram ("Metta Forest Monastery"). In 1993 he became abbot of this isolated and strictly conservative monastery. In 1995, Ajaan Geoff became the first native American and non-Thai bhikkhu to receive the title, power of attorney and responsibility of a referring person (Upajjhaya) in the Thammayut order. He also served as treasurer of that order in the United States.

Publications

His publications include translations of Ajaan Lee's meditation instructions from Thai; a four-volume collection of sutta translations entitled Handful of Leaves ; the Code of Buddhist hermit (The Buddhist Monastic Code) , a two-volume handbook on the rules of conduct for monks; Wings for the awakening (Wings to Awakening) , a study of the factors of Buddha as essential to the awakening were taught, and (as co-author), the textbook Buddhist Religions: A Historical Introduction .

Also:

  • The Mind Like Fire Unbound , an exploration of Upadana (clinging) and Nibbana (Nirvana) in terms of the philosophical illustration of fire
  • The Paradox of Becoming , a detailed analysis of becoming a causal factor in suffering
  • The Shape of Suffering , a study of co -arising and its position on the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path
  • Skill in Questions , a study of how Buddha with a deliberate strategy in answering questions provides a framework for understanding the strategic purposes of his teachings
  • Noble Strategy , The Karma of Questions , Purity of Heart , and Head & Heart Together , collections of essays on Buddhist practice
  • Meditations (1–5), collection of written Dhamma teachings
  • Dhammapada: A Translation , a collection of verses from the Buddha
  • And as a co-author, a university-level textbook: Buddhist Religions: A Historical Introduction
  • Into the Stream A Study Guide to the First Stage of Awakening

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ajahn Chah : Not for Sure. Two talks, newly translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu ( Memento from January 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ); Book advertisement on the Abhayagiri Foundation website, 2012
  2. ↑ a b Rich Orloff: Being A Monk. A Conversation with Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff '71) ; Oberlin Alumni Magazine, 99/4 (2004)
  3. ^ Justin Thomas McDaniel: The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk. Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand. Columbia University Press, New York 2011, p. 249.
  4. ^ A b John Bullitt: Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1949—) ; Short biography on accesstoinsight.org, 2008
  5. ↑ John Bullitt: Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) ; accesstoinsight.org, 2007
  6. ↑ Text: de, en : German translation: The spirit - like unbound fire: A metaphor from the early Buddhist discourses (fourth edition) by Andreas Hubig
  7. ↑ Text: de, en : German translation: Noble strategy: Treatises on the Buddhist path by BGM study group
  8. ↑ Text: de, en : German translation: Mediations 1 by Kurt Jungbehrens, Freya Zellhoff and Lothar Schenk, final processing: Viriya.
  9. ↑ Text: en, de : German translation Dhammapada: A translation by Schenpen Sangmo
  10. ↑ Text: de, en : German translation by Andreas Hubig: In den Strom .
personal data
SURNAME Thanissaro
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thanissaro Bhikkhu; Ajaan Geoff; DeGraff, Geoffrey (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Buddhist Dept.
DATE OF BIRTH 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Long Island , New York