Venerable Pannyavaro is an Australian Buddhist monk who has devoted his life to the meditational aspects of the Buddha's teachings.

During his meditation training, he practiced under several meditation masters in Sri Lanka and Burma, including Venerable Sayadaw U Janaka of Chanmyay Meditation Centre, Rangoon, who is the foremost disciple of the renowned Burmese meditation master, the late Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw.

Pannyavaro was involved in the beginnings of a number of the very early Buddhist communities in Australia. He later went to Thailand and received higher ordination at Wat Borvornivet in Bangkok under Venerable Phra Nyanasamvarva, the Sangha Raja of Thailand.

Since 1974, he has from time to time studied and practised Vipassana meditation in most of the major Theravada Buddhist countries, including long periods of intensive practise with teachers at the Mahasi Sayadaw centres in Burma.

As a Western meditation teacher, Ven. Pannyavaro naturally empathises with the concerns and needs of meditators in their own culture. His long training and life experience combine to bring a practical in-depth approach to the teaching of insight (Vipassana) meditation in contemporary life.

In 2005, Pannyavaro founded the Bodhi Tree Forest Monastery and Retreat Centre, near Lismore in Northern NSW, Australia, where he is the resident senior monk and teacher. He also gives retreats and meditation workshops from time to time in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and other Asian countries, but more regularly he conducts retreats and workshops at the Bodhi Tree Forest Monastery and Retreat Centre.

Bodhi Tree Forest Monastery and Retreat Centre have a regular schedule of retreats and workshops for beginners and long-term meditators throughout the year. You are welcome to come to Bodhi Tree to practice.

Enquires and bookings can be made from the net: www.buddhanet.net/bodhi-tree. The Retreats are residential. Accommodation and vegetarian meals are provided. All retreats are on Dana, that is, on donation basis.

Pannyavaro is also well known as the founder and Webmaster of BuddhaNet.Net, the world’s premier Buddhist website. In 2006 he was instrumental in developing a World Buddhist eLibrary database, which is now freely available on the online at www.buddhistelibrary.org.

If you would like to develop your meditation practise further with this teacher, please feel free to contact:

Ven. Pannyavaro
Bodhi Tree Forest Monastery & Vipassana Retreat Centre
78 Bentley Road, Tullera, via Lismore NSW 2480 Australia
Website: www.bodhitreemonastery.org; Email: webmaster@buddhanet.net