Mahasi Sayadaw

Mahasi Sayadaw U Sobhana
မဟာစည်ဆရာတော် ဦးသောဘန
The Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw
TitleSayadaw
Personal
Born
Maung Thwin

(1904-07-29)29 July 1904
Died14 August 1982(1982-08-14) (aged 78)
ReligionBuddhism
NationalityBurmese
SchoolTheravada
LineageMahasi
EducationDhammācariya (1941)
Dharma namesSobhana
သောဘန
OccupationBuddhist monk
Senior posting
Based inMahasi Monastery, Yangon, Myanmar
PredecessorU Nārada
SuccessorU Pandita, Dipa Ma
Websitewww.mahasi.org.mm

Mahāsī Sayādaw U Sobhana (Burmese: မဟာစည်ဆရာတော် ဦးသောဘန, pronounced [məhàsì sʰəjàdɔ̀ ʔú θɔ́bəna̰]; 29 July 1904 – 14 August 1982) was a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of vipassanā (insight) meditation in the West and throughout Asia.

In his style of practice, derived from the so-called New Burmese Method of U Nārada, the meditator lives according to Buddhist morality as a prerequisite for meditation practice. Meditation itself entails the practice of "bare insight," using satipaṭṭhāna, the four foundations of mindfulness, to anchor the attention on the sensations of the rising and falling of the abdomen during breathing, observing carefully any other sensations or thoughts. This is coupled to reflection on the Buddhist teachings on causality, thereby gaining insight into anicca, dukkha, and anattā and attaining stream entry.

Mahāsī Sayādaw was a questioner and final editor at the Sixth Buddhist Council on May 17, 1954.