Nanavira Thera
| Ven. Ñāṇavīra Thera | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| School | Theravada |
| Education | B.A. degree in Modern and Medieval Languages from Cambridge University |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | British/Ceylonese |
| Born |
5 January 1920 Aldershot, England |
| Died | 5 July 1965 (aged 45) Bundala, Sri Lanka |
| Senior posting | |
| Title | Thera (Elder) |
| Religious career | |
| Website | nanavira.org pathpress.org pathpresspublications.com |
Ñāṇavīra Thera (born Harold Edward Musson; 5 January 1920 – 5 July 1965) was an English Theravāda Buddhist monk, ordained in 1950 in Sri Lanka. He is known as the author of Notes on Dhamma, which were later published by Path Press together with his letters in one volume titled Clearing the Path.
Harold Edward Musson was born in military barracks in England. He spent his youth in the environs of Alton, a small town in the Hampshire Downs, and was equally influenced by the nearby town of Aldershot. His father, Edward Lionel Musson, was Captain in the 1st Manchester Regiment and it is very likely that young Harold spend some time in India or Southeast Asia while Lionel Musson was on his assignments.
He went to Wellington College, Berkshire, followed by Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1938, and spent that summer learning Italian in Perugia, Italy. In June 1939, he sat for Mathematics, and, in 1940, for Modern Languages (in which he earned a "Class One"). Immediately after the outbreak of war, in 1939, he enlisted in the Territorial Royal Artillery. In July 1941, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps, where his knowledge of modern languages was an important asset (he was an interrogator). In October 1942, he was promoted to Lieutenant, and in April 1944, to Temporary Captain. His overseas service with the British Eighth Army was spent primarily in Italy, from 1943 to 1946. Despite his military background, a family acquaintance spoke of him as having "completely resented warfare", a sentiment borne out in one of his letters, written in 1964 in Ceylon. Included in the letter were some sardonic comments to the effect that he had much enjoyed travel before his wartime service, and that he agreed with the classification of intelligence into three classes; "human, animal, and military". He received a B.A. degree in Modern and Medieval Languages from Cambridge University for six terms of university study together with three terms allowed for military service.
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