Nissarana Vanaya

Nissarana Vanaya
The Buddha Statue of Nissarana Vanaya
Basic information
Location	Nissarana Vanaya, Meetirigala 11742, Sri Lanka
Affiliation	Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha
Country	Sri Lanka
Website	http://www.nissarana.lk/
Architectural description
Founder	Asoka Weeraratna
Completed	1967

Nissarana Vanaya (Sinhala: නිස්සරණ වනය) is a renowned meditation monastery in Sri Lanka. It is located in Western province close to the town of Kirindiwela.

Meetirigala Nissarana Vanaya is a monastery in the Kalyāṇi Yogāsrama Samsthava or Galduwa Samsthava, the strictest forest tradition in Sri Lanka. It is considered as one of Sri Lanka's most respected meditation monasteries and was founded in 1967 by Asoka Weeraratna (the founder of the German Dharmaduta Society and the Berlin Buddhist Vihara in Germany). He equipped the monastery with all the facilities conducive to the meditative life, found an accomplished meditation master, Ven. Matara Sri Nanarama Mahathera (author of 'Seven stages of Purification' and 'Seven Contemplations', both published by the BPS), to direct the meditation training, and then, his mission accomplished, he himself entered the Buddhist order under the name Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi. He died on July 2, 1999 after spending 27 years as a forest monk at Mitirigala. Ven. Dhammanisanthi was 80 years of age at the time of his death.

The distinguished senior monk Venerable Matara Sri Nanarama Mahathera was the first abbot and the meditation master. During his period Nissarana Vanaya became one of the most respected meditation monasteries of Sri Lanka due to the fame of its meditation master as well as its secluded and contemplative life where monks practiced sincerely with the aspiration of attaining Nibbana in this very life. Many foreign monks and lay people also practiced meditation under the guidance of Venerable Matara Sri Nanarama Mahathera. Due to his enormous influence on the revival and study of meditation techniques Ven. Nanarama was appointed as the head meditation master of a chain of forest monastery throughout the island called Kalyāṇi Yogāsrama Samsthava or Galduwa Samsthava. One of Ven. Nanarama's greatest gifts was his ability to incorporate the Burmese Vipassana techniques into Sri Lankan meditation traditions and balance them with the teaching of samatha meditation. It is here that the famous Buddhist nun Ayya Khema was taught by Ven. Ñāṇanārāma in the practice of the jhāna or samatha meditation.