DR. REWATA DHAMMA

Agga Maha Pandita,MA, PhD.

(Born in 1929)

Born in Myanmar in 1929 he ordained at a local monastery as a novice at the age of twelve and showed himself to be an excellent scholar. Going on to study under several eminent learned monks, he obtained the highest degree in Pali at the age of 23 and was awarded the title of Sasanadhaja Siripavara Dhammacariya by the Myanmar President in 1953. Three years later he was awarded a state scholarship and left to study at the Sanskrit and Hindi universities in Varanasi (Benares) in India.

In 1960 he obtained the Shastri (BA) in Mahayana Buddhism, in 1964 an MA in Sanskrit and Indian Philosophy and in 1967 a PhD. He was by then teaching in the universities and in 1967 was appointed chief editor of the Encyclopaedia of Buddhist Technical Terms. He also published several books in Pali and Hindi. His two volume commentary on the Abhidhammattha Sangaha was awarded the Kalidasa prize as one of the outstanding books of the year by the Hindi Academy in 1967. This is now used as a Buddhist textbook in many Indian universities.

He forsook this career to come and work in Birmingham in 1975. Since then he has established an international reputation as a teacher of Buddhism and Vipassana meditation and has led retreats throughout Europe and the US as well as giving talks and lectures at such universities as Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Lancaster, Zurich, Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley, Macomb and Champagne. He has also now published a number of books in English. In addition he has become known for his promotion of peace and reconciliation and has been invited to address many conferences and symposia, notably in Asia.