Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa

Bhaddanta
The Most Venerable Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa Mahāthēra
TitleDhammācariya (1956), Aggamahā Kammaṭṭhānācariya (1999), Shwegyin Nikaya Rattaññūmahānāyaka (2009), Abhidhaja Aggamahā Saddhammajotika (2018), Aggamahāpaṇḍita (2021), Abhidhajamahāraṭṭhaguru (2024)
Personal life
Born (1934-06-24) June 24, 1934
NationalityBurmese
Parents
  • U Phyu (father)
  • Daw Saw Tin (mother)
Notable work(s)The Practice That Leads to Nibbāna
Other namesPa-Auk Sayadaw
OccupationMonk
Religious life
ReligionBuddhism
OrderShwegyin Nikāya
SchoolTheravāda
Dharma namesĀciṇṇa
အာစိဏ္ဏ
OrdinationMay 10, 1954 (71 years ago)
InitiationMay 2, 1944
by U Soṇa
Senior posting
TeacherMahasi Sayadaw, U Paṇḍitā
Based inMawlamyine, Mon State; Pyin U Lwin, Mandalay
PredecessorAggapañña
Websitewww.paaukforestmonastery.org

The Most Venerable Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa Mahāthēra (ဘဒ္ဒန္တအာစိဏ္ဏ), more commonly referred to as the Pa-Auk Sayadaw (Burmese: ဖားအောက်ဆရာတော်; MLCTS: Hpa:auk Hca.ratau.), is a Burmese Theravāda monk, meditation teacher and the abbot of the Pa-Auk Forest Monastery in Mawlamyine.

Most Venerable Āciṇṇa Mahāthēra ordained as a novice in 1944, receiving full ordination in 1954. Immersed in the study of the Pāli Canon from his days as a novice, he gradually broadened his scope of attention to include meditation, initially training under Mahasi Sayadaw and U Paṇḍitā. Not long after, he would also decide to become a forest monk. In the months and years to follow, he would deepen his meditation abilities under the Kathitwaing, Thanlyin and Shwetheindaw sayadaws, eventually developing his own set of meditation methods, often collectively referred to as the "Pa-Auk method".

On July 21, 1981, Most Venerable Āciṇṇa Mahāthēra succeeded the Phelhtaw Sayadaw Aggapañña, at the latter's invitation, as the abbot of the Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. The monastery would then grow into a network of meditation centres across Southeast Asia and beyond, and is currently the largest network in Myanmar.