Background
Henepola Gunaratana was born December 7, 1927 in the small Sri Lankan village of Henepola.
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Henepola Gunaratana
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Career
He is often affectionately known as Bhante G. He was ordained as a monk at the age of 12 in a temple in Malandeniya Village, Kurunegala District. His preceptor was Venerable Kiribatkumbure Sonuttara Mahathera. He received upasampada in 1947, aged 20, in Kandy.
He was first educated at Vidyasekhara Pirivena Junior College, a monks school in Gampaha.
After his education, he was sent to India for missionary work as a representative of the Maha Bodhi Society. He primarily served the Untouchables in Sanchi, Delhi, and Bombay.
Following this he served as an educator for Kishon Dial School and Temple Road Girl"s School. He was elected president of the society twelve years later.
Gunaratana earned a bachelor"s, master"s, and doctorate in philosophy at American University.
He also lectures at universities throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia. He is the author of the book Bhante Gunaratana is currently the abbot of the Bhavana Society, a monastery and meditation retreat center that he founded in High View, West Virginia.
