Lineage and Spiritual Roots | Planet Dharma

1. Planet Dharma- Lineage and Spiritual Roots Namgyal Rinpoche – George Dawson Namgyal Rinpoche was born Leslie George Dawson in 1931, October 11, and raised in Toronto, Canada by parents of Irish and Scottish descent. Leslie George Dawson awakened through the Western Mysteries while living in London, where he met the visiting teacher Sayadaw in 1958. Dawson moved to Burma and studied under U Thila Wunta and Mahasi Sayadaw in Bodh Gaya, Rangoon (where he was ordained as Ananda Bodhi), Bangkok and Sri Lanka. Ananda Bodhi left the East in 1962, teaching at the London Buddhist Vihara and founding Johnstone House in Scotland, which he gave to Chögyam Trungpa who renamed it Samye Ling. Anandabodhi returned to Canada and founded the Dharma Centre of Canada outside Toronto. His teaching methods included international travel with students; in 1968 and 1971 he traveled with about a hundred students to India and Sikkim, where they met the Tibetans. He was recognized by the 16th Karmapa, Kalu Rinpoche, Sakya Trizin Rinpoche and others as an embodiment of Namgyal Rinpoche, and received transmissions of the Karma Kargyu lineage. Over the years he included the Western Mysteries, science, psychology, art, music, exercise, travel and other methods in his teaching repertoire, becoming one of the main voices of Tibetan Buddhism in North America along with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Some of Namgyal’s students started centers in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Central America as well as Canada and the US. His modern and eclectic approach is carried on throughout the world, with Clear Sky embodying this multiversal vision as well. He continued to teach until his death in Switzerland on October 22, 2003, having empowered a number of senior students to continue his work. U Thila Wunta Sayadaw U Thila Wunta was the teacher of Ananda Bodhi (formerly Leslie George Dawson and later recognized as Namgyal Rinpoche), and was born June 28,

2. 1912, in Mon State, Myannmar. He began his training at a monastery school in 1919 and took monks’ vows at the age of 15. In May 1932 he received full ordination as a Bhikshu in the Theravada Order under the direction of Kyaw Sayadaw. In 1947 U Thila Wunta set out for Mandalay to pursue further meditation practice at Mahatmya-muni Pagoda, a famous holy site in Mandalay. While struggling with his meditation at Mahatma-muni Pagoda, U Thila Wunta met a disciple of Bodaw Aung Min Gaung (Bo Min Gaung), a fully realized Burmese saint and a great meditator in the Weizzer forest tradition of Burma. In Burma “weizzers” are forest yogis known as accomplished masters, similar to tantric yogis or siddhis. Inspired by what he heard about Bodaw Aung Min Gaung, U Thila Wunta traveled to Popa to meet him in person and pursued further study, resulting in a radical deepening of his understanding. Source URL: https://www.planetdharma.com/lineage/