Anuruddha. - A comprehensive manual of Abhidhamma: the Abhidhammattha sangaha of Ācariya Anuruddha

MAHTHERA NRADA was born in Colombo in 1898. At the age of 18 he was ordained as a novice under the revered teacher, Ven. Pelene Vajiraa Mahnyaka Thera, and at the age of 20 he received the higher ordination. During his 65 years in the Sangha, Ven. Nrada distinguished himself by his piety, his disciplined conduct, and his work in propagating the Buddha Dhamma both in Sri Lanka and abroad. He passed away in Colombo in 1983. Ven. Nrada is best known for his book The Buddha and His Teachings, widely regarded as one of the clearest and most detailed introductions to Theravada Buddhism in English.

BHIKKHU BODHI is a Buddhist monk of American nationality, born in New York City in 1944. After completing a doctorate in philosophy at the Claremont Graduate School, he came to Sri Lanka for the purpose of entering the Sangha. He received novice ordination in 1972 and higher ordination in 1973, both under the eminent scholar-monk, Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya, with whom he studied Pali and Dhamma. He is the author of several works on Theravada Buddhism, including four translations of major Pali suttas along with their commentaries. Since 1984 he has been the Editor for the Buddhist Publication Society, and since 1988 its President.

U REWATA DHAMMA was born in Burma and entered the monastery at an early age. He studied Pali and Theravada Buddhism under various eminent scholar-monks in Burma and passed the highest examination in scriptural studies at the age of 23. In 1953 the then president of Burma awarded him the prestigious title of Ssanadhaja-siripavara-dhammcariya. He studied in India from 1956 to 1967, obtaining a doctorate from the Benares Hindu University. In 1975 he moved to England, where he established a Buddhist centre in Birmingham as his base, and he now teaches meditation and Buddhism at various centres in Europe and the United States. Ven. Rewata Dhamma edited and published the Abhidhammattha Sangaha with the Vibhvin-k in 1965 and the Visuddhimagga with its Mah-k in 1970, both in Varanasi. His translation of the Abhidhammattha Sangaha into Hindi, with his own commentary written in Hindi, was published in 1967 and was awarded the Kalidasa Prize by the Hindi Academy as one of the outstanding books of the year. It is used as a textbook in Buddhist studies in many universities in India.

U SLNANDA was born in Burma and has been a Buddhist monk since 1947. He holds two degrees of Dhammcariya (Master of Dhamma) and was a university lecturer in Pali and Buddhist studies in Sagaing and Mandalay. He held a prominent position in the Sixth Buddhist Council, convened in Rangoon in 1954, as the chief compiler of the comprehensive Pali-Burmese Dictionary and as one of the final editors of the Pali Canon and Commentaries. Since 1979 he has been living in the United States, where he teaches Vipassana meditation, Abhidhamma, and various other aspects of Theravada Buddhism. Ven. Slnanda is the Founder-abbot of the Dhammnanda Vihara and the Spiritual Director of the Theravada Buddhist Society of America and the Dhammachakka Meditation Center in California. His book The Four Foundations of Mindfulness is published by Wisdom Publications.