Piya Tan
Encyclopedia
Piya Tan Beng Sin is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
, Malaysia), also known as Piya Tan or Piyasilo (monastic name), is a Peranakan
Peranakan
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era....
full-time lay Buddhist writer-cum-teacher in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. He actively teaches the Buddha's Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
, meditation
Buddhist meditation
Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism.Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of...
and Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
to various Buddhist groups and organisations, and also works as a meditation therapist and counsellor at The Minding Centre (TMC). He is the first full-time lay Dharma worker ("Dharmacari") in Singapore to be supported by donations from the Buddhist community.
Early life
Ordination
He was a TheravadaTheravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
Buddhist monk
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
for over 20 years. In 1970, he became a novice (samanera, pabbajjaa) in Wat Anandametyarama, Singapore, under HE Somdet Phra Vanarat (Poon Punnasiri of Wat Phra Jetubon), and on 24 June 1972, received his Higher Ordination (upasampadaa) from Somdet Phra Vanarat at Wat Srakes Rajavaramahavihara, Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, who some months later became the 17th Supreme Patriarch
Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
The Supreme Patriarch or Sangharaja is the head of the order of Buddhist monks in Thailand. The position is formally appointed by the King of Thailand, although the actual selection is made by senior clergymen...
of the Thai Buddhist Order.
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in 1972, he studied Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
. From 1973 to 1975, he successfully completed the Nak Tham series of ecclesiastical examination, attaining Nak Tham Ek (the highest grade). He went on to study at the Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University or MCU is one of two public Buddhist universities in Thailand. It is located at Wat Mahathat Yuwarajarangsarit Rajaworamahavihara in Bangkok.- History :...
in 1975. In 1974, while at Wat Srakes (Wat Saket), he acted as Ajahn Brahmavamso's interpreter before the latter was ordained by HE Phra Brahmagunabhorn, the abbot of Wat Srakes.
During his years in Thailand, he became close friends with the country's foremost Buddhist thinker, Chaokhun Prayudh Payutto, and the Buddhist social activist, Sulaks Sivaraksa, who founded the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB). In due course, Piya introduced a number of his students to Buddhist social work. In 1970, Piya co-founded The Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia as Vice-President just before leaving for his monastic
Buddhist monasticism
Monasticism is one of the most fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns are responsible for preserving and teaching Buddhist teachings and guiding Buddhist lay followers. Earlier Buddhist monks were enlightened...
training in Thailand. During his tenure, he wrote the lyrics for The Anthem of Unity (music by Victor Wee). In due course, he founded the Friends of Buddhism Malaysia (1985) and the Friends of Buddhism Singapore (1986). During the same period, he started the 'Dharmafarers', a community of full-time lay Buddhist workers, the first of its kind in the two countries.
Singapore
The other important contribution Piya made to Singapore Buddhism in the 1980s was that he used his teachings and courses to successfully unify the Buddhist youth groups of Singapore into a fellowship network.
In 1990, Piyasilo left the Order
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
to work as a layman. In 1994, in recognition of his Buddhist work (said to be "of PhD equivalent"), Prof Lewis Lancaster of the University of California at Berkeley's Dept. of East Asian Studies, invited him to the University as a Visiting Scholar. While there, he taught meditation, and was also a guest of the Berkeley Zen Center
Berkeley Zen Center
Berkeley Zen Center , temple name , is a Sōtō Zen Buddhist practice center located in Berkeley, California led by Sojun Mel Weitsman. An informal affiliate to the San Francisco Zen Center , BZC was originally founded in 1967 by Weitsman and Shunryu Suzuki as a satellite group for the SFZC...
, where he became a close friend of Alan Senauke
Alan Senauke
Hozan Alan Senauke is a Soto Zen priest, folk musician and poet residing at the Berkeley Zen Center in Berkeley, California, where he currently serves as Vice Abbot. He is a former Executive Director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship , holding that position from 1991 to 2001...
, and worked closely with the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
The Buddhist Peace Fellowship is a nonsectarian international network of engaged Buddhists participating in various forms of nonviolent social activism and environmentalism with chapters all over the world...
.
In 1996, he married Ratna Lim, and they have two sons. In 2000, Piya and his family were invited by his ex-students to live and teach in Singapore, where he works as a full-time lay teacher. In Singapore, he is currently consultant and Dharma teacher to the following organizations:
- Singapore Buddhist Mission
- Poh Ern Shih TemplePoh Ern Shih TemplePoh Ern Shih is located on a small hilltop at Chwee Chian Road, off Pasir Panjang Road, on Singapore's southern coast. The Buddhist temple was built as a memorial to those who lost their lives during the Battle of Pasir Panjang in 1942, villagers as well as Allied and Japanese soldiers...
- Poh Ming Tse Temple
- National University of SingaporeNational University of SingaporeThe National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
Buddhist Society (NUSBS) - Nanyang Technological UniversityNanyang Technological UniversityNanyang Technological University is one of the two largest public universities in Singapore with the biggest campus in Singapore and the world's largest engineering college. Its lush 200-hectare Yunnan Garden campus was the Youth Olympic Village of the world's first 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in...
Buddhist Society (NTUBS) - Various local polytechnics
Vipassana
Vipassanā or vipaśyanā in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi . Vipassana is one of the world's most ancient techniques of meditation, the inception of which is attributed to Gautama Buddha...
) directly from the venerable Mahasi Sayadaw
Mahasi Sayadaw
The Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw U Sobhana was a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of Vipassana meditation in the West and throughout Asia...
himself in 1979. As a lay teacher, he learned the forest meditation directly from Ajahn Brahmavamso. Using the two systems, he has run numerous meditation courses and retreats for students and adults including non-Buddhists, as well as various organizations and corporations such as the Defence Science Organization, Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...
, and Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
et cetera. He is also personal meditation mentor to various public figures, and spiritual mentor to various young Buddhists. In Singapore, he runs Dharma, Sutta, Pali and meditation classes like the Introduction to Pali series, the Sutta Study Group at NUS Buddhist Society (since Feb 2003), the English Dharma Courses and the Sutta Discovery classes at The Buddhist Fellowship (BF) and The Singapore Buddhist Mission.
In 2006, he started The Minding Centre, a Dharma and right livelihood activity centre, where he teaches the Suttas he has translated and runs the Piya's Meditation Courses, a blend of the Forest & Insight methods for the public. Piya is a regular teacher at the Brahm Education Centre (BEC) where he has been running the popular Meditation for Beginners classes since Jan 2004, and other courses. He lives with his family at Pali House, where he works full-time on the Sutta translation project.
Sutta translation work
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Bhante Aggacitta of Malaysia and Ven S Pemaratana of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
Despite being "digitally challenged", he launched the Dharmafarer website single-handedly in late 2006, where his annotated Sutta translations and works are made freely available online. Despite his heavy teaching and work schedule, he continue to conduct the free weekly Sutta classes at NUSBS, the Buddhist Fellowship and the TMC where he proof-reads and studies his Sutta translations with a group of serious Buddhists learners tirelessly to this day.
Education
| Year | Qualification Attained |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Visiting Scholar, University of California at Berkeley, USA |
| 1973–1975 | Passed all three Nak Tham (Ecclesiastical Dhamma) levels in the Thai language, attaining Nak Tham Ek (Dhamma 1st grade) |
| 1975–1992 | Worked as a monk serving especially Malaysia and Singapore |
| 1970–1975 | Completed his monastic training (Nissaya) in Thailand |
| 1967–1968 | "A" levels, Melaka High School, Melaka (Malacca) |
| 1962–1966 | "O" levels General Certificate of Education The General Certificate of Education or GCE is an academic qualification that examination boards in the United Kingdom and a few of the Commonwealth countries, notably Sri Lanka, confer to students. The GCE traditionally comprised two levels: the Ordinary Level and the Advanced Level... , Gajah Berang Secondary English School, Melaka, Malaysia |
| 1957–1961 | Tranquerah English School, Melaka, Malaysia |
List of works
As Piyasilo, he had a special interest in the sociologySociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
of religion, and wrote many ground-breaking and educational books on Buddhism such as Total Buddhist Work (1983) and social surveys (such as Buddhist Currents and Charisma in Buddhism, 1992), and spoke at various international and inter-religious forums. In 1984, Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
declared him "Apple User of the Year," effectively making him one of the first monks to "computerize" (See picture on the right). He is well-known for his futuristic visions of Buddhism, especially in terms of the full-time lay Buddhist ministry.
As supported by donations, most of Piya's works were published in limited prints only. A few numbers can still be found by selected booksellers and in the libraries of The Buddhist Library
The Buddhist Library
The Buddhist Library is Singapore's first dedicated Buddhist library. The library, which is located in a shophouse in Geylang, aims to meet the needs of the Buddhist community and anyone interested in Buddhism. It is unique in that it is not a voluntary association or a temple and because it...
, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
.
Books
- 1983 - The Total Buddhist Work [Buddhist missiology]
- 1984 - Basic Buddhist Meditation Practice (2nd ed.)
- 1986a - Dhammapada Stories
- 1986b - The Great Disciples of the Buddha
- 1987 - Reprinted Life of the Buddha (Rockhill)
- 1987c - Padmasambhava – the Man and the Myth
- 1987d - Life of the Buddha
- 1987e - Jataka Stories (2nd ed.)
- 1988 - Reprinted Buddha’s Discourses for Beginners(Mahachulalongkorn, Bangkok, 1985)
- 1988b - Buddhist Law [the VinayaVinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
] - 1988c - Buddhist Economics [Right Livelihood]
- 1988e - Campus Buddhist Growth (ltd. ed.) [Campus missiology]
- 1988f - Metta Sutta (Pali, translation, footnotes on Pali, commentarial endnotes)
- 1988g - Buddhist Culture (Buddhism and society)
- 1989a - Mandala of the Five Buddhas [On the 5 archetypal Buddhas]
- 1989b - Kosa Kata Buddhis (English-Malay Buddhist dictionary)
- 1989c - Pedoman Bahasa Malaysia Buddhis (guidelines for Buddhist translation into Malay)
- 1989d - Translating Buddhist Sutras [report on translation problems]
- 1989e - Book of Discourses, Vol. 1 (Sutta Nipata translation) [600+ pages unpublished manuscript]
- 1989f - The Chapter of the Snake (Sutta Nipata, Uraga Vagga translation)
- 1989h - Prolegomena to Buddhist Studies (General Guide 2) [A survey of early Buddhism and its scriptural traditions: unpublished manuscript]
- 1990 - Nichiren: the New Buddhism of Modern Japan (2nd repr)
- 1990a - Kamus Buddhist Caturbahasa [Sanskrit-Pali-English-Malay glossary]
- 1990b - Love & Marriage: A Buddhist Perspective (et al.)
- 1990c - Buddhist Prayer
- 1990d - The Puja Book vol. 1 [traditional chants]; vol. 2 [Buddhist rites]: interpaginal. English/Pali. [Vols. 3-4 uncompleted.]
- 1990e - Buddhist Psychology
- 1990f - A Guide to Buddhist Studies (General Guide 1) [Abbreviations, conventions, and bibliographies: incomplete manuscript]
- 1991a - The Origin and Meaning of Avalokitesvara [1988a] 2nd ed.
- 1991b - The Buddha’s Teachings [1987a] 2nd ed. [Introduction to Buddhist doctrines]
- 1991c - Introduction to Buddhism [Bangkok 1973] 3rd ed.
- 1991d - Values, Character and Humanity [occasional paper]
- 1991e - The Buddhist Way Towards a Better Environment [occasional paper]
- 1991f - Socially Engaged Holy Life [Bangkok INEB keynote address]
- 1991g - Charisma in Buddhism [a sociological survey with case studies] ISBN 983-9030-10-8
- 1991h Puja (for Daily Practice, etc.) [booklet]
- 1991i - Buddhist Prayer: Meaning, Aspiration and Wisdom
- 1991j - Dictionary of Buddhist Terms [incomplete manuscript]
- 1991k - Dictionary of Buddhist Quotations [incomplete manuscript]
- 1992a - Buddhist Currents: A brief social analysis of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Siam. ISBN 983-9030-04-3
- 1992b - New Directions in Buddhism today. ISBN 983-9030-03-5
- 2001 - Divine Qualities of Spiritual Dialogue The Singapore Bahai Studies Review Vol 6: pp. 109–127. [Paper delivered at the Dialogue Among Civilisations Conference, National University of Singapore, 2001]
Free Booklets Series - Buddhism For The Millions
The following were published in limited prints only (supported by donations):- The Four Spiritual Laws: the Buddhist answer to evangelism
- Be a Winner! (Daily application of the 4 Spiritual Powers)
- Puja Card (Tiratana Vandana & Basic Puja)
- A Buddhist Revival (Dharmafarer guide and prospectus)
- Mandala (Buddhist economics in practice in Malaysia and Singapore) brochure
- Buddhist Handbook (with Chinese or Malay translation)
- Is This Our Only Life? (The Buddhist doctrine of rebirth)
- Basic Buddhist Meditation Practice
- What Not to Look For in a Religion (Kesaputtiya Sutta) (ApologeticsApologeticsApologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
) - Objections to Buddhism (Comments on contemporary Buddhism)
- Say No! to the Evangelists (Answering the Evangelists)
- Rafts of Dharma (Buddhist leadership growth)
- On Being Your True Self (Inspirational)
- Who Should Recite Mantras? (Apologetics)
- Lesson of the Four-faced “Buddha” (Buddhist adaptation of Brahma)
- On Being a Mitra (Full-time lay Buddhist ministry)
- Why People Fail? (motivational)
- Is this the Dharma Ending Age? (EschatologyEschatologyEschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
) - Five Precepts, Five Virtues (Hermeneutics)
Web Essays
See also
- Lee Choon SengLee Choon SengLee Choon Seng was a Chinese community leader and philanthropist during the pre-independence era of Singapore. He was known for his various initiatives in helping the Chinese community and Sun Yat-Sen's revolutionary cause in China...
- Teresa Hsu ChihTeresa Hsu ChihTeresa Hsu Chih, or commonly known as Teresa Hsu is a Chinese-born Singaporean social worker, known affectionately as "Singapore's Mother Teresa", in recognition for her active life-long devotion in helping the aged sick and destitutes locally...
- Venerable Ho Yuen HoeHo Yuen HoeHo Yuen Hoe, later in life known as Venerable Ho , was a Buddhist nun affectionately known as Singapore's grand dame of charity in recognition of her life-long devotion in helping the old and needy. She was the abbess of Lin Chee Cheng Sia Temple and the founder in 1969 of the Man Fut Tong Nursing...