and
In the same year, the Most Venerable Phradhamsenabodi (Thongchai Suwannasiri), the Head monk of the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in Thailand, Chiang Mai, donated the house and land on the Aegna island, in Estonia, where today the WDS Aegna Meditation Center has been established. As the house is uninhabitable and risky to collapse, it is planned to completely reconstruction the house in 2020, also funded by Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in Thailand.
Sādhu! Sādhu!Sādhu!
In 2014, the psychologist and therapist Mr. Andrus Kahn became the first Theravada monk in Estonian history. He was ordained as Venerable Ṭhitañāṇa, and the ordination took place at Wat Hatai Naresh Temple in the Kingdom of Thailand. Sri Lankan Asst. Prof. Dr. Ven. Walmoruwe Piyaratana from the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (MCU) is his ācariya-teacher and the Abbot of the Wat Hatai Nares Temple in Thailand, Phramaha Kuruthavorndhammapimon, was his upajjhāya-preceptor. Since then, Venerable Ṭhitañāṇa has obtained a Master’s degree from MCU University and today preparing to defend his doctorate on kasiṇa meditation in this winter, 2019. During his doctoral studies Ven. Ṭhitañāṇa worked as a visiting lecturer at the same university. Last year, Mr. Maarek Lind, ordained as Venerable Ṭhitamedha, joined the Estonian Theravada Sangha as a second Buddhist monk, and went also to study at the MCU University.
Tipiṭaka Conferences and Dhamma Books
Alongside studying at the MCU, Ven. Ṭhitañāṇa has written two books: “From Siddhattha to Buddha”, which was the first Estonian-language Buddhist book for children and the whole family, and “The Path of Enlightenment - as the Buddha Taught”, introducing Buddha’s life and teaching. Both books are for free distribution. He is currently writing a five-part “The Buddhist Lexicon” that provides a comprehensive overview of Buddha’s life and teaching. Ven. Ṭhitañāṇa has also organized two International Tipiṭaka Conferences in Estonia in cooperation with University of Tartu, University of Peradeniya and Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University.
The Four Main Goals
In order to develop the Sangha and Buddha’s teaching in Estonia, the ETS has set Four Noble Goals:
- to built up the first Buddhist temple in Estonia.
- to translate Pāḷi Tipiṭaka into Estonian language
- to reconstruct the house in Aegna and establish an WDS Aegna International Meditation Center.
- to built up an International Buddhist Dhamma-Vinaya Institute in Estonia.
