Sujiva

Sujiva is a Malaysian Buddhist monk (samanera) and well known teacher of Vipassana in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. Ven. Sujiva is one the Buddhist teachers, who are responsible for developing a keen interest in vipassana meditation in the Western countries. He has written many books on vipassana and metta meditation. He has also published several collections of poems.

He was born in a big family in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. He ordained as a samanera shortly after his graduation from the prestigious University of Malaya in 1975. During his monastic training he practised under several masters in Malaysia, Thailand and Burma (Myanmar), including the Venerable Sayadaw U Pandita in the famed meditation center Sasana Yeiktha in Yangon. In 1984 he set up Santisukharama, a meditation center in a rubber tree plantation in Kota Tinggi on the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia. He has held countless retreats at the center and throughout the country. He also has inspired numerous meditation centers to be set up by various groups in Malaysia. Since 1995 he has started conducting vipassana retreats in the West - Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, several countries of Europe, United States and Brazil.