Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra
by Danny Fisher
(L-R) My first teachers -- Anagarika Sri Munindra and Godwin Samararatne -- on the roof of the Burmese Vihar, Bodh Gaya, India, circa 1995. Image via www.godwin-home-page.net.
I was very, very fortunate to travel to and live at Bodh Gaya with several other undergraduates on Antioch Education Abroad’s Buddhist Studies in India Program in 1999. During that time, we were blessed to receive instruction in vipassana meditation from Godwin Samararatne and Anagarika Sri Munindra (1914-2003) – the Bengali master whose many students included such luminaries as Dipa Ma, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and Lama Surya Das. I have many wonderful memories of Munindra-ji, including sitting with him at our group’s last dinner together with him in Bodh Gaya. (I remember him asking me a little bit about my home state of Indiana, and checking in with me periodically to make sure I was getting enough to eat and drink.)
I was delighted to hear recently that Shambhala Publications has announced the release date of the new book Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra by Mirka Knaster: October 12th. I can’t wait to explore it and recall the life and teachings of one of my first teachers — a truly extraordinary little man who left an indelible impression on a nineteen-year-old me…
reading this book now, actually. it’s really fantastic; so carefully and helpfully put together. more than a biography, it really is built to help reinforce basic principles of dharma.
Living This Life Fully is such a beautiful book. Danny, it’s awesome that you had the opportunity to meet Munindra. Tell us more about that. I was on the Antioch program in 2005, so must have just missed him by a few years. He made an impression on me first through Robert Pryor and now through this book. Also, FYI, there’s a short review highlighting Living This Life Fully in the upcoming Tricyle.
I am grateful for the kind comments about Munindra-ji and the book. He truly was an important influence in the lives of many who followed not only the Dharma, but also other spiritual traditions.
[...] Mirka Knaster’s Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra this March. As I previously mentioned, I was very, very fortunate to travel to and live at Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, with several other [...]
[...] I previously mentioned, I was very, very fortunate to travel to and live at Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, with several other [...]