Information, Contacts, and Publications
This website is being prepared by a number of friends in order to make Godwin's teaching available to a wider audience. The webmaster on the site is Anandajoti Bhikkhu (), who made some of the earliest recordings of dialogues with Godwin; if you have any questions or remarks about the presentation of the site please write to Anandajoti.
The main editor on the site is Ms. Jeanne Mynett (jeannemynett@gmail.com), one of Godwin's long-term students, who has been resident at the Nilambe Meditation Centre for most of the time since 1990. If you have any questions about the content please write to Jeanne.
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Godwin had two centres in Sri Lanka, the main centre is located at Nilambe, in the mid-Hills above Kandy. The centre has a number of resident teachers, and a well balanced schedule, including meditation, yoga, and discussions in the evenings. For more information about the centre, see www.nilambe.org.
Godwin also had a centre in the suburbs of Kandy, which offers accomodation and teaching in meditation and yoga. For information about this centre see Lewella Bhavana.
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The document and recording of Meditation as a Source of Joy is copyrighted by the Buddhist Society, London, who have given permission for the publication - print-outs of the document can be made for personal study only.
The original transcriptions of The Gentle Way and Living Meditation are copyrighted by The Association of Spiritual Friends of Godwin in Hong Kong. The revised editions are copyrighted by the editor, Ms. Jeanne Mynett.
All other documents are also copyrighted by the editor. They may be reformatted and published on other websites, providing the source is acknowledged and a link is written to this website.
Godwin Memorial Fund
The Godwin Memorial Fund was set up in memory of our teacher, Godwin Samararatne, who resided and taught at the Nilambe and Lewella meditation centres outside Kandy, Sri Lanka, until his death in March 2000. We strive to continue giving help to people in need in the Kandy area, as Godwin did so generously in his lifetime.
Currently we are focussing our efforts on supporting poor families and sick and elderly people in need in and around Kandy. We presently support 20 families and 17 sick and elderly people with monthly payments amounting to approx. US $330 (37,000 Sri Lankan Rupees) per month.
Most of the families we help are without a breadwinner due to death or disability, or are caring for a severely disabled child or adult. The sick need money to purchase their medicines, and the elderly lack adequate family support and frequently have to resort to begging from neighbours. We collect full family details before we decide to support a family or person, and we always have a waiting list of those needing our help.
We also run a project supplying used spectacle frames from abroad to poorer people locally who cannot afford the full cost of glasses. Mostly we also pay for the lenses to be prescribed and fitted, with the generous help of the local opticians. This can be of vital help to those who would otherwise be left with defective vision.
To find out more about us and the work we do, please visit our new website Godwin Memorial Fund.
Publications
There are now a number of publications available in various languages containing Godwin's talks:
English:
Books:
new Remembering Godwin, a selection of talks by Godwin Samararatne and some appreciations of his life and teachings, edited and compiled by Dennis Candy and Sampath Dissanayake. (Nilambe Buddhist Meditation Trust Board, 2010).
Discovering Meditation, retreat talks in the Waldhaus, Germany in 1996, 2nd edition edited by Jeanne Mynett and Esther Thien (Awaken Publications, Singapore, 2009). Visit the Awaken publications website; or write to Awaken Publications, Phor Kark See Monastery, 88 Bright Hill Road, Singapore.
Learning through Meditation, Retreat Talks in Holland in 1996 & 1998, transcribed and edited by Peter van Leeuwan, revised by Jeanne Mynett (Nilambe Buddhist Meditation Center Trust Board, 2009).
The Gentle Way of Buddhist Meditation, a re-presentation of Godwin's Retreat Talks in Hong Kong, 1997, by Jeanne Mynett (Inward Journey Books, Penang, Malaysia, 2007). Visit the Inward Path website; or write to House of Inward Journey, 35 Lebuh Batu Maung 8, Iping Garden, 11960 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Meditation for Everyday Life, retreat talks given by Godwin Samararatne at the Waldhaus, Germany in 1998, edited by Jeanne Mynett (Buddhist Cultural Centre, 2006). Visit Buddhist Cultural Centre for on-line ordering information; or write to Buddhist Cultural Centre, 125, Anderson Rd., Nedimala, Dehiwela, Sri Lanka.
Talks on Buddhist Meditation, by Godwin Samararatne (BPS Wheel No 448-449, 2001). Visit www.bps.lk for ordering information; or write to B.P.S., P.O. Box 61, 54 Sangharaja Mawatha, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Other:
"Watching thoughts and emotions", in The Meditative Way: Readings in the theory and practice of Buddhist meditation, edited by Rod Bucknell and Chris Kang (Curzon Press, 1997; pp 136-145). Visit www.routledgecurzon.com for ordering information; or write to RoutledgeCurzon, 29 West 35th Street, New York NY, USA.
"Seeing Emptiness", in Buddhist Studies in Honour of Venerable Kirindigalle Dhammaratana, edited by Sumana Ratnayaka (The Felicitation Committee, Vidumina Pirivena, Pujapitiya, Sri Lanka, 2006; pp 191-198).
A volume of essays in honor of Godwin Samaratne: Approaching the Dhamma: Buddhist Texts and Practices in South and South-East Asia, by Anne Blackburn and Jeffrey Samuels (BPS Pariyatti Editions). See www.pariyatti.com; or write to BPS Pariyatti Editions, P.O. Box 15926. Seattle WA 98115, U.S.A.
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The whole website has just been republished for the third time, to celebrate Godwin's 11th anniversary on a CD which is always titled Sharing the Dhamma. It has previously been published by Inward Journey Books, Penang, Malaysia, in 2007, and the 2nd time by Than Hsiang Temple in Penang. Note that we always make the website available for download anyway.
German:
Godwin Samararatne: Lebendig Durch Achtsamkeit. Anleitungen zur Meditationspraxis (Waldhaus-Verlag, 2005). Contact Heimschule 1, D-55645 Nickerich, Deutschland; or visit www.buddhismus-im-westen.de.
Chinese:
Godwin Samararatne: Life is our Best Teacher (translation of Godwin's 1998 Hong Kong talks). Visit www.godwin.org.hk for details.
Sinhala:
Godwin Samararatne: භාවනාව අන්ඩෑකීමෙන් අවබොදයට (Discovering Meditation) (retreat talks in the Waldhaus, Germany in 1996) (Kandy, No Date).
Godwin Samararatne: කෑඪපතක අසිරිය (Kandy, 2011).
Reincarnation Studies:
Emily Williams Cook, Satwant Pasricha, Godwin Samararatne, U Win Maung, Ian Stevenson: "Review and analysis of "unsolved" cases of the reincarnation type. I. Introduction and illustrative case reports." Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. 77 (1983), pp. 45-62.
Emily Williams Cook, Satwant Pasricha, Godwin Samararatne, U Win Maung, Ian Stevenson: "Review and analysis of "unsolved" cases of the reincarnation type. II. Comparison of features of solved and unsolved cases." Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. 77 (1983) pp. 115-135.
Ian Stevenson, Godwin Samararatne: "Three new cases of the reincarnation type in Sri Lanka with written records made before verification." Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 176 (1988).
Ian Stevenson, Godwin Samararatne. "Three new cases of the reincarnation type in Sri Lanka with written records made before verification." Journal of Scientific Exploration. 2 (1988) (Abstract, Portuguese translation), pp. 217-238
Ian Stevenson, Satwant Pasricha, Godwin Samararatne: "Deception and self-deception in cases of the reincarnation type. Seven illustrative cases in Asia." Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. 82 (1988), pp. 1-31.
Erlendur Haraldsson, Godwin Samararatne: "Children who speak of memories of a previous life as a Buddhist monk. Three new cases." Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. 63 (1999), pp. 268-291.
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There is still some material that needs re-editing, and the intention is to prepare and publish it in future editions of this website.
Anyone wishing to help with the translation work should contact us first so that efforts in this regard are co-ordinated. For similar reasons anyone wishing to make a hard-copy publication should also contact us first.
We would welcome any further tapes, transcripts, articles, letters, or photographs which people might have to add to this website.