The Nissarana Vanaya Meditation System was developed by Matara Sri ÃÂÃÂá¹ÂÃÂrÃÂma Mahathera, the first Upajjhaya of Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha. This Buddhist meditation system uses samatha and vipassanàtechniques in combination to allow what it claims are more intense insight results than âÂÂdry insightâ meditation. It was refined over decades by the head monks of the Nissarana Vanaya.
In the 1960s, after the sixth Buddhist council had given Mahasi Sayadaw an eminent role in the Buddhist meditation revival, he was invited by the Sri Lankan government to train, teach and help establish vipassana meditation centers in Sri Lanka. At that time a group of meditation monks received the opportunity to privately train and practice with Mahasi Sayadaw. Among those was the Matara Sri ÃÂÃÂá¹ÂÃÂrÃÂma Mahathera.
Mahasi Sayadaw made him the main vipassana teacher after his departure and a friend of Matara Sri ÃÂÃÂá¹ÂanÃÂrÃÂma Mahathera invited him to lead the training facility for meditation in a newly founded association of forest monasteries, the Nissarana Vanaya.
Over the years ÃÂÃÂá¹ÂÃÂrÃÂma Mahathera added instructions to the Burmese system. One of the fundamental additions was a greater emphasis on concentration meditation as well as a carefully designed set of standardized instructions which helped newly ordained forest monks to methodically develop their concentration and insight faculties.
During this time ÃÂÃÂá¹ÂÃÂrÃÂma Mahathera published two books on insight meditation: The seven stages of purification and The seven contemplations. In the late 1980s, one of his foremost students, a former lecturer for Pali, the Katukurunde ÃÂÃÂá¹Âananda held 33 discourses on the topic Nibbana.
Many meditation teachers visited the monastery during this time (Ayya Khema) or were influenced by its meditation methodologies.
During the last decade of ÃÂÃÂá¹ÂÃÂrÃÂma Mahathera's life the meditation system was refined in its approach towards labeling and noting in vipassana meditation. The amount of labels was reduced, the importance of concentration meditation intensified.
Currently this system is taught in many of Sri Lankan forest monasteries which were influenced by ÃÂÃÂá¹ÂÃÂrÃÂma Mahathera.
Famous meditation teachers who were trained in this system or variants thereof include: