The Āyukusala Teachers
Venerable Dr. Āyukusala Thera
A well-known psychologist Dr. Mirko Frýba (1943) became a buddhist monk, Venerable Dr. Āyukusala Thera, in 1998. He was born in the Czech Republic, but he spent most of his adult life in Switzerland. After an intensive meditation training with Acharya Anagarika Munindra in Bodh-Gaya, India, he became a teacher of Satipaţţhana-Vipassana meditation in 1967. Then he worked in Switzerland as psychotherapist and professor of psychology at the Berne University. He founded the Swiss Buddhist Union and the Dhamma Group. Since the nineties he had been teaching Dhamma in Czech Republic, while lecturing also at the Universities in Prague, Olomouc, and Brno. On the principles of Buddha´s teaching he has based a new type of psychotherapy - satitherapy. Venerable Kusalananda mediated the Buddha´s teaching as a practical method of life mastering (Ayu-Kusala), both to his lay disciples and to the monks and nuns. At the end of his live he lived alternately in Germany and Sri Lanka. He died in 2016.
These books were published in English under his lay name Mirko Frýba:
The Art of Happiness - Teachings of Buddhist Psychology. Boston, Shambhala 1989.
The Practice of Happiness - Exercises and Techniques for Developing Mindfulness. Wisdom, and Joy. Boston & London, Shambhala Publications 1995.
More at www.ayukusala.org
Venerable Dr. Ottaranyana
Venerable Dr. Uttaranyana is the present head of the Birmingham Buddhist Vihara. He was born in Myanmar in 1949. He has studied Theravada Buddhism since childhood under several eminent scholar monks. He stayed at Mahasi Meditation Centre in Yangon for three years (1984-1986) as meditator and meditation instructor. He worked in the State Pariyatti Sasana University in Mandalay from 1986 to 1992 as Registrar, Professor of Myanmar Literature and Secretary of the Administration and Academic Board. In 1999 he worked in the Theravada Buddhist Missionary University in Yangon as Dean of the Meditation (Patipatti) Faculty and Secretary of the Text Book Committee till 2003. Now he teaches Majjimanikaya, Pali Grammar, Abhidhamma and Vipassana meditation in Birmingham Budhhist Vihara. Since 2005 he has been also teaching meditation at the retreats in the Czech Republic. More at www.birminghambuddhistvihara.org
Marta Frýba
Marta Frýba (1972) teaches the Dhamma in Ayukusala tradition since 1996. Till 2001 she earned her living as a lecturer of Information Technology at the University of Economics in Prague. In years 2002 – 2006 she lived as a Buddhist nun in Sri Lanka, where she obtained the highest ordination as Bhikkhuni Vajira. Thereafter in 2007 she lived in the Tibetan monastery Rabten Choeling at the Lake of Geneva. Since 2008 she is in charge of Ayurama in Kreuzlingen at the Lake of Constance, where she conducts regular meditation groups and teaches Mastery of everyday life. She is specialized in guiding the participants of the prolonged meditation retreats of Satipatthana-Vipassana and Dibba-Vihara. Some of her translations from the Pali-Canon are available at www.ayurama.eu/vajiratexty.
Dr. Roman Hytych
Dr. Roman Hytych (1975) was a buddhist monk in Sri Lanka and Burma In years 2002-2004. He works as psychologist and psychotherapist and he also lectures at the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University in Brno. Since 2001 he has been instructing Buddha´s teaching (Dhamma) both at weekend retreats and the long-term meditation retreats of Satipatthana-Vipassana meditation and Samatha (tranquility) meditation (Dibba-Vihara). He lives in Brno.
Zdeněk Trávníček
Zdeněk Trávníček (1976) is a postgraduate student of the studies of religions. He was a buddhist monk in Sri Lanka and Burma in 2002-2004. He works in Spondea centre in Brno. He also lecures at the Department for the Studies of Religions, Faculty of Arts, at the Masaryk University in Brno. Since 2001 he has been instructing Buddha´s teaching. He leads the tranquility meditation retreat Dibba-Vihara, which focuses on the less traditional meditation techniques - element and colour kasina (circular objects used as preparatory meditation objects). He lives in Brno.
