Ven. Bhikkhu Kai Yin

Venerable Bhikkhu Kai Yin, founder and abbot of Santavana Forest Hermitage, Sabah, Malaysia, is a highly recognized master of samatha (tranquility) and vipassana (insight) meditation. With a special interest in the Theravada commentarial literature, the Sutra-Pitaka of Nikāya/Agāma collections, and the Yogacara school of Buddhism, Bhikkhu Kai Yin is well-read and has gained acclaimed expertise in the studies and teaching of Abhidhamma, Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification), Mahaprajnāpāramitā-śāstra, and Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra.

Ordained in 1987 in Ang Hock See Buddhist Temple, Penang, Malaysia, Bhikkhu Kai Yin studied at the Buddhist Institute of Malaysia and then Yuan Kuang Buddhist College in Taiwan. He practiced various meditation methods, extensively and intensively, under the guidance of a number of renowned meditation masters, including Thera Ji Cheng, Thera Xiu Jing, Thera Sheng-yen, Goenka and Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw. He was a lecturer at Yuan Kuang Buddhist College (1995) and the Director of the Education Division at Fuyan Buddhist College in Taiwan (1996) before establishing Santavana Forest Hermitage in 1998.

Bhikkhu Kai Yin has travelled worldwide to give dharma lectures and lead meditation retreats. He authored over ten books and journal articles and has released a wide collection of audios (CD/MP3) of his dharma talks, including the most welcome publication of his 53 lectures on Abhidhammattha-sangaha (2003).