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Dipa Ma

1911 – 1989

Indian meditation teacher

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About Dipa Ma

Lived 1911 – 1989 (aged 77–78). Dipa Ma was an Indian teacher.

Early life Nani Bala Barua was born on 25 March 1911 in a small village in Chittagong, East Bengal, British India (now part of Bangladesh).

In her childhood she showed an exceptional interest in Buddhist rituals and preferred to study rather than play. a senior student of Mahasi Sayadaw. According to scholars, the Visuddhimagga is one of the extremely rare texts within the enormous literatures of various forms of Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism to give explicit details about how spiritual masters were thought to actually manifest supernormal abilities. Abilities such as flying through the air, walking through solid obstructions, diving into the ground, walking on water and so forth are performed by changing one element, such as earth, into another element, such as air. The individual must master kasina meditation before this is possible.

Teaching career In 1967, she returned to India, moving to Calcutta where she taught meditation. Jack Kornfield, Michelle Levey, and Sharon Salzberg, who later became prominent teachers in the United States. In the early 1980s Dipa Ma taught at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.

Death She died aged 78, in 1989 in Kolkata, India, while bowing before a statue of the Buddha.

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Important facts

Birth century
Died
1989
Occupation

People in Dipa Ma's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Dipa Ma's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Dipa Ma?

Indian meditation teacher (1911–1989)

When was Dipa Ma born?

Dipa Ma was born on 25 March 1911.

When did Dipa Ma die?

Dipa Ma died in 1989.

What was Dipa Ma's occupation?

Dipa Ma was a teacher.

What nationality was Dipa Ma?

Dipa Ma was Indian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Dipa Ma

· Wikidata: Q5279681

· DBpedia: Dipa Ma

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Dipa Ma. https://biography.guide/dipa-ma/

MLA: "Dipa Ma." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/dipa-ma/.

Chicago: "Dipa Ma." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/dipa-ma/.

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