Ashin Nyanissara is the holder of the highest monastic title in the state of Myanmar, the spiritual mentor of presidents, the de facto patriarch of Myanmar.
Reverend Ashin Nyanissara was born on February 23, 1937. At the age of 15, he became a novice in a monastery, and at the age of 20, he took full vows as a monk. In 1958, he received a master's degree in Buddhism. During the period 1975-1978, Ashin Nyanissara lived in seclusion and practiced meditation in a forest monastery. In 1981, Ashin Nyanissara made his first missionary journey to six countries in South and Southeast Asia. Since then, he has made twelve missionary trips to more than thirty countries around the world, where he has met with Buddhists, politicians, and religious leaders. Ashin Nyanissara has repeatedly visited Russia, and in 2016 he visited Buddhists in Kalmykia and Buryatia.