2014年，《時代》雜誌宣稱「正念革命」來臨；《新共和》雜誌也稱2014為「正念之年」，反映物質生活瀰漫的當今社會，潛在著對精神領域的渴求。探索此「正念」的根源即是佛教的禪修，尤其南傳上座部佛教的修學體系，更被外界廣為熟知與運用。提及禪修普遍化的過程，緬甸高僧勒迪長老（Ledi Sayadaw, 1846-1923）功不可沒。1885年勒迪長老親眼目睹緬甸國王被英軍俘虜的場景，覺悟到佛教的危機，因而推動一系列護法衛教的運動，呼籲維護佛教，人人有責，其維護之道乃透過自己對佛法的認知與體證來護衛，超越了早期純供養者的角色。由是引生了居士團體的研讀佛典與禪修之風，而勒迪長老的僧俗學生不僅延續此風，並將之弘揚於緬甸國內外。至今，正念禪修已被醫學界、教育界，甚至商業界廣泛重視以造福社會。做為當代禪修之風的發起人，勒迪長老其人其事，受教於誰及長老所提倡的修學方法是值得關注的議題。其次，內觀禪法大師葛印卡（S. N. Goenka, 1924-2013）將其禪法師承追溯為勒迪長老，那麼，當今葛印卡內觀禪法與勒迪禪法是否還是一致？勒迪長老教導的內觀與馬哈希內觀有何異同？又，強調止觀雙修的帕奧禪法與勒迪禪法的異同何在？本文將透過勒迪長老之緬文著述及後人所整理的傳記文本，了解勒迪長老的一生並簡要探索上述議題。

In 2014, Time magazine proclaimed the arrival of mindfulness revolution; New Republic also named 2014 as “the year of mindfulness”, reflecting a hidden, earnest demand for a spiritual domain in today’s society where materialism is pervasive. Probing this issue, we see that the root of this “mindfulness” is Buddhist meditation, especially the study system of Theravada (Southern) Buddhism, which is widely known and utilized by the outside world. When referring to the process of Buddhist mediation becoming widespread, the contributions of Burmese Buddhist High Monk Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923) cannot go unrecognized. In 1885, Ledi Sayadaw witnessed the scene of Burmese kings captured by British troops, awakening him to the crisis that Buddhism faced. He consequently promoted a series of movements to protect the Dharma and defend the teachings, calling for the safeguarding of Buddhist traditions. In this, everyone was responsible, and the path of defense lay in personal learning and emdodiment of Buddhist Dharma; this went beyond the role of those who simply made material offerings in times before. A wave of lay Buddhist scripture study and meditation groups was generated through this. Monks and lay disciples following Ledi Sayadaw not only continue this trend but also promote it in Myanmar and abroad. To date, mindfulness meditation has been already become widely valued by the medical, educational, and even business fields as a means to benefit society. Ledi Sayadaw, the initiator of the trend in contemporary meditation movements, his teachers, the recipients of his teachings, and the study methods that he encourages are all subjects worthy of interest. Since Vipassanā teacher S. N. Goenka (1924-2013) traced his lineage to Ledi Sayadaw, then are their meditation methods the same? What are the similarities and differences in Vipassanā practice between Ledi and Mahasi’s methods? What are the differences between Ledi’s method and Pa-Auk’s, which emphasizes both Samatha and Vipassanā? Through the writings of Ledi Sayadaw and the biographies compiled by posterity, this article attempts to better understand Ledi Sayadaw’s life and briefly explore the questions raised above.