Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, a native of Sri Lanka, is the author of several Wisdom titles: Mindfulness in Plain English; Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness; Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English; The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English; Meditation on Perception; and Loving-Kindness in Plain English. A Buddhist monk for more than 75 years, he is North America's highest-ranking monk of the Siyam Nikaya sect of Theravada Buddhism. After coming to the U.S. in 1968, he earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from The American University in Washington, D.C. He has led meditation retreats all over Asia, Europe, Australia, and North and South America. In 1988 he founded Bhavana Society, the forest monastery/retreat center in West Virginia where he now lives.