Courage, Compassion, Resilience

We are paying tribute to five members of a Sri Lankan family and their dear friend who all perished in a brutal attack in their Ottawa home on March 6, 2024. They were Darshani Ekanayake, her four young children: Inuka aged 7, Ashwini 4,…

Taming of the Shrewd

https://files.satisaraniya.ca/audio/talks/2024/Ayya_Medhanandi_Taming_of_the_Shrewd_2024.mp3Download Audio File My personal identity was dismantled on the full moon of March, 1988. That was the day I donned the robes of a Buddhist alms-mendicant nun. I’d been practising intensive meditation at the Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha in Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Rangoon, Burma)…

Truly Ascend

I have walked and lived in mountain ranges the world over – the Himalayas, the Andes, the Alps, the Picos de Europa, mountains in the Azores, South Asia, and North America. But not until I stayed in a tall building for a few months…

A Hidden Way to Freedom

Have you ever tried chanting to learn its hidden powers as a channel for disarming obsessive thought, calming the mind, and preparing the ground for Nibbana to arise? From ancient times, sacred chants have invoked higher energies, adorned rituals, and expressed faith, homage, healing…

A Global Mettā Vigil for Myanmar, Ukraine, Sri Lanka & All the World

Please join us for a global Mettā Vigil – Saturday May 21, in Asia – Sunday May 22 Ayyā Medhānandī will lead this Vesak month’s Mettā Vigil. This broadcast is sponsored by Mettā4Myanmar – the 5th of 12 vigils being offered in 2022. We…

Giving To What We Love

One morning, as I stood for alms in an outdoor market, an elderly man supporting himself with a walker shuffled awkwardly towards me. His daughter held him on one side with her arm. As soon as he saw my robe and bowl, and the…

After A Millenium – Venerable Kusuma Bhikkhuni

On Aug. 28th, 2021, Venerable Dr. Bhikkhuni Kusuma Mahatheri passed away peacefully in Sri Lanka. She was 92. Her doctors marvelled to witness such a peaceful death. We marvel at the gifts of her life. Venerable Kusuma Bhikkhuni was internationally respected as a Buddhist…

The Wiser Your Heart

Study the nature of change as if your life depends on it. (It does) The more you understand impermanence the lighter your step the sharper your gaze on your path through the fleeting world. Study uncertainty as if your life depends on it. (It…

Eclipse of the Heart

Have you ever watched a full solar eclipse?  When the moon slips mysteriously across the face of the sun and obliterates it from view, the light of day grows pallid, burnishing all the world with its eerie luster. As the air temperature cools, birds…

Vulnerable But True

Too scared to let go  Reckless in what is fearsome Deluded, we cling to false freedoms To delusion itself. The monarch’s epic pilgrimage Is fearless We too are stronger than we know – So, sip the nectar of this moment Vulnerable but true. This…