Buddhist Women on a Path of Spiritual Awakening
Aspiring to Awaken
On the full moon day of September nearly 2600 years ago, Mahapajapati Gotami, the Buddha’s aunt and foster mother, became the first bhikkhuni to receive ordination in the Buddha’s dispensation and, later, an arahant in her lifetime. This year we honoured her with a…
Dying to be Free
Sati Saraniya Hermitage will host a 3-day “Dying to be Free” meditation retreat (residential and non-residential) on the Remembrance Day Weekend: 6 pm, Friday, Nov. 8 – midday (after the meal) Monday, Nov. 11. The traditional format of keeping eight precepts and noble silence…
Ajahn Dtun Visits Sati Saraniya Hermitage
This week of Vesakha puja, the full moon of May, we were graced by the presence of one of Thailand’s most venerated meditation masters and disciples of Ajahn Chah, Venerable Ajahn Dtun (Thirachitto). Born in Ayutthaya, Thailand in 1955, by his teen years, Ajahn…
Blessing Each Moment
Over 25 years ago, I took the 10-precept nun’s ordination in Myanmar; and five years ago, I returned to Canada to establish Sati Saraniya Hermitage. Recently, as we emerged from our annual Winter retreat to see the snow melting and Canada geese flocking home,…
Working Wonders
This Spring we held two consecutive Mindful Work Bee weekends attended by two groups of almost 20 volunteers at the Hermitage. Everyone dedicated their time and skills so generously, bringing abundant offerings of food as well as joy, enthusiasm and a variety of tools…
Winter Retreat
Winter gives us the rare opportunity for silent reflection in the seclusion of the monastery. It is a time to put down our projects and devote ourselves to meditation practice, the core of monastic life. By calming and stilling the mind, we can develop…
Winter’s Advent 2012
As winter approaches, we pause, like the blue-gray forms of forest and field that silently witness the season’s change. We contemplate the changes we have seen just in this last year; the passing away of good friends, beings born and to be born, friends…
A Temple in Progress
[slideshow]Thanks to the faith, generosity and encouragement of so many, our temple building now stands gently outlined against the sky, its roof whitened by a blanket of snow. While our carpenters, who all live locally, continue the construction in the cold of winter, we…
Honouring arahant bhikkhuni Mahapajapati Gotami
On September 30th, we honoured the life of arahant bhikkhuni Mahapajapati Gotami, the Buddha’s maternal aunt and foster mother – and our ancestral Dhamma mother. This full moon day marked the anniversary of her ordination as the first bhikkhuni 2595 years ago. It is…
Rains Retreat Blessings
In ancient India, these summer months of the Vassa or ‘rains’ retreat were typically a season of monsoons. That was not to be this year in our corner of eastern Ontario. The drought conditions that prevailed until this week finally gave way to abundant…
~ Dhammapada Verse 54