Buddhist Women on a Path of Spiritual Awakening
The Poison Arrow
Stokes Valley Monastery Retreat, New Zealand The poison arrow of ignorance spreads its toxins through passion, desire and ill will. By sitting still, applying mindfulness and surrendering to what is, the right view will illuminate our minds and will help us extract the arrow…
How Do I Know I’m Deluded?
A breakthrough step on the spiritual path is realizing just how deluded we really are – otherwise we would not have to seek happiness outside ourselves. To see our true state of mind, we have to properly investigate and honestly peel away the layers…
Sacred Heart: First Inside the Temple
Within us we have a sacred space that we need to reclaim – the very space inside the heart. Here the Four Noble Truths come to life. Know our suffering, not blaming anyone or any conditions for it, see its origin within us, and…
First Aid
To free us from our relentless conceptualising and the suffering that comes of it, the Buddha has thrown us a lifeline. We can grab hold of it by continually using the perspective that “this is impermanent”, and thereby we can pull ourselves to safety….
Nothing There: Beyond the Prison of ‘Self’
The Fourth Insight known as udayabbaya ñāņa arises bestowing six qualities of upekkha as well as intimate knowledge of anicca through seeing the arising and disappearance of all conditioned things – most importantly, the emptiness of ‘self’. A talk given at Sati Saraniya Hermitage…
Fearlessness
Ayya Medhanandi’s talk on Fearlessness at the 6th Street Community Center, East Village, sponsored by Buddhist Insights, NY 2018:
Audio Chants
Here you will find a number of recorded chants by Sati Saraniya Sangha and others.
Hospice Talks & Guided Meditations
From 2008-2014, Ayyā Medhānandī lead meditation courses in the Ottawa area organized by Hospice Care Ottawa (Maycourt Hospice), Elizabeth Bruyere Palliative Care Program, and, more recently, Friends of Hospice programs for staff and volunteers. Some of those sessions were recorded. If you would like…
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Is your mind full of the present moment at all times? We can learn to integrate our practice with our everyday lives as awareness develops when we are both on and off the meditation cushion. With diligence, we can realize a mind that is…
Turning to Dust: Death Contemplations
The nine-cemetery contemplations presented in the Satipatthana Sutta work with elemental perspectives on the parts of the body by simulating their condition after death. The clarity of mind realized in these special practices sheds light on how valuable death contemplations are for a wholesome…
~ Dhammapada Verse 54