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Ayya Medhanandi's Dharma Talks
Ayya Medhanandi
Ayyā Medhānandī Bhikkhunī, is the founder and guiding teacher of Sati Sārāņīya Hermitage, a Canadian forest monastery for women in the Theravāda tradition. The daughter of Eastern European refugees who emigrated to Montreal after World War II, she began a spiritual quest in childhood that led her to India, Burma, England, New Zealand, Malaysia, Taiwan, and finally, back to Canada.
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2019-04-20 Lifetime Vow 41:17
To vow for life: not to compromise our faith, our virtue, or our goodness - even in a moment of terror - is a powerful spiritual ally. Not cowering nor retaliating even in a hopeless-feeling-moment, we learn to stay present with compassion and kindness. As long as we remember to keep the practice alive within, we will have the stamina to grow in generosity, equanimity, and wisdom. So, at all times, make good-will the mantra of your heart.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center The Heart of Wisdom: Monastic Retreat
2019-04-19 Baptismal Breath: A Guided Meditation 58:00
See present moment experience in its most simple expression so as to notice the breakdown of all fearsome qualities. This seeing is insight which delivers us from the conceptual prison of beliefs into the freedom of direct intuitive understanding.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center The Heart of Wisdom: Monastic Retreat
2019-04-18 The Night of the Poison Arrow 32:23
How to guard the mind against the hindrances and pull out the poison arrow of craving.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center The Heart of Wisdom: Monastic Retreat
2019-04-17 The Winds of Change - A Guided Meditation 33:27
We are here, on the mountain, with a tremendous view. Let the breath speak to us. Stay and watch, even the suffering, investigate patiently like a parent, even if their child objects and runs away - patiently keep trying, be receptive, be available. Gently soften, mellow, give the mind back to the moment, trust, receive it and discover its hidden truths.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center The Heart of Wisdom: Monastic Retreat
2018-11-04 First Aid 10:51
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. A breakfast reflection given at Sati Saraniya Hermitage in 2018.
Sati Saraniya Hermitage
2018-10-20 At The Core of The Coreless 28:07
We sit at the edge of the heart peering in, tangled by clinging, inflated and inflamed by worldly ways. Yet we long to know the truth of what we are. For that we must explore the inner core. This is a letting go both magnificent and excruciating. So how can we bear it? Burn up all that you think you know to discover that which cannot be burned. It's a corelessness – the pure, unfathomable truth. Trust and see through to the emptiness of 'I' – there is no me and nothing to cling to. That knowledge and vision will set us free.
Sati Saraniya Hermitage
2018-10-14 Empty Mirror: Awake, Forgiving, Free 45:26
Forgiveness is the greatest generosity we can give ourselves. We come to it by wisely seeing that the harm in the world, whether it originates within ourselves or others, comes from ignorance. So there is nothing to fear and nothing to forgive. We can surrender to the challenges of life which seem to overwhelm us by staying in the present moment awake and aware. And in this way we polish our hearts until they can reflect the Truth.
Ottawa Buddhist Society
2018-10-14 Nothing But the Truth 28:05
Instead of holding onto what burns and pains us, uphold the truth of present moment awareness and know that freedom is in our hands. We free ourselves from unwholesome qualities. In the midst of fear, we bring up fearlessness; in the midst of resentment, we discover gratitude. We vanquish ignorance and we see wisely. Forgiveness arises in the face of what feels unbearable. This is the miracle of the practice.
Ottawa Buddhist Society
2018-10-13 Delusion is Not the Way Out 32:50
How can we have compassion for others without falling apart? The Buddha's path of awakening teaches us how to disarm our internal armour, to be harmless. This will be for us a true basis for following precepts and thereby developing enough inner quiet to investigate ill-will. We begin to clearly see and understand our mind-states. This full presence enables compassion that is tireless and unconditional.
Satipaññā Insight Meditation Toronto
2018-10-12 When the Trees Wither and the Leaves Fall 30:11
Sometimes we feel torn apart by life and unable to cope. Healing may be slow to come but our meditation practice can enhance that process. If we contemplate the fearsome winds of life in such a way that we deeply understand their impermanent nature, we will also understand that they are unsatisfactory and empty of any 'self'. That will be the dawning of the heart's true peace.
Satipaññā Insight Meditation Toronto

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