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.
In 1988, at the Yangon Mahasi retreat centre in Burma, Ayyā requested ordination as a bhikkhunī from her teacher, the Venerable Sayādaw U Pandita Mahāthera. This was not yet possible for Theravāda Buddhist women. Instead, Sayādaw granted her ordination as a 10 precept nun on condition that she take her vows for life. Thus began her monastic training in the Burmese tradition. When the borders were closed to foreigners by a military coup, in 1990 Sayādaw blessed her to join the Ajahn Chah Thai Forest Saņgha at Amaravati, UK.
After ten years in their siladhāra community, Ayyā felt called to more seclusion and solitude in New Zealand and SE Asia. In 2007, having waited nearly 20 years, she received bhikkhunī ordination at Ling Quan Chan Monastery in Keelung, Taiwan and returned to her native Canada in 2008, on invitation from the Ottawa Buddhist Society and Toronto Theravāda Buddhist Community, to establish Sati Sārāņīya Hermitage.
What happens when we sit in a sacred space and can empty and purify ourselves? We are able to taste only sacredness, to experience another level of being that is vast and without boundaries, to be in awe of the wondrous quality of the pure heart. A talk given during a 10 day retreat at the Sisters of St. Joseph Convent, Pembroke, Ontario, Canada in 2009.
With the advent of the Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year - comes the promise that the light will return. We can honour this principle in our practice by turning towards the light that is revealed in our own minds. The goodness and purity of this light can connect us to unconditional peace and love. A talk given at the Ottawa Buddhist Society in 2008.
An autobiographical portrait of Ayya Medhanandi’s life, from her meeting with her first teacher in India in her early twenties to her career as a nutritionist and going forth to become a Theravada Buddhist nun. She notes the striking similarities between the tenets of her ancient Judaic faith and the principles of Theravada Buddhism. The inward journey goes beyond religious belief - crossing fixed boundaries for the sake of realizing our true spiritual heritage. A talk given at H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, Vancouver, Canada in 2008.
As we follow the steps of the Eightfold Noble Path, our hatred, greed, and delusion abate. We may yet suffer, but we use our suffering to fathom the meaning of it, see its causes, and see the possibility for ending suffering. The four Noble Truths come alive within. Invariably, our suffering manifests in many forms. It may never ‘end’ but it ceases to be a problem as our fear or aversion to it die. Persevering in this work is the way to make peace with our suffering.
What is renunciation? Patiently we learn how to let go of the thoughts and actions that enslave us to samsara. And we begin to understand what it takes to tame the ego and cultivate greater and greater compassion in its boundless quality. Through this magnificent process, we study the way to ascend the altar and sit with our teacher, the Buddha.
