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.
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.
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Select from Ayya Medhanandi's
353
talks
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VIEW ALL
2024-10-15
A Beam of Light, Guided Standing Meditation
2023-05-19
A Bow To Silence
2021-12-12
A Compass to Freedom
2020-05-24
A Cry of Surprise
2022-12-31
A Friend That Will Never Fail Us
2009-06-17
A Friend to All - Guided Loving-Kindness Meditation
2013-06-03
A Generosity of Presence: Guided Meditation
2019-08-15
A Gift from the Sea – Unbroken Paua Shell and Consummate Trust
2008-05-11
A Good Pair of Boots
2023-12-17
A Jet Plane To Nibbana
2008-05-10
A Little Renunciation
2021-08-28
A Map to Freedom
2019-08-12
A Matter of Death, Life, Truth and Recovery
2024-10-15
A Meal of Gratitude
2002-12-10
A Mind Empowered 5 Ways
2024-10-13
A Ministry of Love
2019-08-13
A Mystical Ladder - Patience, the Incinerator of Defilements
2024-08-07
A Noble Heart
2022-11-18
A Path of Prudent Happiness
1996-11-10
A Pilgrimage of Trust
2011-07-19
A Raft to Nibbana
2024-04-21
A Ray of the Absolute
2020-08-20
A Safe Domain: How the Quail Escaped a Hawk
2019-08-12
A Swallowtail Butterfly at the Hummingbird Feeder
2013-05-03
A Terrain Beyond Boundaries
2022-11-19
A Way of Benevolence
2012-04-08
A Wilderness Traveller
2017-04-15
About Chithurst Monastery, Temple Forest Monastery, and Sati Sārāņīya Hermitage
2016-07-16
Across the River of Pain
2011-05-03
An Island Beyond Which We Cannot Go
2022-12-16
An Oasis of Freedom
2022-10-22
And Then Your Heart Will Shine
2023-01-11
Are We the Disciples of Fear or Love?
2017-05-22
As Still As the Earth
2025-02-23
As the Hollow Reed Becomes a Flute
2008-10-30
Ascending the Altar
2024-10-15
At Home With the Wise
2018-10-20
At The Core of The Coreless
2021-12-12
At the Frontier of Harmlessness – Chop Off the Head of Mara
2023-06-02
At the Shrine of Forgiveness
2008-06-06
At the Shrine of the Awakened - Unfathomable Love
2008-10-14
Autumn Leaves
2009-11-22
Baptism of Fire
2009-03-16
Barefoot and Empty-handed
2009-04-04
Batik Buddha
2016-08-15
Be Like Bamboo
2014-08-10
Be the First to Forgive
2008-07-16
Be Your Own Doctor
2019-08-11
Beautiful Qualities - Five of the Ten Perfections
2008-12-03
Beginner's Class - An Island of Safety
2008-09-17
Beginner's Class - Knots to Untangle
2009-12-03
Beginners' Class - The Frontier of Intimacy
2018-08-15
Behind the Mask of Fear
2008-09-17
Behind the Veil of Thoughts - Guided Meditation
2011-10-14
Bhikkhuni Pioneers
2017-08-15
Body-Wise Guided Meditation
2013-05-10
Boundless Metta in Difficult Times - A Guided Loving Kindness Meditation
2020-06-05
Bowing On Two Knees: Covid Compassion and Nonviolence
2024-10-19
Bread and Gentleness
2019-08-13
Breaking the Cycle of Harm – Patience and Friendship With the Lovely
2013-05-11
Buddha Positioning System - BPS
2017-04-10
Buddham Vande, Buddha One Day
2021-06-27
By Love Alone
2016-11-18
Change for the Good
2016-11-08
Chant, Breathe, Trust - Bless the Rain
2002-12-09
Chariot to Nibbana
2017-10-15
Choose Love Not Sorrow
2022-11-30
Choose Simplicity
2020-08-18
Chopping and Burning the Tree of Emptiness
2021-08-24
Chrysalis of the Monarch
2011-05-08
Closing remarks around precepts and spiritual friendships.
2016-03-28
Collection of the Buddha's Suttas
2018-06-18
Come to the Edge
2008-06-10
Commitment & Sacrifice
2022-01-04
Compassion Enough to Care
2021-12-12
Compassion Is Greater Than Fear
2024-10-14
Compassion Works
2020-10-17
Contemplation: A Special Friend of Mindfulness
2017-11-26
Courage, Kindness, and Freedom - Ancient Verses of Arahant Rohini Bhikkhuni
2022-12-31
Courageous Friendship
2005-10-01
Crossing Boundaries
2023-12-22
Darkness Just Before Dawn
2019-08-11
Death - Portal of Deliverance
2011-05-05
Death And Awakening
2021-09-26
Dedicate Everyday to Someone
2018-10-13
Delusion is Not the Way Out
2015-08-18
Devotion
2006-04-23
Dhamma Wings
2019-08-15
Don't Be Afraid, Mahanama – Lean Towards Nibbana
2017-05-21
Don't Own the Second Arrow
2019-08-15
Dwell in Intrinsic Emptiness – The Liberating Quality of Loving-kindness
2008-06-04
Ecology of the Heart
2018-10-14
Empty Mirror: Awake, Forgiving, Free
2009-10-16
Empty of Fear
2020-08-21
Empty the Basket
2009-10-16
Empty Yourself of Fear
2009-08-21
Energy Audit
2018-08-16
Entering the Gate: Four Spiritual Powers
2008-11-19
Ethical Connection
2007-03-12
Ethical Footprint
2005-09-14
Even As A Mother
2023-05-31
Even Owls Know Who
2023-05-31
Even the Owls Know Who
2016-03-26
Evening Chanting
2013-06-08
Evening Dhamma Teaching - This is Not Beyond our Doing
2013-06-06
Evening Dharma Teaching - Day 4 - Satipaññā and Refuge to the Rescue
2013-06-05
Evening Talk- Day 6 - Remember What You Love
2013-06-01
Evening Talk; Day 1 - Grow in the Master's Way
2024-10-14
Eye of the Storm
2016-08-17
Fall Apart, Fall Apart, Rise Anew
2022-07-15
Far From the Madding Crowd
2018-06-17
Fearlessness
2012-11-22
Feast of Patience
2022-12-31
Fertile Ground for Liberation
2015-11-22
Fictitious Noodles
2009-03-18
Fierce Gifts
2018-11-04
First Aid
2021-04-02
Food for Awakening
2021-06-26
Forsake Harm
2020-07-17
Four Astounding Things
2009-06-17
Four Life Practices
2025-01-04
From A Single Flame To Vast Light
2017-05-23
Funeral of the Ego & Chant on Impermanence
2009-07-15
Gardening the Mind
2016-03-26
Gatekeeper Mindfulness
2024-08-28
Give Ear To Silence
2023-11-18
Give Peace A Chance
2022-11-18
Give Up the Cloud
2017-06-18
Give Up What Destroys You
2017-05-21
Go To The Roots of Trees
2017-04-07
Going Forth - A Refuge
2024-10-13
Gratitude is Grace
2013-05-05
Guardian Of The Mind
2022-04-17
Hauntingly Beautiful
2008-08-19
Here We Are - Standing Meditation
2003-09-02
Holding the Chalice
2016-08-18
Holding the Lotus to the Rock
2004-12-05
How Do I Know I'm Deluded?
2017-11-12
How Do I Save That Moth?
2019-08-10
How To Cross the Flood - Seven Enlightenment Practices
2014-08-11
I Give You My Bread
2003-12-13
I Just Wanted Some Toothpaste
2011-11-20
I Sit Here in Blessing
2019-08-10
I Will Not Be Angry – How Ajahn Gunhah Won the Hearts of Outlaws
2022-12-31
I Will Not Be Scared
2009-03-19
Ice Melts
2009-03-19
Ice Melts
2017-09-15
Imina Punya - Sharing of Blessings Chant in Pali
2020-10-17
In Our Own LIfeboat
2009-10-21
In the Boat of Myself - Guided Meditation
2015-11-22
In the Domain of No Fear
2024-02-10
In the Name of Wisdom
2017-08-13
In the Seen There Is Only the Seen: How Bahiya Overcame Pride to Awaken
2024-10-16
In the Shelter of Loving-Kindness, Guided Meditation
2020-08-21
In the Stream of the Noble Ones
2020-08-19
Into the Quiet
2022-04-17
Invite the Miraculous
2006-06-12
It Will Never Happen To Me
2024-10-16
Jewel of the Heart, Reflections & Guided Practice
1996-11-09
Joy is Hidden in Sorrow
2009-05-06
Just As We Are - Guided Meditation
2022-11-30
Just Practise Kindness
2024-01-07
Kindness Through and Through
2024-06-02
Knowing Godness
2024-09-20
Leave Your Shoes at the Door
2019-04-18
Life Saving Sanctuary
2019-04-18
Life Saving Sanctuary
2012-04-07
Life-Saving Treasure
2019-04-20
Lifetime Vow
2024-04-05
Like the Sun Awakening the Lotus
2016-11-18
Look Within and Wake Up
2020-12-13
Love Everyone Or Die
2016-08-17
Love Wisdom More Than Life
2020-06-20
Mantra of Compassion
2015-11-22
Many Intersections – Reflections & Guided Meditation
2024-10-14
Many Postures Standing in Awareness
2019-08-11
Masquerade of the Hindrances - A Blameless Life
2016-07-17
Measureless Liberation of Mind
2008-12-03
Medicine Heart - Guided Meditation
2010-12-17
Medicine Heart Metta: Guided Forgiveness
2017-08-15
Metta Without Borders
2020-08-22
Metta, Mantra, Addiction, Recovery: Three Questions
2020-10-17
Mind Like A Satellite - Respect, Extraordinary Mindfulness and Wisdom
2008-11-26
Miracle of the Breath - Beginner’s Guided Meditation
2008-09-24
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
2022-04-01
Mission: Inner Space
2015-11-20
Moral Integrity, Courage, and Peace
2016-03-29
Morning Instructions
2016-03-27
Morning Reflection
2019-10-17
Mount Everest
2023-03-27
My Religion is Kindness
2010-09-19
Navigating the Inner Sea
2009-03-17
Niagara Falls
2020-12-18
No Going Back
2011-04-30
Noble Friendship, Noble Warming
2024-09-26
Noble Rescue
2015-08-20
Noble Search and Rescue
2009-11-20
Noble Subtrefuge - Four Royal Efforts
2017-05-21
Noble Virtues, Reflections & Chant of the Ten Pāramῑ
2007-09-16
Noble Warming 1
2018-10-14
Nothing But the Truth
2019-11-10
Nothing There: Beyond the Prison of 'Self'
2007-04-05
Now in Session
2011-04-09
Nuclear Free
2023-12-17
On A Path We Trust
2020-06-05
On the Altar of This Moment
2024-10-17
On the Cross of Compassion
2020-05-01
On the Cross of Our Illusions: A Guided Dying Meditation and Reflections
2017-05-22
On the Look Out
2005-05-10
On the Street Where You Live
2021-12-12
On the Threshold of Pure Presence
2015-10-11
On The Wings of the Breath
2013-05-09
One Inalienable Right
2011-11-26
Open the Gates to the Deathless
2009-06-19
Opinions
2022-10-22
Our Dhamma Compass
2019-04-19
Our True Inheritance: Guided Meditation
2024-11-08
Our Weapon Is Love
2009-12-04
Out of This World
2021-11-30
Patience is Love
2009-07-15
Peace is Here - Guided Meditation
2008-12-17
Peace Offering
2015-12-20
Peace Without Fear - Seven Lights to Freedom
2017-08-17
Polish the Moon and Sweep the Clouds
2015-11-21
Practice Forgiveness: Guided Metta Meditation
2020-07-18
Practise Like the Barley Reaper
2024-10-15
Present Moment Awareness is the Path
2008-09-03
Pure Listening - Guided Meditation
2021-06-27
Purest Gold
2011-05-06
Questions and Answers
2019-06-01
Ratana Sutta - Refuge in the Noble Triple Gems
2016-08-15
Reading: Ajahn Chah – In the Dead of Night
2016-08-14
Reading: Sayadaw U Pandita – Mother Hen
2016-08-13
Reading: Therigatha – Venerable Subha Bhikkhuni’s Poem
2016-11-20
Redemption
2019-08-14
Repair What Feels Broken – The Hardest Walk of All
2007-03-14
Rescue Remedy
2017-05-23
Rising Up Like A Swan
2021-10-01
Sacred and Sublime
2013-06-30
Sacred Heart: First Inside the Temple
2015-08-16
Sanctity Deep Within Us: Guided Metta Meditation:
2016-11-13
Saving Grace
2020-07-18
Secure Connection, Free Roaming
2024-05-05
Selfie of the Mind
2023-05-28
Selfless Drive to Nibbana
2013-05-08
Seven Enlightenment Factors
2022-12-31
Shave Your Heart
2008-11-03
Shoot Me First: Right Intention, Effort & Social Responsibility
2014-06-03
Silent Thunder
2008-06-18
Smiling Moon - Guided Meditation
2021-08-26
So Help Me Dhamma
2021-11-16
Soft Landing
2015-10-04
Softly Close the Gates
2008-12-19
Solstice Heart
2015-11-22
Sowing Grace
2014-07-19
Speaking of Violence
2012-11-19
Spiritual Athlete
2024-12-06
Spiritual Joy
2017-05-24
Standing for the Dhamma
2021-08-24
Stay In Your Lane
2009-03-16
Stay Tuned - Radiant Mind Untainted By Ego
2024-10-16
Sublime Abiding - Inspired by Ettie and Questions
2015-08-17
Take Your Medicine
2022-12-17
Taste the Mountain
2023-05-07
That Seed of Awakening Within Us
2013-06-02
That Which Supports the Truth In Us
2024-06-30
The Art of Harmlessness
2024-10-18
The Awakened Heart Ripens in Humility
2021-01-03
The Basis for Our Happiness
2014-06-07
The Bricks and Mortar of Forgiveness
2021-04-01
The Buddha Was Right
2024-05-12
The Buddha's Promise
2020-05-01
The Currency of Covid: Protection from Harm Through Spiritual Awakening
2014-08-13
The Dhamma of Snow
2019-04-22
The Face of Holiness
2023-08-20
The Fire of Illumination
2023-11-19
The Four Noble Truths in Action
2008-10-15
The Gift of Being - Guided Meditation
2017-05-21
The Gift of Walking
2008-09-25
The Good News
2005-04-14
The Guests Come and Go
2020-08-19
The Inner Stopping
2018-06-14
The Joy Will Come
2017-05-24
The Last Meal Blessing
2005-07-24
The Moral Equivalent of War
2021-01-03
The Nimitta of Suffering
2016-12-10
The Novice With An Empty Bowl
2021-12-17
The Ocean Cares for Each Wave
2002-12-12
The Poison Arrow
2016-03-30
The Power of Loving-Kindness
2020-05-24
The Quail's Tale: A Path to Harmlessness
2019-11-03
The Ratana Sutta - a forest chant from Sati Saraniya Hermitage
2023-09-01
The Sound of Silence
2021-05-15
The Teacher is Present – Vesak Joy and Dhamma Refuge
2007-03-11
The Threads of Your Life: Guided Death Meditation
2008-11-04
The Torah and the Triple Gem
2020-06-05
The Unequivocal Law of Kamma
2024-10-15
The Universe Within Us
2021-01-03
The Value of Death
2024-10-16
The Way Beyond Questions
1998-11-15
The Way of the Mystic
2007-09-15
The Wilderness of Anger
2019-04-17
The Winds of Change
2024-04-15
There Is An Oasis
2020-10-16
This Is Where the Mind is Liberated
2003-12-10
Those Who Rightly Love Wisdom
2009-03-15
Through the Eye of the Needle
2008-09-03
Thunderstorm
2007-04-05
Time To Defragment
2021-07-18
To Die With A Peaceful Heart
2020-05-31
Traditional Pāli Dhamma Talk Request Chant
2014-08-14
Train for Nibbana
2023-11-30
Trust The Journey Itself
2017-08-04
Truth and Reconciliation
2009-05-06
Truth Counts
2017-08-11
Turning to Dust: Death Contemplations
2016-08-16
Under the Canopy of Dhamma
2017-04-13
Understanding Death
2009-03-20
Unencumbered
2021-08-24
Unexpected Treasure
2021-11-05
Unsurpassed Is the Protection of the Dhamma
2015-08-15
Unsurpassed Treasure
2005-07-23
Until Death Do Us Part: The Power of Determination
2022-04-26
Unwavering Mind
2015-12-20
Virtue Goes Full Circle
2013-05-06
Ways of working with hindrances
2019-11-16
We Are Here To Forgive
2016-10-14
We Are Stronger Than We Know: The Truth About Trauma
2009-12-05
We Are That Song
2024-11-17
We Are the Mandala
2022-10-21
We Have Nothing to Fear
2008-06-08
We Will Arrive - Beating a Path to Awakening
2020-07-17
We’re Not Separate At All
2024-09-01
What is Dhamma?
2019-08-13
What is Killing You - Thorns, Barnacles, and Buoys on the Middle Way
2024-01-07
What is Refuge in Buddha Anyway?
2023-10-15
What Is The Solution?
2009-09-18
What More Can I Give?
2018-08-15
What Obstructs the Dhamma Eye
2016-11-17
What Will Heal Us
2020-06-20
When Fear Dies
2020-09-27
When No Season is Too Much
2013-05-04
When the Canoe Starts to Tip
2019-08-18
When The Mind Sees Itself
2018-10-12
When the Trees Wither and the Leaves Fall
2017-05-23
When Truth Speaks Out – Limbless Man On the Bridge
2017-05-22
When You Get Close to the Sun
2021-06-19
Where the Flame of Truth Burns Bright
2021-08-28
Who Do You Think You Are?
2016-08-16
Who’s Sitting Under the Bodhi Tree
2015-11-21
Why Do Beings Live In Hate?
2009-12-05
Why Do We Have To Be Human?
2024-12-08
Wisdom Power
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Select one of Ayya Medhanandi's 27 retreats
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1900-01-01
TNI Regular Talks
2008-01-01
Hospice Talks and Guided Meditations
2008-06-01
Ecology of the Heart Retreat
2009-03-13
Pembroke Retreat
2011-04-29
Holistic Awareness: Monastic Retreat
2013-05-03
Waking Up to the Peace in Our Hearts: Monastic Retreat
2013-05-31
Holistic Awareness: A Monastic Dana Retreat
2014-08-09
2014 Chapin Mill Retreat
2016-03-25
Finding Inner Peace: Monastic Retreat
2017-04-07
Holistic Awareness: Monastic Retreat
2017-05-21
When Truth Speaks Out
2017-08-12
Metta Without Borders Retreat
2018-08-11
Treading Softly on This Earth
2019-04-16
The Heart of Wisdom: Monastic Retreat
2019-08-10
For Our Long Lasting Benefit
2019-11-15
SIMT Fall Monastic Retreat
2020-08-18
Chapin Mill Retreat
2020-10-16
Day of Mindfulness
2021-01-03
Ever Present Refuge
2021-05-15
Honouring Vesak
2021-06-27
By Love Alone
2021-08-21
Growing in Nobility
2021-12-12
Full Catastrophe Compassion
2022-11-17
A Way of Benevolence: Freedom from Fear,
Peace and Wise Compassion
2023-05-28
Uncompromising Nobility
2024-10-13
Noble Mind, Fearless Heart
2024-11-08
Our Weapon Is Love
2009-04-04
Batik Buddha
38:54
Ayya Medhanandi reflects on the meaning of the different mudras or hand gestures used by the Buddha himself when he gave teachings. Each represents an important quality for us to practise and develop such as fearlessness or compassion. You can see these mudras that she describes on the batik cloth that was gifted to the Ottawa Buddhist Society at https://ottawabuddhistsociety.com/about-the-obs/latvian-buddha-batik/
Ottawa Buddhist Society
2009-03-20
Unencumbered
19:12
Fire is our teacher - the fire of pain, the fire of persevering through difficulty and the fire of going beyond what we think we are capable of. For we are greater that we know and our journey is one of learning to trust what is right and true. When the heart’s compassion, wisdom, and generosity mature, there is no space for fear. All the dross of the world melts away in the silence of pure presence. Here is the absolute sanctity of awareness, unencumbered, and joyous in the knowledge of pure love itself.
Ottawa Buddhist Society (Sisters of St. Joseph Convent)
2009-03-19
Ice Melts
40:57
We can know freedom from suffering when the light of dhamma (or truth) arises. This illumination will melt the impurities formed by unwholesome mind states. Oh, what a freedom! A talk given during a 10 day Ottawa Buddhist Society retreat at the Sisters of St. Joseph Convent, Pembroke, Ontario, Canada in 2009.
Ottawa Buddhist Society
2009-03-19
Ice Melts
28:52
Within us is the seed of awakening. And yet we are so blind. Can we free ourselves by seeing through clouds of delusion, greed and hatefulness? Do we have the resolve and patience to begin and the humility and forgiveness to keep going in hard times? Vigilance in ethical practice, unremitting mindfulness, inner stillness, and sharp discernment melt ignorance and purify the mind. Not only that – joyous and aware, we radiate a fearless unequivocal compassion. When the sun rises, darkness disappears. Just so, we emerge from our blindness, at peace with all conditions
Ottawa Buddhist Society
2009-03-18
Fierce Gifts
36:07
When life presents fearsome obstacles, be your own spiritual ally and turn those obstacles into windows that open to the depths of the heart. There, cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, radiant joy and the wisdom of discernment, behold the fierce gifts of the Dhamma that defy delusion and rescue us from the mire of every perceived burden.
Ottawa Buddhist Society
2009-03-17
Niagara Falls
13:45
How can we sharpen awareness of thoughts that gush forth in the mind like Niagara Falls? Observe them gently, not clinging and with diligent focus. Our present moment awareness and unstoppable attention, when sustained inwardly, have the transformative power of a Niagara to cleanse the heart of all impurities. Therein is the path to freedom.
Ottawa Buddhist Society
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Pembroke Retreat
2009-03-16
Barefoot and Empty-handed
40:41
Developing awakened wisdom is an organic process, the unbinding of all problems that leads to indestructible peace and harmlessness. We undertake and persevere through training the mind so that we can renounce our attachments and stop the interior whirling of the world. No longer caught in its duality, we rest in knowing the liberating truth of this moment, cessation of suffering and a transcendent healing that takes us to the Deathless.
Ottawa Buddhist Society
