The Theravada Buddhist Community would like to invite you to a half Day of Mindfulness with Ayya Medhanandi and Ayya Anuruddha on Sunday, April 17, 2022. The retreat will be available online using the Zoom platform.

Ayya Medhanandi

Ayya Medhanandi is the daughter of Eastern European refugees who emigrated to Montreal after the World War 2. She is the founder and guiding teacher of Sati Saraniya Hermitage, a forest monastery for women in the Theravada tradition. She began a spiritual quest in childhood that led her to India, Burma, England, New Zealand, Malaysia, Taiwan, and finally back to Canada. In1988 while in Burma, Ayya requested full ordination as a bhikkhuni from her teacher Venerable Sayadaw U Pandita. However, this was not yet possible for Theravada Buddhist women. Instead, Sayadaw granted her ordination as a ten precept nun on the condition that she keep her vows for life. When a military coup closed Myanmar’s border, Sayadaw blessed Ayya to join the Ajahn Chah Forest Sangha at Amaravati. After 10 years, Ayya felt called to practice as a hermit nun in New Zealand for six years and later in Southeast Asia. In 2007, after nearly 20 years as a novice alms-mendicant nun, Ayya fulfilled her long held wish for full bhikkhuni ordination in Taiwan. In 2008, on invitation from the Toronto Buddhist Community and Ottawa Buddhist Society, Ayya returned to her native Canada to establish Sati Saraniya Hermitage.

Ayya Anuruddha

Ayya Anuruddha of the United Kingdom joined Sati Saraniya Hermitage community in May 2014. After her initial year as an anagarika she began her life as an alms-mendicant nun in September 2014. This deepened her spiritual commitment to the Buddha’s path of monastic training. Her higher ordination as a bhikkhuni was conducted on December 3, 2017 at Dhamma Dharini Monastery in California with Ayya Tathaaloka as preceptor. The Pali name Anuruddha means “One Who is in Harmony”. It was also the name of a beloved cousin of the Buddha, one of his chief disciples renowned for his penetrating Dhamma vision, skillfulness, devotion and noble qualities of heart.

To join our Zoom Meeting, click on this link:

The half Day of Mindfulness will include meditation, mindfulness instructions and Buddhist reflections.

Registration is not required. If you would like to donate to the Sati Saraniya Hermitage for this event, please use the TBC donation page and include a message that the donation is for Ayyas Day of Mindfulness retreat. 100% of all donations will be passed on to the Hermitage.

The chants for the Days of Mindfulness will be displayed on the Zoom screen during the opening and closing chants. However, you can print the chants ahead of time if you prefer. They are available at this link.

We look forward to you joining us on April 17th.  Please note that this will be a half day retreat and will start at 8:30 am EDT and finish by 12:00 pm.

Schedule

The Theravada Buddhist Community is pleased to announce that on Sunday, April 10th at 10:00am Ajahn Pavaro will be joining us during our weekly meditation session to offer a dhamma talk followed by a short question and answer period.

Ajahn Pavaro

Ajahn Pavaro’s early formative monastic training began in 2001 with Ajahn Sona at Sitavana Forest Monastery in British Columbia. He spent his seventh year as a Bhikkhu with his preceptor, Luang Por Pasanno, and the Sangha at Abhayagiri Monastery. In 2010 he moved to Thailand and spent nine years with Ajahn Achalo at Anandagiri Monastery in Petchabun. He benefited from periods of practice at Wat Pah Nanachat and from opportunities to receive teachings from leading elders of the Wat Non Pah Pong Sangha, including Luang Por Liem and Tan Ajahn Anan. In June 2020, Ajahn Pavaro was welcomed to Tisarana where he now resides.

This session is available on Zoom at our regular Sunday morning Zoom link: Sunday Morning Zoom

This year’s AGM will be held on Sunday, April 24, at 12 o’clock following the morning session. We will be using the same Zoom link as the regular Sunday morning sessions.

The agenda for the meeting and other material can be found online at this link. More items will be added as they become available.

If you have any questions about any of these items, we encourage you to ask them ahead of time to help focus the discussion during the meeting. You can leave your questions or comments for the Steering Committee in the Contact Us form at the bottom of this page.

The Theravada Buddhist Community is pleased to announce that on Sunday, March 27th at 11:00 am Ayya Nimmala will be joining us during our weekly meditation session to offer a dhamma talk followed by a short question and answers period.

Ayya Nimmala

Ayya Nimmala started her training as a Buddhist nun at Sati Saraniya Hermitage in 2008 under the guidance of Ayya Medhanandi. She took full ordination in 2011 at Spirit Rock Meditation Centre, California, with Ayya Tathaaloka as her preceptor. She then returned to Canada to continue her training with her teacher, Ayya Medhanandi. In 2021, she completed her 10th “vassa” or annual rains retreat as a bhikkhuni (fully-ordained Buddhist nun) and is currently residing at a small vihara in Vancouver, British Columbia.

This session is available on Zoom at our regular Sunday morning Zoom link: Sunday Morning Zoom

The Theravada Buddhist Community is pleased to announce that on Sunday, February 20th at 10:00 am Ajahn Achalo will be joining us during our weekly meditation session to offer a dhamma talk followed by a short question and answers period. The morning meditation period will follow afterwards.

Ajahn Achalo

Ajahn Achalo is the Abbot of Anandagiri Forest Monastery in Thailand. Born in Australia in 1972, Ajahn Achalo developed a keen interest in meditation at the age of 20. In 1996, Ajahn Achalo ordained as a Theravada Bhikkhu under Luang Por Liem at Wat Nong Pah Pong, the monastery founded by Luang Por Chah.

During his years of training, he has received personal guidance from many teachers, including Luang Por Sumedho, Luang Por Pasanno, Ajahn Jayasaro and Ajahn Kalyano.

Ajahn Achalo considers Tan Ajahn Anan, the abbot of Wat Marp Jan in Thailand, as his principal mentor. In addition, he has found the Dalai Lama’s instructions and example to be of tremendous value.

In 2021, His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, King Rama X of Thailand, granted Ajahn Achalo the honorific title of Chao Khun Vajira Nyanamuni (Diamond like knowledge of peacefulness) in recognition of his good practice and service to Buddhism.

This session is available on Zoom at our regular Sunday morning Zoom link: Sunday Morning Zoom