The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
 
Dharma Talks given at Sati Saraniya Hermitage
2019-11-10 Nothing There: Beyond the Prison of 'Self' 29:14
Ayya Medhanandi
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'.
Sati Saraniya Hermitage

2019-11-03 The Ratana Sutta - a forest chant from Sati Saraniya Hermitage 4:20
Ayya Medhanandi
Most highly revered treasures and our true refuges - the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha - are extolled in this devotional chanting of a traditional Pali sutta. The style of the chant arose in the heart while walking in the forests of Sati Saraniya Hermitage.
Sati Saraniya Hermitage

2019-10-17 Mount Everest 28:19
Ayya Medhanandi
As the witness of suffering, we gain new eyes to see. A doorway to knowing non-duality opens – there is no 'you', no 'me'. We are in the realm of no separation in one moment – gone beyond opinions, beyond wanting, beyond our pains and brokenness, and our enslavement to all that drives us. Can we see them as empty and powerless apart from the power we give them? Emptying the mind's rubbish each day, every moment that we can – enough to see, to intuitively know unconditional love – we ascend the Everest within to behold the jewel of the heart’s Himalaya.
Sati Saraniya Hermitage

2019-08-18 When The Mind Sees Itself 29:37
Ayya Medhanandi
How long must we wander misguided in life? To courageously seek Truth, extract all impurity from the mind under the scrutiny of the Wisdom Eye – silent, watchful, fully aware, and dedicated to inner purification. See what fills the space of the mind, what percolates within and how we fuel it. Gradually, we will triumph over the sway of delusion and habitual distractions that betray the mind again and again. We’ll take our rightful seat, empty and poised on the throne of present moment awareness. In the safety of true refuge, there’s no going, and no one who goes. When the mind sees itself, there's just pure knowing, awake to its innermost sanctity.
Sati Saraniya Hermitage

2019-06-01 Ratana Sutta - Refuge in the Noble Triple Gems 4:28
Ayya Medhanandi
Forest devas chanting these beautiful ancient refrains of the Ratana Sutta at Sati Saraniya Hermitage came to an old bhikkhuni while she walked the trails of the monastery. When we are protected by the sanctuary of the Noble Triple Jewels, the heart's purity is sustained and great blessings rain forth - supreme refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, great compassion, wisdom, and incomparable peace. Herein - the joy of chanting our praise of these blessings.
Sati Saraniya Hermitage

2018-11-04 First Aid 10:51
Ayya Medhanandi
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
Ayya Medhanandi
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

2018-08-16 Entering the Gate: Four Spiritual Powers 38:34
Ayya Medhanandi
Satipanna Insight Meditation Toronto (SIMT) Retreat, Chapin Mill, Batavia, N.Y. Entering the Gate: Four Spiritual Qualities Though our spiritual paths are many and varied, we can all practice with enough present moment awareness, faith, energy and commitment to realize the boundless nature of the heart that seemed at first beyond our reach.
Sati Saraniya Hermitage

2018-06-17 Fearlessness 47:36
Ayya Medhanandi
Buddhist Insights, East Village, New York City
Sati Saraniya Hermitage

2017-11-26 Courage, Kindness, and Freedom - Ancient Verses of Arahant Rohini Bhikkhuni 25:34
Ayya Medhanandi
In the world of Arahant Rohini, the same forces of violence, greed, and delusion we face now were at play. She encourages us to sustain faith in the Dhamma, using its special weapons to counter the erosion of peace and to liberate the mind with kindness, courage, selflessness, and wisdom - for the benefit of all beings.
Sati Saraniya Hermitage

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