Ayyā Medhānandī

Setting Good Intentions – Then Life Happens, Ayya Nimmala

How powerful, disarming, and distracting is the sense world where the mind is easily caught in desire, hate and delusion. Clinging we suffer. But sufferings spur us on to discover a quality of peace that is unshakeable. When we learn to abide with the flow of experience, seeing that peace in stillness and pure awareness, we feel the true contentment and happiness of the Dhamma. This is blissful. The mind emptied of impurity – empty of ego – sees wisely and is filled with love and compassion. We know our true nature, and we see that we are all one. Ottawa Buddhist Society, Dec. 19, 2025

Enter the Timeless – Guided Meditation, Ayya Medhanandi

We are eager to know how to quiet the restless and anxious mind. But how will peace ever come in the face of life's struggles? Listen to that inner cry with present moment awareness. Softly, simply, be present, balance, and rest on the pinnacle of every breath. Practising like this, again and again, let the world fall away into a beautiful vast spacious awareness. We enter the timeless, tenderly knowing the joy and unsurpassable refuge of this universal silence – not out there, but right here within us. Meditation reflections at the Ottawa Buddhist Society, Oct. 17, 2025

Water the Flowers of Awakening, Ayya Medhanandi

As pure witness, we sail the inner sea in our own heart's silent awareness. Not plundering the mystery of this silence with concepts, we listen. Even in the midst of the noise of life, or the chaos of the world, we can stop there to wake up for one moment, and then another. Silently knowing, we are present. Being aware for one moment is peaceful. This knowing is boundless. For in all of life’s events, struggles, and unfoldings, here and now, fear has no grip, neither worry nor want for anything. We are whole in the peace of this awareness itself, reflected in the luminous truth of timeless presence. We are here for this – to water the flowers of awakening for ourselves and all beings. Sati Saraniya, Dec. 14. 2025

Be Your Own Doctor, Ayya Medhanandi

When fear, anger, sorrow, or shame arise, the Buddha advises us: "Be your own doctor." See. Feel. Know the suffering within. To cherish the silence of the mind is to go beyond fear and all cousins of darkness. When we rest in the present moment, intuitive awareness blossoms and shines its extraordinary light to illumine the truth of all that arises, lingers, and fades away. Impermanent. Moment by moment, timeless. Right here and now, we can know things just as they are. Fear breaks up into empty fragments of sensation. Nothing more. It has to because that is its true nature. This is how we bring forth fearlessness out of fear. And that will be freedom for our brave heart. Sati Saraniya Hermitage, Dec. 7, 2025

When the Ship Leaves the Harbour, Ayya Medhanandi

We are ever concerned about what we eat and the condition of the body. Yet care for the mind brings spiritual health. It's a question of balance. Mind is the forerunner of all things. And happiness and joy will surely follow when we rejoice in goodness. If we lose hold of the Dhamma, then how can our ship leave the harbour? Though the currents of life – of the world – are huge, we persevere. Trust in purity of heart, kindness, compassion and wise awareness everyday, in all that we do. A loving heart opens to clarity of vision, peace and blessings for ourselves and for all beings. Sati Saraniya Hermitage, Nov. 23, 2021