Ayyā Medhānandī Bhikkhunī, the founder and guiding teacher of Sati Saraniya Hermitage, spent a day of Dhamma with us on January 3, 2021. She met with Portland Friends of the Dhamma for the first time, a start to our new year, just before entering her winter retreat. The theme of the day was “An Ever-Present Refuge.” Over fifty people from all over North America gathered to learn the wisdom of being present in the moment as a refuge from the worldly winds and suffering. While she recognized that there has been great suffering this past year, she pointed out that suffering allows us to learn the Dhamma. Our true home is the place within us unperturbed by the conditioned. Ayya included guided meditation, reference to the suttas, and a reading from the Dhammapada. Over and over she emphasized that Nibbana is attainable in this very lifetime.
We are grateful for this inspiring teaching and for the hard work of our volunteers who organized the online event, helped the Hermitage with tech support and Zoom facilitation, and for our donors who supported the meal offering for the Hermitage, our Nuns’ Fund, and our Center and staff.
We are happy to say that Ayyā Medhānandī will return, via Zoom, for a daylong once again on Sunday, September 19, 2021. We hope you can join us.
The recording of the day may be found here. Below are two links that regularly upload her Dhamma talks.