Ayyā Medhānandī

Emptying the mind of fearful thoughts, we stop clinging to anything of the world – one moment at a time. And we come to know a liberating joy. It’s a way to enter the dimension of transcendence that uplifts us beyond the prison of...

Peace, patience, and practice ripen with the quality of faith. We trust the teacher on a path distinguished by compassion and a diet for awakening the heart. “All suffering arises when we think about our own happiness. And all happiness arises when we think...

As seekers of truth, we turn the wheel of Dhamma inwardly. There alone can we understand the mind’s purity and directly know the true rhythm of the heart, undiluted by worldly refrains. The sounds of the world can turn coarse and invasive until we...

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...

Too long we have been caught in the grip of anxiety, anger, and clinging that lead nowhere. But there is an oasis in the depths of our native humanity. To understand what is true, we must empty all that is untrue. This is ultimate...

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...

The winds of change blow constantly. We seek shelter, gazing attentive and unobstructed into the mind – aware, in pure presence each moment. We sit, warming the heart and our precepts with gratitude. Stopping in this way, letting be, we truly see. In loving...

Our suffering may feel too great or the mountain may look too high. But we are resilient and we have it in us to do this work, to walk this path – if we can give up thoughts of self-cherishing and feel compassion for...

By deeply examining the mind as the Buddha taught, we see our stark human predicament, why we suffer, and the real source of happiness. For he awakened to suffering’s end and the noble path to freedom. With immense gratitude for his teaching, we learn...

When the mind is completely silent, we experience the peace and happiness of pure awareness. This far surpasses any worldly promise of impermanent gains or pleasures. Instead, through wise intuitive insight, we enter into a blessed interior seclusion. Metaphorically speaking, not a shred of...

Contentment and generosity nurture a quality of metta that is kind through and through. We learn to respond to life like the good earth that is ever patient with and tolerant of our heedlessness. Whatever you throw on it – even if it’s harmful...

What does it mean to be noble? As a daughter of the Buddha, I learn that no name, title, degree or pedigree can confer true wisdom, authority or respect; nor do opinion, tradition or entitlement bestow them – for as the Buddha wisely teaches,...

Stay true to seeing with wisdom and be compassionate to yourself – then, gradually to all beings. Preserve, treasure, grow and rejoice in the moral fabric of your true nature and know its incomparable radiant light. But first, we must have complete trust in...

The Buddha gives us a flawless positioning system that will guide us to the coordinates of Truth. That ultimate refuge and peace is not to be known anywhere but in the sanctuary of our own heart. To find our spiritual bearings, we explore our...

Though we may feel lost in the world, on the path of purification we find secure refuge and blessings shower down upon us. It is by the power of our own mind that we bring forth what is resplendent in this world. We use...

With selfless awareness, we radiate good-will, that quality of loving-kindness, inwardly and to all beings, even to those who are indifferent or hostile, or to those who cause harm. This is the Buddha’s instruction to us in the Metta Sutta. Can we unequivocally wish...

Across millenia, the Buddha speaks of his awakening – teaching us how to take refuge, how to be fearless, how to walk the Middle Way, how to understand suffering, and how to know what to trust. Fear is the opposite of trust. So be...

Let us not serve the false, fierce tyranny of fear – withering, unworthy, not to be clung to, and not who we are. By emptying the mind of fearful thoughts, we stop clinging to anything of the world – one moment at a time....

Through the lens of Truth, mindful and attentive, we pierce anger, sorrow, fear and complacency. We are on the cusp of realizing who we are. Clear present awareness leads us inwards. We are on track to let go, relinquish and abandon all that is...

Are we ready to stop clinging, let go and trust? If we live with gratitude and change for the good, if we learn to really see, we will be able to listen from within and notice the true condition of the mind. We move...

When the inner fires flare, stay in your lane – aware, present and know – even if you are on fire, you can still the inner turbulence and sustain peace. Resist wandering to the past or future; resist the viruses of the mind’s obsessions....

We are searching for the Unconditioned and the way to fulfill our highest potential as spiritual beings. Our journey of awakening simulates the monarch butterfly’s miraculous flight. Freed from its chrysalis, it emerges whole and ready to traverse unimaginable distances. Just so, the liberated...

The core teachings of the Buddha offer us a ready escape from the hells of hatred and hostility. Though the heart is perturbed, we reach deeply into our core to connect to that aquifer of Dhamma within us, calming the mind again and again....

Nature is begging us to wake up especially when we find ourselves at the mercy of fear arising like a ghost in the dead of night. What will protect us from these intruders? At the moment of ambush, can we see their true qualities...

What can protect us from the repercussions of negative and unwholesome mind states? Begin the journey, the archeology of our own heart. It’s a total cleansing. Like a mountain climber, we ascend the interior slopes and our burden lightens. We clear it out moment...

Patience is love, a faith both fearless and true. How can we know and embody that? How can we value each moment and care for it, patiently turning the mind away from the world to the peace within us – to that raw dimension...

Can we face what we most fear and touch the well-spring of goodness, kindness and compassion within us? The first step towards Truth is taking responsibility for our own actions, intentions, and their consequences. Denial and distraction only numb us to what is painful...

The Buddha said it simply. The awakened mind is the best solution. The mind-heart needs happiness to be well and to extend that well-being to others. So we tune inward, listen, meditate and resolve the dis-ease. We teach ourselves to be resilient, joyful and...

We carry the seed of awakening. And yet we are so blind. Can we learn to see through the clouds of delusion, greed and hatefulness? Do we have the resolve and patience to begin and the humility and forgiveness to persevere in hard times?...

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...

Not-clinging spreads very fast, very far. Its fuel power is letting go attachment to ‘self’; to selfishness and the inversion of the mind into a cocoon of self-concern – which is spiritual death. There’s no truth in that. Aren’t we all drowning –  metaphorically?...

Where is safety in a world burning with greed, hatred, fear and violence? It is within us. Under the protective canopy of Dhamma, with unshakeable faith in the Buddha’s awakening, we purify the heart – emulating his tactical strategies for training the mind to...

Can we quieten the mind enough to hear that divine frequency of the heart’s innermost chamber? Into that stillness, we come, softly, humbly – to try – and we persevere, secluded from the noise of the world. As the fevers of wanting are purified,...

Deep in the space of our hearts there is a sanctity unreachable by any vehicle other than wisdom. We travel there silently to explore the galaxies that lie within us. Until we try, we can’t know the wonders of that dimension. Yet we touch...

Rather than running away from suffering, we use it as the way to deliverance. Out of suffering, we draw beneficial mind states, especially compassion – not blaming our dukkha on any external or internal conditions but letting them go. If we are content with...

We underestimate the power of renunciation to gain our true spiritual inheritance from the Buddha. These deeper levels of practice require not a formulaic approach but faith enough to let go the clinging that perpetuates an endless cycle of loss and suffering. On this...

We wish for perfect conditions in life. But true perfection only arises within the awakened mind. So we are like mendicants of the present moment – not able to control or know what lies ahead. Let us not lose heart. In truth, this Middle...

The way out of pain is not in sense pleasure. But suffering can be a ticket to Nibbana – maybe not the one we asked for, but it’s in our hands. So we try. Taste the moment just as it is. Choose love when...

In a psychic feat for his sister, Sundari Nanda, the Buddha creates a vision of a beautiful lady who transforms into an old woman. Through this direct experience of impermanence, her mind is liberated. Likewise, those who rightly love wisdom and contemplate death without...

The sublime attitudes of loving kindness, compassion, joyous empathy, and serene composure create for us a path, a moral training to guide us not to ransom our goodness or our intrinsic values for the fleeting joys of worldly gratification. As we purify the heart,...

The Dhamma is deep, subtle yet powerful enough to teach us how to stop, how to listen, how to see the truth of things. For what we thought we knew, we may have not really understood. So how can we transcend our social, cultural,...

Let us truly live with compassion enough to care. And share that beautiful mind energy with a depth of awareness and attention to each moment. Keeping far from the noise of the world, every breath, every new moment will arise in a field of...

Joy comes softly. First, we plow through the labyrinth of our emotional compost. We know anguish, selfishness, and all their truant cousins. Then we learn skillful ways to let go. Dying to the ‘self’, the heart is purified. Even despair and the darkest energies...

Right mindfulness developed with meticulous appreciative attention on the breath enables us to tame the wilderness of the mind. If we are careening off course – just when the canoe starts to tip – we notice and immediately rebalance, regaining awareness and sustaining it...

What do we fear the most? Love, unconditional love. Learning to see intuitively, we truly see. And when we have eyes to see, we are fearless. We may not feel fearless but we know how to face our fear – to know it as...

The Buddha guides us on a way of benevolence, worthy of our praise, worthy of our attention, worthy of our devotion. It extinguishes the fire of delusion in the mind to kindle the fire of awakening. No ‘one’ awakens but the heart heals naturally...

The spiritual path may be exceedingly long and demands nothing less than the most supreme culminating effort. But our patience and faith are radical.  In every moment of pure attention, insight into impermanence and awareness of Truth shatter our delusion. Though monstrous dangers and...

To harvest the real riches of the journey, seek refuge and protection in wisdom; and gain profound peace and happiness through the practice of loving-kindness, compassion and forgiveness. These qualities of reconciliation uphold virtue, concord, care and respect so that we can befriend what...

As long as delusion prevails, we are in danger and our happiness is very limited. Beyond its veil, immeasurable riches await us. Four ways to focus our samadhi power help us to clear away the interior cobwebs and tame our mental turbulence into a...

Remember compassion like the Buddha’s. Remember courage like the Buddha’s – a mind strong, centered, wise and welcoming; spacious, supple and open. We look within and wake up to that seed of awakening.  Standing for truth instead of delusion and weakness, even if what...

When a river flows into the sea it acquires one taste, the taste of salt. As our meditation deepens, regardless of age, health, race, gender, culture or social status, delving into the mind, we discover one taste, that is the taste of truth. The...

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...

We are here to learn to see, to dispel all ignorance with intuitive wisdom. When I walk on alms round, even if nothing is given, I see that my life is like an alms bowl. It is both full and empty – full of...

Learning to play an instrument, at first nothing good comes of it. The body is like an instrument. At first, it howls, it screams or cries. Then one day, that cry becomes a chant. So it is freeing the mind. We teach ourselves to...

There is no final cure for the body, but the mind can be freed. No matter how much craving, anger, sorrow, fear or obsessive negative thoughts keep storming the mind, don’t let discouragement become another hindrance. Every new moment is a chance to see...

On the path to freedom, every moment in every life situation is an opportunity for training the mind.  We plant seeds of virtue, watering them with renunciation, respect, contentment, generosity and valiant effort. We clear the cobwebs of lifetimes from the mind with wisdom...

In the grip of painful feelings such as fear, anger, grief, or despair, we are in danger of allowing these to subdue the mind. Discernment and clear awareness help us to see through our pain to the ending of pain – not only for...

On a wilderness trail, at times the path is clear, at times not. We get lost, confused, and disheartened. Tested again and again, we gain strength, skill, and clarity, and we learn to see what we could not see at first. The spiritual way...

Where is safety in this world? As the Buddha taught: “Not apart from awakening and austerity, not apart from sense restraint, not apart from relinquishing everything do I see any safety for any living being”. So with unshakeable faith, not faltering in the face...

Our most valued renewable resource is the heart, the seat of awareness and our true refuge in what is worthy of refuge – the ancient virtue of the noble ones. Breath by breath, we embody pure presence, wisely seeing how suffering arises and understanding...

To directly know Truth, we enter the depths of the vast ocean of the mind. We refine our attention and focus it like a laser beam. In the knowing of knowing itself, impermanence is revealed together with the inherent suffering of the conditioned world...

The Eightfold Noble Path is the Buddha’s map to freedom. His directions how to proceed are precise, rigorous and breathtaking – the better for our faith and diligence. Though we may falter or feel unworthy, we discard delusion of a self – the better...

Can we resolutely walk the moral high road and discover Dhamma treasures in the fertile ground of the heart? Heroic good-will, metta, will serve as our anti-inflammatory, quelling the fires of greed, anger, fear, and blame along with every other uncharitable mind state. ‘Shaving’...

Generosity and virtue are at the heart of waking up. We give nothing less than our full devotion to the practice, day by day, training in present moment awareness and purifying ourselves. Secluded from dangerous mental states, we endure patiently, courageously. As the wisdom...

To escape clinging to the world and the creations of thought, we purify and tame the restless mind until we directly know the impermanence, unsatisfactory and selfless nature of all conditioned things. No matter what comes, we endure. A diet of discernment, gratitude, and...

We live in a world of toxic fear and earnestly wish for a way beyond it. Devoted to the Buddha’s supreme advice, we undertake this holistic training how to live harmlessly, joyful and at peace in ourselves. With courage and patient humility, we don’t...

With the Buddha as our guide, we walk in his footsteps. If we fall away from the path, we return to it as soon as we can. Just as you steer your car back on the road should it veer off. The mind may...

What are we, and what are we doing on this planet? We easily get lost in the dream of the world. It is a very good time to wake up. Right here in your own heart is the greatest adventure possible. See the danger...

Walk away from the tigers that have made us run all our lives. Grow instead that beautiful space of selfless love deep within. Growth means breaking out of the shell. It may hurt. But this is our journey. Trust that it will ripen into...

Our greatest life journey takes us inward through the Dhamma MRI of mindful, radical investigation. At last, we learn to see clearly, with true discernment. We see the root causes of our suffering, disentangling the web of delusion and despair to take up our...

There is a fearlessness that we can know, where greed and anger are vanquished. It is a state of equanimity with whatever comes which no one else can pollute, disturb or destroy. There is nothing more difficult – or more noble – for a...

Simplicity is not about wearing one colour, shaving your head or fasting but rather it’s a way of mental fasting. When we choose simplicity, we have time to stop, and to observe and study the mind. We see the extent of our suffering and...

How well are we spending our time? Do we endlessly cling to all that perpetuates suffering? Death will have no holiday. So what will free us from the tyranny of death? Be courageous enough to see what gives us true happiness and what brings...

What is spiritual beauty? Kindness, forgiveness, unconditional love? Can we sustain a hallowed inner space that will not be degraded by unkind thoughts? When noble virtue protects the heart at its innermost core, we repair and train the mind to go beyond all brokenness....

Every moment of right mindfulness is a gift of pure attention, clarity and discovering the true origin of our pain. Applying the alchemy of kindness and compassion towards ourselves and others, we break through the veils of delusion to experience a selfless happiness, peace,...

Sometimes we feel torn apart by life and unable to cope. Healing may be slow to come but our meditation practice can enhance that process. If we contemplate the fearsome winds of life in such a way that we deeply understand their impermanent nature,...

The Buddha offers us an extraordinary medicine – the medicine of Truth. No one can take it for us nor can we take it for anyone else. And we discover it through our own wisdom, love, and compassion. We are the surgeon and the...

Are we able to sit with a quiet mind and know the fragrance of silence? All of us are familiar with the stressful impacts of relentless thought and reactivity on our well-being. The good news is that we can free ourselves from the inner...

We may travel to the most beautiful setting, and yet if there is no silence on the inside, how can we find peace? But to empty and purify the mind, we enter a sacred space, and we taste only sacredness. We experience a dimension...

To vow for life: not to compromise our faith, our virtue, or our goodness – even in a moment of terror – is a powerful spiritual ally. Not cowering nor retaliating even in a hopeless-feeling-moment, we learn to stay present with compassion and kindness....

We all experience some pain, mental, physical or both.  And we work with pain both in the body and in the mind until it is exhausted.  This is how we care for the mind, healing its sickness and removing the sand that obstructs the...

Our mission is to find truth by turning inward to the space of the heart. We may think we know why we are here on this earth but we can only really know when we enter the sanctuary of this inner space and turn...

Practice deepens when we are present here and now, able to intuitively understand and contemplate our experience rather than knowing it through concepts. We refine mindfulness with wisdom, receive the moment humbly and offer our full attention and devotion to know what is before...

In the face of horrific suffering, how can we abide in the ground of love, protected from every kind of pain? True path effort – inspired courage leaning on virtue – ardently works its way into the heart. Through the power of forgiveness, patient...

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...

Patience, humility, and compassion serve as the mind’s compass to enlightened wisdom and unconditional love. Breath by breath, we triumph over hateful feelings until the pain of others becomes unbearable to us. It’s an exalted work of heroic proportions, accomplished through undaunted perseverance, forgiveness,...

Has there ever been a time when the world was not filled with fear and violence? Millenia ago just as now, humans have been bound in a cycle of delusion, fear, and harm. The way out is within us – learning to find the...

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 Buddha himself touched the Truth with his own mind. And so can we. It’s a purifying, intimate process – internal, invisible and crossing many intersections. At each one, we patiently examine the state of the heart, discerning what is harmful and what is...

How can we be free of anger? To cross a river, walk over it. From a burning house, escape. So too, when your heart is on fire, stay present, forgiving and compassionate. Balance and cleanse the mind to stop it from spinning with fear,...

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...

We hear in the Udana, Verses of Uplift, about the Venerable Meghiya’s wish to practise in the beautiful Mango Grove before his mind was mature enough. Even when we are on retreat and conditions for practice seem perfect, hindrances plague the mind and overcome...

We long to be free from this wandering, to go beyond all suffering. The body is our raft to cross from one side of this river of pain to the other. And there we leave the raft. But we don’t leave it until we...

One way animals restore themselves after an attack and regain equilibrium is through the trembling of the body. We too, as human beings, can create an inner rhythmic chant to resonate vibrational waves that help us move out of fear and clear traumas from...

Listen deeply to the resonance within where virtue sows fields of goodness, wisdom, and compassion and Death teaches us to let go. At first, we tremble with fear. But out of that fear we draw strength. Out of anger – a stillness and forgiveness....

Shrouded in the cloud of ignorance, we believe that suffering will never happen to us. But when we emerge from that fog into a radical simplicity of heart, suffering becomes our teacher. Our eyes are opened thanks to Right View and direct experience of...

Instead of holding onto what burns and pains us, uphold the truth of present moment awareness and know that freedom is in our hands. We free ourselves from unwholesome qualities. In the midst of fear, we bring up fearlessness; in the midst of resentment,...

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...

Though we feel powerless to effect change globally, we can purify the mind and restore trust, peace, and harmony in our own lives. Six special qualities of reconciliation help us nurture the balm of forgiveness. We learn to see how our suffering begins and...