Bhante Ananda

Bhante Ānanda is a Canadian Buddhist monk trained in the teachings and the monastic way of life of early Buddhism. In 2018, after practicing and learning from a vast spectrum of different spiritual practices including Hinduism, Hatha yoga, traditional Native American wisdom, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Vipassanā meditation, and much more, Bhante Ānanda discovered the Teachings of Bhante Vimalaramsi. Highly impressed with his meditation technique and his wisdom, he decided to go forth (Pabbaja) at his center, Dhamma Sukha Meditation Centre (DSMC) in Missouri and spent a whole summer in the presence of Bhante Vimalaramsi. During his stay at DSMC, he had the opportunity to attend closely with his teacher and to sit on meditators’ interviews on Bhante Vimalaramsi’s side for the whole summer, directly learning from him for several months. At the end of the summer, Bhante Vimalaramsi gave Bhante Ānanda his permission to teach, before he left for Canada. Bhante Ānanda then moved to Canada as a solitary forest monk and founded the HeartDhamma community and the Heartwood Hermitage. Since then, Bhante Ānanda has been teaching many meditation retreats around the globe, whether in Canada, Sri Lanka, India, and even online. He received higher ordination in Sri Lanka, at a forest monastery near Balangoda. Bhante shares his time between Canada and Asia, helping many in their meditation practice, teaching retreats, and studying and translating the suttas from Pāli to contemporary English while dedicatedly attending to his own practice. Embracing the whole of the Buddha’s teaching, Bhante Ānanda’s approach tends toward Natural collectedness of mind (Dhamma Samādhi) through, what he calls the two wings of awakening; Joy and letting go. Which culminates in the direct experience of Nibbāna, by way of wisely developing the seven supports of awakening (Sambojjhaṅgas) and Boundless Love (Mettā). Among his growing number of publications, he is the author of: Open Heart: A Guide from Boundless Love Meditation to Nibbāna Bhāvanā: The Buddha’s Path to Awakening & Wholesome Mental Development Pūjā: Recitals of Dhamma