HeartDhamma, 3414 Renwick Road, Nelson, BC (2025)

11/23/2025

🧘‍♀️🌿 Join our upcoming 10-Day Meditation Retreat in Sri Lanka! 🌿🧘
📅 February 20 to March 03, 2026 | Sandun Arana Meditation Centre

Our silent retreats are a rare opportunity to dive deep into the Buddha's original teachings on developing mental collectedness through boundless love, joy and somatic relaxation. On these 10 days, you are invited to learn or sharpen your knowledge of Right Effort and the Noble Eightfold Path ☸️ as a tangible meditation practice that has helped thousands of meditators experience profound levels of liberation and happiness.

Retreat Summary: 🧘‍♀️ Complete silence 📱 No phones or electronic devices 📚 Personal guidance through individual interviews with Bhante Ānanda ☸️ Evening dharma talks based on the Buddha's original discourses 🗓️ Structured daily schedule from 6am to 10pm ♥️ Emphasis on loving-kindness meditation and the natural development of the mind, using the seven factors of awakening. ✨

Bhante Ānanda brings years of training in early Buddhist practices and has guided numerous retreats worldwide. His approach emphasizes the "two wings of awakening" - joy and letting go - which are the two Right Intentions, the core of the path, leading to direct experience of profound peace.

This retreat is for serious practitioners ready to commit to 7+ hours of daily meditation.
Space is limited. 16/22 spots already filled!
For more information and registrations:
https://heartdhamma.love/sri-lanka-retreat-2026-february/

Link in bio for details and registration! 🪷
We look forward to seeing you there!

"Sukhino cittaṃ samādhiyati - The happy mind becomes collected"

11/21/2025

Dependent Origination Explained | Understanding Unconscious Behaviour w/ Vipassanā Meditation

https://youtu.be/T4X-NcB8y3s

An accessible and visually rich exploration of dependent origination (paticcasamuppada) — the Buddha's profound teaching on how the mind works and how we create our own suffering through conditioned, unconscious patterns. Using creative analogies from gardening, technology, and nature, Bhante guides practitioners through the twelve links of dependent origination (patichcha samuppadaya), from lack of awareness to mental activities, consciousness, and the six senses, to craving, attachment, identity formation, and ultimately the arising of all dukkha.

In this talk, we bring to light how we unconsciously build our personalities and habitual reactions. We discuss how every moment of wanting pulls us away from present contentment, and how understanding this chain empowers us to break free by way of the four foundations of mindfulness and vipassanā meditation. Using the imagery of the starlings murmuration as a metaphor for consciousness, this teaching transforms what is often considered the most complex Buddhist philosophy into practical wisdom for meditation, revealing how the entire chain of dependent origination dissolves when we rest in wholesome awareness and contentment.

Day 6 - April 2024 Australia Retreat - Dhamma talk by Bhante Ānanda.
Karuna Centre, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW.

11/14/2025

Jhāna Masterclass | Complete Map to All Levels of Meditation | From First Jhāna to Nirodha

https://youtu.be/dg4ZgiKBs-k

An uplifting exploration of the stages of jhāna (levels of meditation) using the metaphor of a hot air balloon journey—from unpacking and inflating on the ground to floating freely beyond the stratosphere. We attempt at demystifying what are nowadays often considered esoteric and unattainable states of meditation, and we learn how the Buddha taught these meditation levels as a natural, progressive path accessible through loving kindness practice and Right Effort (6Rs).

Bhante guides practitioners through all nine stages—from the first jhana with its joyful relief of letting go, through increasingly subtle states of mental collectedness and spaciousness, to the complete release of consciousness itself in nirodha samapati. This teaching emphasizes that wherever you are on this path is beautiful and liberating, that progress manifests primarily in daily life through reduced reactivity and increased peace, and that every moment of releasing unwholesome states is a "mini-nibbana." A profound yet practical roadmap for understanding Buddhist meditation's transformative journey from beginning to ultimate liberation.

Day 4 - April 2024 Australia Retreat - Dhamma talk by Bhante Ānanda.
Karuna Centre, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW.

11/07/2025

The Two Arrows | From Contact to Distraction | Mindfulness Meditation

https://youtu.be/s1lK5xfJo9U

In this teaching we explore the Buddha’s analogy of "the two arrows”—recognizing the raw fact of a situation (first arrow) and the mental label we add to it (second arrow)—and how these become mental proliferations which, in turn, fuel distractions such as anxiety, anger, and other unwholesome states. Practicing vipassana meditation at the level of the six senses and understanding dependent origination, we can trace the chain from sensory contact → feeling → perception → thinking → proliferation (papañca) which can be seen by practicing mindfulness meditation. By learning to “cut distractions at the root,” we cultivate a light, compassionate mind that remains unshaken by external noise and internal stories.

Day 3 - April 2024 Australia Retreat - Dhamma talk by Bhante Ānanda.
Karuna Centre, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW.

10/31/2025

Buddha's Awakening: The Nature of Mental States | Mindfulness Born of Wisdom | Natural Samādhi

https://youtu.be/gNdLSy7tE9c

A profound exploration of the Buddha's awakening on the two kinds of thoughts—wholesome and unwholesome mental states—and how understanding this distinction transforms meditation practice. Through an engaging interactive exercise and the Buddha's own words, this Dhamma talk reveals how the Buddha himself practiced recognizing unwholesome states (anger, sensory distraction, harm) that create tension and lead away from peace, while cultivating wholesome states (loving kindness, compassion, joy) that naturally bring clarity, collectedness, and liberation.

This teaching illuminates how every distraction carries somatic tension, why the mind becomes naturally concentrated when dwelling in wholesome states, and how we continuously condition our minds through what we choose to focus on—introducing the Buddhist understanding of neuroplasticity and dependent origination. This teaching culminates in the Buddha's beautiful analogy of the deer herd and the safe path to be traveled with joy, offering both deep wisdom and practical guidance for developing natural samadhi through understanding rather than force.

Day 1 - April 2024 Australia Retreat - Dhamma talk by Bhante Ānanda.
Karuna Centre, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW.

10/24/2025

Meditation Like Surfing | Letting Go and Mental Uplift | Seven Factors of Awakening

https://youtu.be/s3vYtvdgKLg

Compareing meditation practice to learning how to surf, breaking down Right Effort and the 7 factors of awakening (6Rs) in vivid detail. Just as skilled surfers understand ocean currents and wave patterns rather than staring at their surfboard on the beach, effective meditators learn to work with the mind's natural movements through the seven factors of awakening. We explore how distractions manifest as somatic tension, why smiling is scientifically proven to shift our mental states, and how the two right intentions of letting go and mental uplift work together like the up-and-down motion of a bird's wings. Bhante weaves together neuroscience research, the polyvagal theory, the Buddha's original instructions, and practical guidance on developing an effortless meditation practice that cleanses the mind through wholesome states and natural joy.

Day 1 - April 2024 Australia Retreat - Dhamma talk by Bhante Ānanda.
Karuna Centre, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW.

10/17/2025

Heart-Centered Meditation | Resting the Mind in the Heart | Loving Kindness & Right Effort

https://youtu.be/DpuIpXlT79E

Meditation instructions introducing a heart-centered approach to Buddhist meditation that develops wholesome mental states rather than relying solely on objects of concentration. We explore mettā (loving-kindness) meditation as bhāvanā - the Buddha's practice of wholesome mental development - beginning with cultivating the warm, radiant feeling of loving-kindness in your own heart before extending it through a spiritual friend (kalyāṇamitta). The teaching introduces the Six Rs framework of right effort for working skillfully with distractions.

This practice emphasizes feeling over thinking, teaching how to rest the mind in the heart rather than forcing attention onto objects, and reveals why smiling during meditation dramatically enhances progress by keeping the mind uplifted and clear.

Day 0 - Australia Retreat talk by Bhante Ānanda, in April 2024.
Karuna Centre, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW.

Open Heart
https://heartdhamma.love/books/open-heart/

10/17/2025

Natural Samādhi Retreat Guide: Schedule, Structure & Sacred Space | Retreat Orientation

https://youtu.be/xVan4B4ypZ4

Orientation for our 9-day Natural Samādhi retreat which recovers everything participants need to know about retreat structure, daily schedule, and the essential mindset for successful meditation practice. We begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, the Darug and Gundungurra peoples, and emphasize the most important first step of any retreat: landing and arriving rather than immediately trying to "take off" in meditation.

This orientation sets the foundation for a transformative retreat experience grounded in kindness toward yourself, flexibility in practice, and understanding that meditation deepens through natural causes and conditions rather than force.

Day 0 - Australia Retreat talk by Bhante Ānanda, in April 2024.
Karuna Centre, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW.

10/12/2025

Samatha and vipassanā are not separate practices but work together like two hands washing one another. Mental calm (samatha) naturally culminates in clear seeing (vipassanā), revealing how these complementary aspects of Buddhist meditation support and enhance each other rather than functioning as distinct techniques which are often understood as Jhāna schools and Insight Meditation schools. Although both are required to deepen into mindfulness meditation.

10/10/2025

Best Meditation Instructions by the Buddha | Four Foundations of Minfulness Explained | Satipatthāna

https://youtu.be/wUa9jqFM7I4

The Buddha's most practical meditation instructions from the early Suttas, revealing how to authentically practice the four foundations of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhānas) as resting places of awareness rather than objects to "focus" on. Drawing from the original Pāli texts, we examine how the Buddha taught meditation as a dynamic process that integrates the seven factors of awakening with mindfulness of body, sensations, mind, and mental states.

The teaching demonstrates how to work skillfully with distractions by applying the mind to uplifting objects, activating the natural sequence "from gladness to collectedness" that Bhante Ānanda calls "natural samādhi." We explore the relationship between the brahmavihāras (loving-kindness meditation) and the satipaṭṭhānas, showing how meditation progresses from applied thinking to effortless resting in awareness. This comprehensive teaching offers clear instructions for both beginning and advanced practitioners, explaining how the four foundations serve as the sailboat that carries us across the flood of suffering when powered by the sails of the seven awakening factors - mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, collectedness (Samādhi), and equanimity.

Sutta Sundays are the monthly gathering of the HeartDhamma community where we study original teachings on meditation directly from the Buddha.

Join us on Zoom, every first Sunday of the month:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87824875440

Dhamma talk by Bhante Ānanda in October 2025 during the Sutta Sunday teaching.
Offered at the Heartwood Hermitage in Nelson, BC Canada.

SN 47.10 The Bhikkhunīs’s Residence
https://heartdhamma.love/sutta/sn-47-10/

10/06/2025

🧘‍♀️After 4 years of patient silence, we successfully ended another meditation retreat at our Heartwood Hermitage Kootenays. 😇 It was a joy to see our little hermitage springing back to life this summer! 🧘

Here are a few glimpses at the new kutis, outdoor meditation hall and our new bell tent pads for our upcoming retreats! 😊

We are aiming at hosting a 10-day meditation retreat next year in July! Keep an eye on our retreat page to stay informed of new retreats when they are announced! Link in our bio 🔗🫶🏻🥰

10/03/2025

Samatha and Vipassana Explained: Two Hands Washing One Another | Tranquility & Insight

https://youtu.be/EaSKHgv_SM8

We clarify what vipassanā and samatha actually mean in the Buddha's early teachings. Moving beyond common misconceptions, this teaching reveals that vipassanā, often called insight, simply means seeing mental states clearly—understanding which states cause suffering and which lead to peace through the four noble truths. Bhante explains how samatha (tranquility) and vipassanā (clear seeing) work together as two hands washing one another, naturally leading to liberation through the ongoing practice of abandoning unwholesome states and cultivating wholesome ones. This practical teaching includes guidance on understanding the waves of calm and insight that arise during meditation retreats, and why true progress is measured not by attainments but by becoming genuinely kinder, more compassionate, and more peaceful.

Day 9 of our Samatha Vipassana meditation retreat at Tierramor, in Costa Rica, June 2024.

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