Bhikku Candana

Ranjith Daluwatta

  .Some Talks given by Bhante Candana Dr. Candana (pronounced “Chandana”) is a Bhikkhu and a student of the Dhamma for over thirty years, while teaching the Dhamma for over two decades. Bhante Candana has a Doctorate in Buddhist Ministry, as well as degrees in Psychology, Marriage and Family Counseling, and Comparative Religions. Ven. Dr. Candana was born in Beirut, Lebanon to an Armenian family. During the Lebanese 17 year civil war, as a child, he was seriously injured. This near-death experience with the symptoms of PTSD and physical disabilities incurred, led to the development of a keen interest in his mind to gain a better understanding of life’s true purpose, as he later came to appreciate the Four Noble Truths as taught by Lord Buddha, especially given the constant presence of death, suffering, and impermanence at every corner of one’s life. In 1995, he found his way to the College of Buddhist Studies where he met the late Ven. Dr. Havanpola Ratanasāra, who introduced him to the Theravada Buddhist tradition and became his preceptor, giving him the name “Candana.” Since then, he has been granted numerous recognitions, including that of Master of Dhamma (M.Dh.), where his preceptor and the President of the Sangha Council of Southern California, Ven Dr. Ratanasāra strongly encouraged him to start teaching the Dhamma to the masses in 1998, while still being an Upāsaka or lay Buddhist. Ven. Dr. Candana has been teaching and guiding meditators to establish tranquility and understanding in their lives while facing their daily problems, as they apply simple tools all of which are geared to bring more wisdom and understanding. In meeting the late Ven. Dr. Punnaji Mahāthero and Ven. Vimalaramsi Mahāthero, strongly established Ven. Dr. Candana in the powerful practice of the Brahmavihāras, and specifically via the Mettā Bhāvana taught by these two esteemed Bhikkhus, who became the Venerable’s teachers In addition to his academic and applied background in the Dhamma and Buddhist Studies, Ven. Dr. Candana has an extensive background working with patients as a Clinical Psychotherapist having completed his degree and training in psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy, while also being licensed in the State of California, USA. Thus, in addition to being a university professor, Ven. Dr. Candana has worked with underserved populations as a Mental Health Therapist, specializing in the areas of mindfulness, relationship health, anger management, anxiety, trauma & PTSD, eating disorders, and domestic violence, while using evidenced-based interventions inspired by his daily practice of meditation.For over a year now, Bhante Candana has taken on the task of converting the Pāli Nikāyas into English by voice recording them and making them freely available for posterity. To this end, Ven. Dr. Candana has often been re-translating many of these suttas, in order to make them more relevant to today’s listeners and especially practitioners of meditation by including the very important repetition sections that have often been omitted in most English translations. This massive work is currently being done to help make the Dhamma (Teachings of Lord Buddha) stay accessible through the beautiful suttas that have come to us, down the ages.Currently living in Europe, Ven. Dr. Candana holds meditation retreats both in person and on weekly Zoom sessions with students from around the world focusing on Mindfulness, (Loving Kindness) and Vipassana (Insight), as well as helping introduce healthier relational skills to bring happiness in people’s lives while reducing their suffering, through psychotherapeutic techniques and time-tested principles from the Dhamma while increase people’s understanding about individual responsibility in the perpetuation of suffering.Ven. Dr. Candana’s has an upcoming book on Buddhist Mindfulness and Lifestyle that is being printed to be made available for free distribution. Currently, with the help of his students, this work is being translated into different languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and Armenian. http://www.mindreleased.com/