Meditate in Nature is a monthly meditation session led by Venerable Bhikkhunī Varañanī (Sư cô Viên Huệ) in the SF Bay Area. All venerable monks, nuns, and lay friends are invited to join us in the practice of Thiền (Vietnamese Zen).
Bhikkhunī Varañanī was ordained at Diệu Nhân Buddhist Zen Monastery in Sacramento, under the Bamboo Grove Meditation tradition (Thiền phái Trúc Lâm), the prestigious lineage of Vietnamese Zen led by the Most Respected Venerable Thích Thanh Từ.
Bhikkhunī Varañanī will lead us through sitting and walking meditation, followed by a dharma talk and open discussion.
Our first session will be on Saturday,April 25th, 2026 from 10 am - 2 pm at one of the bay area’s serene public parks. Specific location TBD.
Please bring your own vegetarian lunch.
Please note that we are open to discussion with regard to the location and may consider rotating locations if it’s more accommodating. If you have any suggestions or comments, please send them to MeditateThien@gmail.com.
Event Details:
When: Saturday, April 25th (10 am - 2 pm)
Where: Location TBD
Our Instructor
Venerable Bhikkhunī Varañanī (Sư cô Viên Huệ) was born in Vietnam, but came to the United States (Illinois) at the age of 12.
When she first read about the Buddhist cycle of birth and death at age 13, Bhikkhunī Varañanī immediately resolved that she would learn the way to liberate herself from the suffering of samsara and share this knowledge with others.
From this young age, she knew that she wanted to go forth and ordain as a Buddhist nun, but her parents wouldn’t allow it. However, after her father saw the magnitude of her devotion to the study and practice of Buddhist teachings over the next few years, he finally relented and gave her his blessing to go forth.
Bhikkhunī Varañanī was ordained at Diệu Nhân Buddhist Zen Monastery in Sacramento, under the Bamboo Grove Meditation tradition (Thiền phái Trúc Lâm), the prestigious lineage of Vietnamese Zen led by the Most Respected Venerable Thích Thanh Từ.
Seeking to enrich her understanding of the Buddha’s teachings even further, Ven. Varañanī then proceeded to study and practice across several other Zen schools, as well as the Vipassana meditation tradition, to great depth.
She now stresses in her teachings that methodology alone is insufficient—we must arrive at insight through a deep and penetrative understanding of impermanence, suffering, emptiness and non-self. This is how we can eliminate greed, anger, attachments, and ignorance to achieve liberation.