Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery

Wonderful place to go practice.

Very nice facility set in a beautiful landscape

Great place to stay with the silence and research for wisdom...

Yeah, if you’re ready for this place it’ll change your life.

Wonderful Buddhist monastery. Venerable Sona's damma talks and the meditation retreats are great.

A haven for Buddhists. It is almost unbelievable that such a deep spiritual environment is so accessible for whenever I want to or need to visit for a personal retreat. Ajahn Sona clearly thrives on compassion and wisdom, such an altered view and experience from our money and fame driven culture.

Find Beauty Tranquillity and Peacefulness in this day and age.

Birken Forest Monastery is breathtaking is all senses. A sanctuary tucked in wonderful surrounds outside of Kamloops, it practices mindful ways of living, sharing this wisdom with all. Ajahn Sona, who established it has been in robes for 32 years, giving talks & meditation sittings at Birken & around the world until the pandemic but now is successfully using media to give his darma talks. Many have benefited from his teaching & the example he sets for living skillfully in the world, using one’s breathe & practices to control the “monkey mind” which tricks us into unsound narratives about ourselves. Instead he teaches us the practice of loving kindness, known in Pali, the language of Buddhism, as Metta. We learn metta is the only sustainable defense. Various monks & stewards at Birken also illustrate this in their ways of being. I met Ajahn Sona 20 years ago when I was curating a series of philosopher cafes in Vancouver. It was just days after September 11, 2001. He brought a breathtaking peace & wisdom to the event few would be capable of. I have learnt & been inspired by him for over 2 decades. I am ever grateful & have created spaces at my home & elsewhere so others too can learn & be inspired by him. He is doing live steam Q&A & darma talks while Birken is closed because of Covid. I am grateful for this gift of wisdom during these troubled times. Posted by s fuller