Chanhassen Monk is Part of Wave of Buddhism in the U.S.

June 11, 2005

Source: Star Tribune

http://www.startribune.com/stories/614/5451729.html

On June 11, 2005 the Star Tribune reported, "today, Bhante Sathi (BAHN-tay SAH-tee), 31, lives in Chanhassen and teaches Buddhism and meditation techniques statewide at schools, meditation centers and churches... After he was ordained as a teenager in Sri Lanka, Bhante Sathi (the name means 'Venerable Sathi') worked as an editor of ancient Buddhist texts translated into English. He lived in Kandy until 1999, when he visited a Buddhist temple in Southfield, Mich., and the short visit turned into five years. He visited Minneapolis last year and sensed a strong demand for the dharma -- the teachings of Buddha -- in the state. He moved to Chanhassen and has been traveling wherever he has been invited, while offering weekly meditation classes at the Heartwood Mindfulness Center in Minneapolis, and at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Mankato... As a wandering teacher in Minnesota, Bhante Sathi is part of a wave of Buddhism that is spreading rapidly nationwide. In the early 1950s, there were fewer than 100,000 Buddhists in this country, according to most sources. Then, in the 1960s, the Beat culture became infatuated with Zen Buddhism, which uses brain-teasing meditation 'koans' such as 'What is the sound of snow falling?' to train the mind."