“Silent and serene,  forgetting words, bright clarity appears before you.  When you reflect it, you become vast; where you embody it, you are spiritually uplifted.”  Hongzhi Zhengjue (A Zen monk)               

Our Vision:

 Awakening compassionate care.

An “awakened” caregiver realizes both the joy in being present for another in their time of need, and the need for training and support in being present to the vicissitudes of living and dying that touch both suffering and joy. These ‘wise’ caregivers seek awareness skills to support themselves as they learn to meet the challenges of offering compassion within the complex conditions of finding meaning in living and in dying.

Our Mission:

Provide Mindfulness and Compassion-based training that deepen our capacity to be fully present for others and awakens self-compassion that allows us to sustain our well being.

Our programs draw from essential practices rooted in mindfulness and compassion skills. The training develops our ability for acceptance, non judgmental and non reactive awareness, equanimity, generosity, wise speech and deep listening.  These practices train caregivers in the important balance between self and other caregiving. The skills alleviate the impact from moral distress and vicarious trauma known as “Empathy Fatigue” and even transform the distress into compassionate care.

Our Inspiration:

Sarana Institute is a Registered Charity, community-inspired organization. Sarana means “refuge or sanctuary” in Pali (an ancient language from the time of the Historical Buddha).  For us, sarana means where we draw inner or spiritual strength and meaning.  A place of refuge is both an inner state or an outer place that reminds us of our wholeness and oneness with life and all creatures.

At Sarana, our training programs are built upon a foundation of perspectives grounded in Western secular mindfulness, psychology, neuroscience, permaculture, deep ecology, Indigenous wisdom, Buddhist philosophy, Abhidharma (Buddhist psychology) and the teachings of the historical Buddha. These emerge today as modern wisdom ways for achieving happiness and well being.  

Our  CoFounders, (Revs.) Angie & Andrew Blake ‘s inspiration for Sarana Institute is to build an inter-generational community that supports our world in integrating mindfulness and compassion as essential inner resources in healthcare, end-of-life care and in living more gently with the natural world.