About Karunadana

My birth name is Mandy. I was born in Singapore but have lived in Australia since the age of 6. It would be fair to say that for most of my life I have lived with depressed thoughts and at times I have trawled the deepest levels of despair. For years nobody seemed able to help me to understand what was going on and I had been given so many labels by the medical profession that I eventually settled on the diagnosis that I was a complete fruit loop. I began to pursue an alternative solution to the problem in 2006 and attended the first ever class run by Paul Beard in Mandurah. He taught me to meditate and although I struggled at first his persistent, kindly encouragement meant that I now have an effective tool to help me with living a happier existence and it is a vital part of my daily practice. I followed that up with attending his Dharma classes on a regular basis as it became clear to me that there was a significant link between meditation and adopting a particular lifestyle based on sound ethical advice. His acceptance of me without judgement gave me the opportunity to realise that I was OK to be who I was. It was OK to be and think differently from anyone else. I later formalised my commitment to the Dharma path within the Dharmadatu Sangha. Although my new family commitments mean I do not attend as regularly as I would like, my practice is now clearly defined and on-going with the support of the sangha

---