I just received word that our Venerable Dr. Pannavati Karuna, Maha Theri, the abbot of Heartwood Refuge Monastery and the founder of the Correct Cultivation Learning from Buddha Academy in Hendersonville, NC has left this world. The following is from Heartwood:

Venerable Dr. Pannavati Bhikkhuni, Maha Theri

1950-2026

Our dearest teacher Venerable Pannavati, left her body on this auspicious day, 2/26/2026 at 1:30pm EST. Her monastics, two lay residents and Kaye, her devoted Kappiya and friend, held vigil for her from 9am through her transition. Words will never explain how she impacted all of our lives and touched our hearts. Her joy was contagious and her fearless compassion paved the way for so many people. She was a true kalyanamitta and her favorite thing to do was to give a Dharma talk! Everything that she did was for the Dharma and for saving sentient beings. 

A formal in-person memorial will be offered most likely in April in Hendersonville, NC. There will be more information regarding the schedule and location of this memorial service soon.

The monastery is open and we are available to all. Please contact or schedule a visit. Sangha is so precious and irreplaceable during this time. Venerable did all she could to ensure the continuation of Heartwood and she did so by teaching us how to be brave and love one another. 

When asked what she wanted to share with people, she said, “No coming and no going. No birth and no death.”

We share this beautiful translation of the Heart Sutra in tribute.

Prajna-Paramita Heart Sutra 

Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply prajna-paramita, illuminated the five aggregates, saw that they are all empty, and crossed beyond all suffering and adversity. 

Sariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. The same is true of feeling, conceptualization, action, and consciousness. 

Sariputra, emptiness is the characteristic of all dharmas. They do not arise or perish, are not defiled or pure, do not increase or decrease. 

Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, conceptualization, action or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, or objects of mind; no realm of eyes, up to and including no realm of mind consciousness; no avidya and also no ending of avidya, up to and including no aging and death and also no ending of aging and death; no suffering, no accumulation, no cessation, and no path; no wisdom, also no attainment. 

With nothing to attain, therefore, Bodhisattvas rely on prajna-paramita, and thus their minds have no hindrance. Because there is no hindrance, they have no fear. Having forever left inverted dream-thinking, they dwell in ultimate nirvana. 

All Buddhas of the three times rely on prajna-paramita and thereby attain anuttara-samyak-sambhodi. Therefore, know that the prajna-paramita is the great supernormal mantra, the great bright mantra, the supreme mantra, the unequaled mantra, which can remove all suffering and is true, not false. So, recite the prajna-paramita mantra, recite the mantra that says:

gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha. 

We celebrate the incredible good fortune that has allowed us to meet and learn from Venerable Pannavati and the true Buddha Dharma. May this moment of particular auspiciousness, and these words lead to great awakening for all who encounter them.

Part of the articles posted about Venerable Pannavati on this Blog:

CLICK: September 23, 2025, Group Mountain Meditation Retreat–Last pictures and time I spent with Venerable Pannavati.

CLICK: August 16, 2025, Venerable Pannavati organized and directed the first Bodhi Fest in Asheville, NC to offer gratitude, inspiration, and triumph of the human spirit to the community who had suffered from the devastating hurricane Helene.

CLICK: May 30 & 31, 2025, Pannavati attended the annual Dharma Assembly celebrating the Birthday of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in Glendale, CA.

CLICK: September 9, 2024, article on one of Venerable Pannavati’s nuns, Ayya Saddha and their retreat at the Holy Vajrasana temple in Sanger, CA.

CLICK: June 16, 2024, Venerable Pannavati and her Dharma Voci rendered musical offering in Covina, CA at the H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Cultural and Art Museum.

CLICK: May 24, 2024, Venerable Pannavati and her Dharma Voci opened at the Buddhist Arts and Film Festival (BAFF) in Boulder, CO.

CLICK: January 23-30, 2024, Venerable Pannavati featured speaker at the “Art of Meditation Global Summit

CLICK: January 14, 2024, Venerable Pannavati establishes the Correct Cultivation Learning from Buddha Academy in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

CLICK: June 30-July1, 2023, Pannavati attended the annual Dharma Assembly celebrating the Birthday of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in Glendale, CA. Video.

CLICK: January 12, 2020, Video of Veneraable Pannavati and her Dharma Voci Choir at her Hertwood Retreat and Refuge Center in North Carolina.

CLICK: June, 2019, photos from visit to Venerable Pannavati’s Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center.

CLICK: Photos related to one of many ordination ceremonies that Venerable Pannavati helped conduct in Thailand and article on these events.