Venerable Bhusita
President of Heartwood Mandala and Academy Program Leader
Venerable Bhusita entered the Heartwood community in September 2020 to undertake the Embracing Simplicity Contemplative Order’s one-year lay residential training program. She received novice precepts in May 2021 and was fully ordained as a Bhikkhuni under the guidance of Venerable Pannavati in December 2023.
Before entering monastic life, Venerable Bhusita practiced as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, a role that reflected her lifelong dedication to serving others.
She was introduced to the Buddhadharma in her early twenties through her father who was practicing Zen, and developed a practice of study and meditation. Over the years, she explored several Buddhist traditions, including Zen, Vipassana, and Shambhala, each deepening her aspiration to realize the Buddha’s path.
Venerable Bhusita had the rare opportunity to receive direct instruction from Venerable Pannavati and Venerable Pannadipa during the final years of their lives. She continues her training, studying and practicing according to the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III under the guidance of her lineage master, Zhaxi Zhouma Rinpoche.
Grounded in the Bodhisattva ideal, Venerable Bhusita is devoted to cultivating her body, speech and mind to align with the teachings of the Buddha. She is committed to preserving and sharing the precious Buddhadharma while honoring the authentic teachings of all Three Yanas and fostering mutual respect and understanding in today’s complex world.
Samaneri Kedara-Sacca
Vidya Program Leader
Samaneri Kedara-Sacca is a devoted Buddhist practitioner with four years of intensive practice. She took refuge with Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche of the Namchak lineage within the Nyingma school of Vajrayana Buddhism at the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas. Shortly thereafter, she answered the call to monastic life at Heartwood Refuge, where she received novice ordination and direct guidance from the late, deeply respected Mahatheri Venerable Pannavati in a unique multi-lineage transmission integrating the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions.
She is scheduled to receive full Bhikkhuni ordination in October at Empty Cloud Monastery in New Jersey, formally joining the Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha. Her heart is devoted to Shakyamuni Buddha and H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and Their precious teachings while under the guidance of her lineage master, Zhaxi Zhouma Rinpoche. With a deep appreciation for both art and science, Kedara aspires to embody the Dharma as a modern-day cultivator, integrating timeless wisdom with contemporary life. With the Bodhisattva vow, it is her sincere wish to share the true Buddhadharma with others while continuing to deepen her own understanding of the path with humility, respect, and sincerity.
One of Kedara’s favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou: “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” She embraces this perspective as a reminder that genuine transformation arises through wisdom, self-reflection, and continuous practice. For her, the path of cultivation is one of ongoing purification and awakening. By understanding suffering, its causes, its cessation, and the path leading to its cessation, we each have the capacity to realize greater freedom and liberation.
Joe ‘Obhasa’ Rogers
Lay Leader, Programs Co-leader, Board Member/ Treasurer
Obhasa was introduced to Buddhism in 2018 after moving to Hendersonville from the Boston area and discovering Heartwood a few miles from his home. Since then, Obhasa has become a dedicated Buddhist practitioner under the guidance of the late Venerable Pannavati, and a devoted student of the teachings H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha
III.
Obhasa took lay precepts in June of 2023 with Venerable Pannavati where he received his dharma name which means: “To Shine on Account of Insight.”
Obhasa’s interest in meditation and spirituality dates back to his early 20s when he
began the practice of Kundalini Meditation in Boston. By contrast with that early
experience, Obhasa saw in Buddhism the practical nature of the teachings on the
nature of human existence and the need for the cultivation of virtue which went far
beyond meditation practice alone to bring about a true sense of freedom and a lasting
wisdom. For Obhasa, Buddhism completed what was, to that point, an incomplete
picture of the spiritual path.
With his training in engineering and a 40 year career in the IT industry, Obhasa is
known to bring a pragmatic approach to any discussion of the dharma with an emphasis
on simplicity and practice.
As an enthusiastic advocate for the teachings on Buddhist Cultivation as presented by
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, one of Obhasa’s favorite sayings of the “Buddha Master”
regarding the cultivation of our conduct to align with Buddhist principles is: “Don’t fear
making mistakes, fear not correcting them.”
