English: "This is the daily meal blessing at the 11:00 am main meal at the Birken Forest Monastery, with Ajahn Sona leading, August 20th, 2011.

Born in Canada, Venerable Sona's background as a layperson is in classical guitar performance. His encounter with Buddhist wisdom as a young man initiated a spiritual journey that led him to become a lay hermit for several years. He subsequently ordained as a Theravada monk under Ven. Gunaratana, at the Bhavana Society in West Virginia, where his first years of training took place. Ven. Sona further trained for over three years at monasteries following Ajahn Chah in northeast Thailand, especially Wat Pah Nanachat. Upon his return to Canada in 1994 he helped found Birken Forest Monastery near Pemberton, BC. As its spiritual guide, Ajahn ("teacher") Sona has led the monastery through each stage of its growth. He established Birken (or, Sītavana, 'cool forest') in its final location south of Kamloops BC in 2001.

Ven. Sona has ample experience leading meditation retreats and lecturing on Buddhist meditation and practice, both in Canada and abroad. His teachings combine tried-and-true Buddhist wisdom with modern commonsense.

Video produced by Brian Ruhe."