The Venerable Sangharakkhita / olivier biraro: Protagonist and author
The Venerable Sangharakkhita Olivier Biraro was born in Rwanda in 1981. At age 17, he started practicing Buddhism and later became the first and the only Buddhist Monk in the Theravada Tradition from Rwanda. He is an inspirational speaker on subjects of inner peace, forgiveness, reconciliation and trauma healing. So far, he has authored seven books on the aforementioned subjects. He addresses private and public schools, universities and religious communities. He teaches Yoga, Tai Chi and Mindfulness Meditation as ways to mend broken communities. Aside from publishing spiritual materials, he translates classic books that aim at awakening the human consciousness. He has translated “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran and “Your Word is your Wand” by Florence Scovel Shinn into his mother tongue. His interests include eastern martial arts. He holds a black belt in Karate and Tae Kwon Do, and has attended several international competitions as a member of his country’s national teams.
Venerable Sangharakkhita has written seven books on forgiveness, mindfulness and healing. His first four books are in his mother tongue of Kinyarwanda: Itabaza mu Muyaga, Reka Inzozi zawe, Umunyabugenge w'Ubufindo, and Umusiguzi.
A Drop of Dhamma
A Drop of Dhamma is the basis for the story of the documentary film Minding Shadows. It was published in 2016 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This is a book about how to find inner peace through understanding the transitory nature of all things.
Available in Kindle format at Amazon.com.
Minding Shadows
Minding Shadows is a book about healing inner wounds through mindfulness and shadow work.
Available in Kindle format at Amazon.com.
Candle in the Wind
Venerable Sangharakkhita’s first self-published book in English is Candle in the Wind, published in 2014 in Kigali Rwanda. It is a narrative of a journey of forgiveness and spiritual fortitude after emerging from a tragedy.
Available in Kindle format at Amazon.com.