Bhante Mettānanda is an Italian Theravāda Buddhist monk who was ordained in Myanmar in 2011 by Sayadaw U Indaka (Chanmyay Myaing Sayadaw), under the guidance of Chanmyay Sayadaw (Mahāsi tradition). His
main meditation teachers are Sayadaw U Vivekananda (Panditarama Lumbini), Sayadaw U Indaka (Chanmyay Myaing, Yangon), and Bhante Pemasiri (Kanduboda, Sri Lanka).
He first began practicing Buddhism in the Plum Village tradition of Thich
Nhat Hanh in 2008. In 2009, he attended his first Vipassanā retreat in the
Goenka tradition, where he realized that Vipassanā was the path he had
been looking for. Towards the end of 2009, he started practicing at the
Panditarama Meditation Centre in Lumbini, Nepal, under the guidance of
Sayadaw U Vivekananda. Following this, he completed a series of long
retreats at various Mahāsi tradition meditation centers across Burma, Nepal,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.
From 2016 to 2019, he served at the Satipatthāna Meditation Centre (SMC) in
Singapore, assisting the abbot, Sayadaw U Rajinda, in guiding cultural
programs for youth and novice monks, as well as leading meditation retreats
for young people.
In 2018, with the authorization of Sayadaw U Rajinda, he began conducting
Vipassanā meditation retreats at the Santisukharama Meditation Centre in
Malaysia, and later at the Pian dei Ciliegi Meditation Centre in Italy. Since
2024, he has been regularly teaching meditation classes in Rome, Italy.
He is also the co-author of a book on the life and teachings of the Venerable
U Lokanātha, the first Italian Buddhist monk
