​DHAMMANJALI MEDITATION CENTER
​Registered Canadian Charitable Organization (# 826969172RR0001).
902 Rae Street, Regina, Saskatchewan S4T 2B4

Our Mission & Vision

Dhammanjali Meditation Centre relies on volunteers to help us achieve our mission. We provide spiritual needs amongst the monastic and lay communities in Canada and fosters a long-term, high-impact holistic education to ensure social harmony for the generations of tomorrow. 

The Founder President
Venerable Debongshi is the spiritual teacher to a growing multicultural atmosphere of traditions, keen to learn meditation and develop a profound spiritual understanding. He spent his early life in India. After completing the Tripitaka studies for nine years, he has devoted his life to practicing Vipassana meditation based on the four foundations of mindfulness. He studied and practiced Dhamma for over thirty years while training in two traditions, Theravada and Mahayana, particularly in Vipassana and Zen Meditation. In 1988, he had his ordination according to the Theravada tradition, and in 1998, he completed the 16th Mahayana monastic education curricula at the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order. In 1991, he graduated from the University of Dhaka with an honorary degree in Buddhist studies. He studied psychology and received an Effective Leadership through Emotional Intelligence certification from the University of Oxford, England. He earned a master's certificate in project management from the University of Saskatchewan and attended Yorkville University. He also held a Registered Psychotherapist-Qualifying registration from the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), a member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). 
In his quest for knowledge and public service, Venerable Debongshi travelled to many countries. Finally settling in Canada in 2004, he established the Dhammanjali Meditation Center with volunteers to incorporate his vision of serving humanity. Today, DMC is a unique multicultural center serving people from all backgrounds. Members benefit from DMC learning seminars, meditation programs, and other events which resonate with harmony, universal peace, and collective happiness.

Professor Aditya Kumar Dewan
​Director
Professor Aditya Kumar Dewan was born to a traditional Buddhist family in Bangladesh in 1946. He belongs to the “Chakma”, an indigenous group of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh.
Dr. Dewan did his B.A. (Hons.) and M.A in Sociology, Dhaka University in 1967 and 1968 respectively. He worked as Youth Employment officer under the Directorate of Labour, Government of East Pakistan and Government of Bangladesh from 1969 to 1973. He was a former Professor of Sociology, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh from 1973-1987. He did his graduate studies (1976-1978) at the University of Manitoba, Canada and earned M.A. in Anthropology in 1978. Dr. Dewan completed his Ph.D. degree in Anthropology, McGill University, Canada in 1991. Since 1992, he has been teaching humanities at Dawson College and sociology & anthropology at Concordia University, Montreal. He teaches indigenous cultures, ethical, and moral issues in international development. Currently, Dr. Dewan is President of ICIP-CHT (International Council for the Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts). He is actively involved in international campaign for peace, human rights and indigenous people’s rights, especially rights of indigenous peoples of the CHT, Bangladesh. Over the years he has evolved in the theoretical and practical aspects of Buddha’s teaching. As a teacher, he uses his skills to guide and speak alongside Dhammanjali Meditation Center.

Sweet Khisa

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Sweet Khisa was born and raised in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh. He spent most of his childhood in spiritual environments, where he studied and practiced Dhamma and learned the art of conscious living at a young age. After completing his Bachelor's degree in Applied Physics and Electronics from the University of Dhaka, Sweet worked as a research assistant at the Microwave Laboratory in GIST, South Korea. Later, he was offered a fellowship from the European Union to study the Erasmus Mundus Master Program in Colour Informatics and Media Technology. During this program, Sweet attended universities in France, Spain, Norway, and Finland, where he learned various topics related to colour science, optics, photonics, spectral imaging and other cutting-edge technologies. Sweet immigrated to Canada and started working at NTT Data in Halifax. Currently, Sweet works as a Software Engineer at Nokia in Ottawa, where he is part of a team that builds and designs a Nokia Network Service Platform (NSP) lab environment tailored to different network management use cases and suitable to meet various business objectives: learn new NSP features, develop OSS solutions using NSP NBIs, proof of concept testing, customer demo. Along with his extensive technical knowledge, Sweet Khisa likes to devote leisure time to Dhamma practice, engaging in spiritual activities. He joined a passionate and dedicated volunteer team at Dhammanjali Meditation Centre in 2023. 

Monica Antonowitsch 
​Editorial Administrator
Monica approaches life with present awareness. Daily practices in meditation and several Hatha Yoga Kriya’s assist her in maintaining this quality. She joined the staff at DMC as editorial administrator and completely enjoys volunteering in this capacity since 2017. Her developed insight through meditation has made her happy and able to achieve boundless states of consciousness. She gratefully serves DMC by working closely with others; holding the vision of the communal happiness, compassion and wisdom. 

Brandon Bertram
Project Manager
Brandon became involved with DMC in 2015, while studying Adult Education and Community Development at the University of Toronto. He grew up in Saskatchewan, and now that he is home, is grateful for the opportunity to support the spreading of Dhamma. He has been meditating since 2008, and works as a community peacebuilder, educator, and consultant.

Yazdan Raees
International Relation
Yazdan Raees has spent his adult life learning and practicing spirituality, healing and volunteering, and enjoys sharing the love for the manifestations of life and wisdom. In east and west he has practiced and studied: Transcendental Meditation, Zen Meditation, Vipassana Meditation, Dhamma (Dharma) and Noble path, Sudarshan Kriya, Akshar Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Vinyasa Krama, Philosophy, Mythology, Therapeutic Yoga, Natural Healing, Ayurveda, Osteopathic Manual therapy, Craniosacral therapy, Myofascial bodywork, Botanical Medicine (currently) and North Indian classical music (currently). He joined the DMC volunteer team as international relation in 2015 and serving community with joy. He is grateful to all his teachers for their generous guidance and boundless compassion.