Venerable Rāhula Thera Founder & Spiritual Director · Paññābhūmi Monastery, Jalisco, Mexico
Bhante Rāhula is a Theravāda Buddhist monk who founded Paññābhūmi, the monastery he leads in the forests of Jalisco, Mexico.
Our Work
The work extends well beyond the monastery walls. Every week, Buddhist wisdom and compassion reach communities across Mexico and Latin America through programs built around the people who need them most: from intimate gatherings in family homes to conferences in hospitals and universities, from addiction recovery centres to schools.
Weekly Dhamma Classes
Regular teachings for attendants of all ages, held at the monastery, building a foundation of Buddhist understanding in the community.
They run continuously, week after week, and are the backbone of everything else.
Addiction Recovery Support
Working inside recovery centres with people freeing themselves from drug and alcohol addiction.
The sessions explore the nature of craving, the practice of forgiveness, and loving-kindness (mettā) as something that can be trained rather than waited for.
Family Support Programs
Guidance for the parents of people struggling with addiction, who carry their own exhaustion and guilt.
These meetings offer them practical wisdom, a place to be heard, and a way of holding hope that does not depend on the outcome.
Youth Prevention Programs
Preventive campaigns with children and adolescents in schools and community centres, opening wholesome directions early and offering real alternatives before addiction becomes the problem it already is for so many families in the region.
Healthcare Professional Support
Talks for doctors, nurses and palliative care teams on developing compassion and finding relief from the particular stress of caring for others.
Delivered in hospitals, universities and palliative care centres.
Interfaith Dialogue
Conversation across traditions with monastics and clergy of other faiths, building understanding between communities that share the same neighbourhoods and, very often, the same concerns.
Together these programs reach thousands of people a year across Mexico and Latin America, and every one of them is offered freely.
Monthly Support Campaign
We are looking for 50 supporters willing to give USD 20 a month. That is what keeps the monastery free of financial worry and able to devote itself fully to the Dhamma, for the benefit of many.
38% have already joined
Goal: 50 monthly supporters · USD 20 per month
Western Union
- Recipient
- Raul de Jesus Saldaña Montes
(Bhante Rāhula’s lay name) - Address
- Prol. Angel Leaño 4000 int. 40Los Guayabos, CP 45134Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
What Your Donation Does
Every contribution keeps the monastery running, so that anyone who comes here, in person or online, finds it open.
Monastery Bills
Electricity, water and the day-to-day running costs of the monastery, including its administration.
Internet Connection
Enabling the online Dhamma classes and reaching students in more than fifteen countries.
Monastery Caretaker
Supporting the worker who cleans, repairs and maintains the gardens and the buildings.
Health & Requisites
Medical care and the basic requisites a monastic depends on, which by the Vinaya can only come from the generosity of others.
Paññābhūmi, Our Sacred Space
Paññābhūmi means Land of Wisdom. It is a monastery built for inner cultivation and for service, in the natural beauty of the Mexican forest, and it is where Bhante Rāhula lives and teaches.
Paññābhūmi Monastery, Jalisco, MexicoView on Google Maps
Weekly sessions, the full calendar, the talk archive and the community live on dhamma-pb.org, the monastery's official site.
Visit the monastery websiteAbout Bhante Rāhula
Venerable Rāhula Thera Founder & Spiritual Director · Paññābhūmi Monastery, Jalisco, Mexico
Born in Mexico and a musician by profession, Bhante Rāhula spent twenty years in Asia before ordaining in Myanmar. He came back to found Paññābhūmi, the forest monastery he built in Jalisco, and from there he teaches, runs the community programs and receives whoever comes.
- Ordained in Myanmar with Sayadaw Dr. U Nandamālābhivaṃsa as his preceptor.
- Studied Buddhist scriptures at Harvard University, and the Suttas and Abhidhamma for six years in Macau.
- Teaches students from more than fifteen countries, in English, Spanish and Portuguese, through weekly classes and in-person retreats.
- Leads Dhamma programs for addiction recovery and prevention work with children.
Get in Touch
To visit the monastery, ask about a retreat, arrange a donation by Western Union, or simply say hello, write to us and someone will answer.
Write to us