Shirley | |
| Retreat Centre Manager |
Bhikkhu Kancano | |
| Bhikkhu Kāncano was born on the 22nd of July, 1968 in Montijo, Portugal. He spent his early childhood in Germany, returning to his native country at age five to begin his education there. He served one year of compulsory military service in the Portuguese army and after completing his ‘A’ levels in 1987 he enrolled on a five year professional diploma, qualifying as a technician for the fashion industries. Shortly thereafter, he accepted an offer from a renowned multinational fashion company and worked with them for the next two years. |
In 1995 he moved to the UK, where he started to pursue more seriously his long term interest in Buddhism. He attended a series of short courses and regular devotional practices at the London Buddhist Society in Victoria.
He left the UK in November 2003 for a short pilgrimage through India and Sri Lanka, before joining the monastic community in January 2004 in Thailand at Wat Pah Nanachat, the international monastery in the Ajahn Chah tradition.
In 2006 he had the opportunity to live and practise for nine months under the guidance of the Venerable Tan Ajahn Anan Akincano, abbot of Wat Marp Jun in Rayong, Thailand. While there, he also produced a book of talks from the Venerable Ajahn Chah translated into Portuguese. This year he returned to the UK, to take dependence on the Venerable Luang Por Sumedho and join the community at Amaravati. | |
Sister Bodhipala | |
| Sister Bodhipala was born in South-East Asia in 1940, married, has three children and five grandchildren. She was ordained as Anagarikaa in 1998 and as Siladhara in 1999. Venerable Ajahn Sumedho was her Preceptor. |
Sister Bodhipala was born in South-East Asia in 1940, married, has three children and five grandchildren. She was ordained as Anagarikaa in 1998 and as Siladhara in 1999. Venerable Ajahn Sumedho was her Preceptor.
Her daily life in the monastery is a challenging one since she has to simplify the complexity of her thoughts in order to give space to the intuitive knowledge to develop. She was trained in Applied Mathematics and worked as a computer programmer for nearly twenty years. Therefore she is not surprised that this process involves a lot of patience, endurance and is time consuming.
She realizes that no better place on earth that allows her to be an Observer of the activities of her mind and at the same time she can accumulate her good deeds by serving the Sangha Community at Amaravati.
Done on
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Anāgārikā Miriam | |
| Born in 1967 in England, I moved to Belgium with my family in 1971. I grew up in an agnostic, international environment. I returned to the UK to study biological science at university, then worked for many years in the scientific publishing industry, also partying hard, independent, loving music, interested in many things.
I can always remember having an aspiration to religious life and to real freedom. Yet I never understood how to give that aspiration proper attention, nor did I find a form to express it in. After a period of religious enthusiasm in my teens faded, I rejected those things for a long time.
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It can take painful events to wake to the urgency of trusting one’s intuition. Personal & professional disappointments, but especially my mother’s death in early 2000 really woke me up to my responsibility for this life, to how fleeting it is, how precious. From that point, events unfolded; the return of a desire for contemplation, finding a conducive environment for meditation practice in the shape of Gaia House in the UK; finding a great guide there, the Venerable Bhante Bodhidhamma. I will always be deeply grateful for his encouragement, clarity and good humour.
After a couple years of change, doing regular longer intensive retreats and studying, a heart wish to take on the monastic form emerged. It then took me a few years to clear the decks and find out how and where to do it. So, here it is …..
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Anāgārikā Chiara | |
| I was born in 1955 with a female gender. My birthplace was Dublin but I am Italian.
When I was a theatre performer my work was politically based, and I expressed my commitment through art, to freedom from injustice.
At the same time I found peace in places of worship:mountains, seashore, monasteries… One day I arrived at Santacittarama Monastery and heard, by chance, the teachings given by Ajahn Thanavaro- this was my first contact with the Forest Sangha Tradition. So now, as Anāgārikā since the 9th of August 2006, my commitment is to freedom from samsara. |
Anagārikā Doris | |
| I was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1969. So far my life has been a quest for truth: Absolute truth in studying Mathematics, relative truths in working as a Journalist and inner truth in practising Buddhism. When I heard a Dhamma-talk by Ajahn Munindo in Hamburg in 1999 the seed for a “monastic career” was planted. I tried to delegate it at first by sponsoring a Tibetan Nun instead, but it didn't work. So I took Anagarikaa precepts on the 9th August 2006 and will see what happens. |
Julia Wilkinson | |
Julia has been a Trustee of the English Sangha Trust since October 2004. | |
Nancy Wright | |
Nancy has been a supporter of the English Sangha Trust since 1992 and a Trustee since 1999. She lived at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery as a lay manager from 1996 to 1998. During that time, she worked in the office and was responsible for taking the minutes for the EST meetings. A trained accountant, she is currently working as the Finance Manager for Prisoners Abroad in London. | |
Colin Ash | |
Colin is chair of the Board of Trustees of the English Sangha Trust. He has served as a Trustee of the EST since March 1992. He is an Angulimala Buddhist Prison Chaplain and is a member of the recently formed Endorsing Authority for Buddhist Chaplaincy to the UK Armed Forces. Some years ago he served on the Council of the Buddhist Society, London, where he now leads a meditation class. He teaches economics at the University of Reading. | |
John Stevens | |
| John spent 19 years as a Buddhist monk, 14 of which at Amaravati and Chithurst. For 7 years he was Secretary of the English Sangha Trust, and during that time, with Ajahn Jutindharo, coordinated the design, planning and construction of the Temple. |
Since leaving the ordained Sangha in 2000 he has worked as a charity administrator for The Young Foundation, a social science research institute in east London. | |
Sister Chandasara | |
| Sister Chandasara (Louise Stack) was born in 1954 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and grew up in a Christian family. She was involved in revolutionary politics in exile in her twenties and later worked as a political researcher and analyst at the Centre for Policy Studies in Johannesburg for 14 years before coming to Amaravati in 2002, and ordaining as a siladhara in 2006. She has a BA (Hons) in African Politics and an MA in Linguistics (Semantics). Her lifelong quest has been, and continues to be, liberation and learning how to love unconditionally. |
Samanera Tisaro | |
| Samanera Tisaro (Bruno) became an Anagārika on 3rd July 2006, and was ordained as a Samanera at Chithurst on 15th July 2007. He came from Sintra, Portugal, and is 29 years old.
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Maria Schulte | |
| Maria was born and grew up in Bremen, former West Germany. She studied at the Universities in Goettingen and Braunschweig and gained a degree in Psychology. She moved to London to train as a Radix-teacher - a type of body therapy based on Wilhelm Reich - while she supported herself working as a coffee roaster.
She worked for 3 years as therapist in London before she moved to East Norfolk. She joined Social Services and worked with adults with physical, mental and learning disabilities and later with children with disabilities, as well as their parents and carers.
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Maria attended her first retreat in 1999 lead by Kittisaro and Thanissara in Devon. It felt like coming home. She attended a retreat at the Retreat Centre at Amaravati and when she heard that they often need help in the kitchen she he offered her service and became a regular helper. She also spent some time on the monastery side and worked in the kitchen. She very much appreciates the close connection between Dhamma practice and work, and being the kitchen manager here in Amaravati offers her the opportunity to explore this further. | |
Joshua Pogge | |
| Joshua was born in Northallerton, Yorkshire, and moved to Ireland in the early seventies. He worked in retail for 20 years. During this time Joshua explored different spiritual paths and became interested in Buddhism in 1999. He attended a 10 day workshop at Kagyu Samye Ling, then visited Amaravati for one week, then ten days, then a month. Eventually Joshua moved to Amaravati as a long term lay resident and has been groundsman since 2003. |
Samanera Amaranatho | |
| Samanera Amaranatho was born in 1968. He ordained as a Samanera in July 2000. He has been running the family events at Amaravati for five years, which include the Family Camp each summer, Rainbows weekend and young peoples’ retreats. He also takes care of the media library, the sound system and recording of Dhamma talks. He initiated the ongoing project to digitalize the library system and serves on the library committee. He is our monastery marquee specialist.
For further information please see:
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Suvira | |
| Suvira (Nisakorn Wanaphong) was born in Nakhon Sawan, north of Bangkok in Thailand. After graduating from Sri Nakharinwirot University, Phitsanuloke Campus, she moved to Phuket and worked there for 5 years in her family business resort and in a bank. Then she moved to Bangkok and worked in a computer company.
After she attended a 10 day meditation retreat course lead by Upasika Khun Runjuan Indrakamhaeng and others in 1992, her perception of life had totally changed and deep interest in Dhamma practice became established in her.
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She became a volunteer at Sathira-Dhammasathan (Mae Chee Sansanee’s Dhamma Centre) and also at Maya Gotami Foundation, a charity for the poor youth in Thailand and for supporting Tsunami victims, founded by Ajahn Gavesako. In 2001, Suvira resigned her job at Telecom Asia, a leading telecommunication company in Thailand, and came to Amaravati. This was the first time in her life she had left her home country, and also her first experience of residing in a monastery. Her intention was to live in a more committed way for developing the spiritual life. After finishing an initial one year commitment working as the office assistant, she found the life at Amaravati beneficial and joyous, so decided to stay on. Also, the teaching of Luang Por Sumedho has been giving her great inspiration and happiness. Now the deep appreciation of the support from the Sangha as well as the kind lay supporters makes her feel as if surrounded by family and friends. | |
Sister Sumedha | |
| I was born in 1973 in Leicester, England but spent most of my childhood either in the north of England or in the Western Isles off the north west coast of Scotland. From quite early I was interested in spiritual life and first visited Amaravati when I was 15. During that visit I read some of the teachings of Ajahn Chah. |
They made a strong and lasting impression. At university I studied Comparative Religion and through this recognised I needed to be practicing more fully. My first step was through thangka painting, a practice I still continue and receive a lot from. I returned to Amaravati in 1998 and worked as librarian, eventually ordaining as a Siladhara in 2004 with Luang Por Sumedho as my preceptor. One thing I see has inspired me in my studies and thangka painting, and motivates me very much now, is the wish to acknowledge and really honour a deeper source of life. The potential we have as human beings to become fully conscious and use our lives for transformation is something I love and am grateful for the opportunity, teaching and support to explore. | |
Samanera Appamado | |
| My name is Apamado (Vasco) . I was born in Portugal in 1976. I studied both Marine Biology and Environmental Engineering at the University of Faro. Sometime later I became interested in meditation and as a consequence Buddhism. I came across Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in a book written by a friend, Maria, where she describes her journeys and her time in the monastery. |
From that point on, I started to find out more information about Theravadan Buddhism and Amaravati on their website. I then decided to come and visit as a lay guest in November 2004 and stayed on as one of the winter retreat support team of 2005. After this, I went back to Portugal for 5 months to put things in order to allow me to vistit Amaravati for a longer period. I returned to England in September 2005 and visited Chithurst Monastery. By that time, my mind was made up to undertake Anagārika ordination, which I did in December 2005 at Amaravati. After nine months, having seen the benefits of practising as a monastic, I requested Samanera ordination, and this took place three months later, in December 2006. | |
Bhikkhu Adicco | |
| Bhikkhu Adicco became interested in meditation as a layman, after attending a meditation day at Gaia House. He realized that an introspective approach to life would be of benefit, and that the meditative approach laid down in Buddhism provided an ideal vehicle for this. |
After attending some retreats his interest grew and whilst on summer vacation from art college, he visited Hartridge Buddhist Monastery and asked to join the community. He ordained there as an Anagārika, and after spending a year at Hartridge, he came to Amaravati in the autumn of 2005 to continue his training. On May 16th 2006 he ordained as a Samanera, taking the name Adicco, and he received full Bhikkhu ordination on 15th July 2007 | |
Samanera Paramito | |
| Samanera Paramito (Jaroslav Harmaniak) was born in 1966 in Slovakia. His interest in Dhamma brought him to Harnham Buddhist Monastery in Northumberland where he became anagarika in 2001. He also spent some time at Devon Vihara. After four years trained as anagarika he took samanera ordination on May 6, 2005. He did several walks around England. |
Sister Brahmavara | |
| Sister Brahmavara (Susan Pritchard) was born 6 August 1964 in Reading, England. She studied medicine at Sheffield University, trained as a doctor in Auckland, New Zealand and worked as a GP in Shropshire. She started meditating while she was a medical student under the guidance of SN Goenka and spent a few years in India at Goenka centres, studying Pali, sitting and serving on retreats. She came to live at Amaravati in October 2000 as a retreat centre manager but soon after arriving requested anagārika ordination. She ordained as a sīladhāra in October 2004. |
Sister Cittapala | |
| Born in Germany in 1949, she worked for nearly 20 years as a teacher and artist in Hamburg. In 1990/91 she went to Indonesia to study awareness movement (Amerta Movement - The River of Life) with Suprapto Suryodharmo - a practice which connected her more and more with Buddhism. After meeting Luang Por Sumedho in 1994, she felt so supported by his teachings that she came to Amaravati, where she has been living since 1996. In 1999, she asked for Sīladhāra ordination. Here she is supporting the community and is involved in family activties, especially exploring ways of practice and teaching which use formal meditation as well as painting and movement - for liberation. |
Ajahn Metta | |
| Ajahn Metta was born 1953 in Germany. She became an Anagārikā in ‘93 at Amaravati and took higher ordination as a Sīladhāra in ‘96. During her monastic life she has been involved in many areas of the community. Currently she is helping with the organisation of the kitchen and taking care of visiting nuns. She is one of the group of senior nuns leading the Sīladhārā community. For the past few years she has been teaching meditation workshops and retreats.
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” I became interested in the spiritual path about 20 years ago. I was practising meditation in different groups and workshops for a number of years before I entered a spiritual community in Switzerland, looking for a situation where the practice was ‘the focus of the life’ and experiencing that ‘not quite right’ feeling. I left the community and continued to practise… When I came to Thailand I made the connection with the Theravada Tradition at Wat Suan Mokkh where I got interested in the monastic life. What struck me most at that time, was the integrity of this life and the people I met ( like Ajahn Buddhadasa). I heard about Ajahn Sumedho and Amaravati when I was there and after my return to Europe found my way into this community.” | |
Ajahn Santacitta | |
| Born in Austria in 1958. After graduating in hotel management she studied cultural anthropology at Vienna University and worked in avantgarde dance theatre as a performer and costume designer. From 1981-85 she was part of the ‘Serapions Theater’ ensemble based in Vienna and touring mainly in Europe. Beginning of the 80’s she was founding member of a community of ecologists, artists and social workers near Vienna, which is still thriving today. 1988 she met her first teacher Ajahn Buddhadasa and spent several years in Thailand before coming to Amaravati in 1992. After becoming an Anagārikā in 1993 she stayed part of her training (1996-97) with the mae chi (nuns) of Wat Pah Pong and some branch monasteries. In 1998 she received Sīladhāra ordination with Ajahn Sumedho as her preceptor. Currently she is the guest nun, looks after school visits and teaches meditation classes and retreats. |
Ajahn Vimalo | |
| Born Paul Hendrick 1946 in Luton Bedfordshire. Left school at 15 and worked in a magazine company. Married at 21 he has two sons and a daughter.
In his mid 20’s became very keen on Hatha Yoga . Then at the beginning of the 1970’s he met Kapilavaddho, a Buddhist teacher who had formerly been a Bhikkhu. On hearing the teachings of the Buddha Paul started to meditate daily. In 1976 he met Ajahn Sumedho who was on a visit to England with his teacher Luang por Chah. Paul remained a supporter of the Bhikkhus until he was in a position to ordain himself.
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He finally took upasampada as Vimalo Bhikkhu in Thailand in 1991, spending 3 years in the forest monasteries there before leaving to spend firstly 2 years in Australia followed by 5 years in Sri Lanka . Vimalo Bhikkhu returned to England in 2001 and is now resident at Amaravati . | |
Bhikkhu Vinita | |
| I was born in Embilipitiya, Sri Lanka 1977 and received Samanera (novice) ordination in 1994 under the guidance of Venerable Piyananda Mahanayaka Thera, the abbot of the meditation Centre at Lellopitiya, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. In 1996, I had the opportunity to read the teachings of Venerable Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho which inspired me about the Forest Sangha Tradition. I started to look for a community that followed the Forest Sangha Tradition. |
In the same year, I met Ajahn Vimalo (a disciple of Ajhan Sumedho) during his stay at Lanka Vipassana centre in Colombo with Ven. Pemasiri Thero, and he was the first western monk I saw. The time I spent with him at Vipassana centre made me more interested in the Forest Sangha Community. Later, with kind invitation of Aj. Vimalo and EST, Bhikkhu Kiribathgoda Nyananananda and I visited Amaravati Buddhist monastery for the first time, in 2003. And again, in 2005, I stayed at Cittaviveka, Chithurst Buddhist monastery during the rains retreat. Now, in 2006, I am back to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in order to receive Upasampada (higher ordination) and to stay under the guidance of Luang Por Sumedho whose presence fills me with faith, and helps me to gain confidence in my life.
I am,
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Samanera Jitindriyo | |
| Nicolas was born in Lys, Switzerland in 1972. He became an Anagārika in December 2005. |
Bhikkhu Dhammiko | |
| Bhikkhu Dhammiko (Eduardo Novo) was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1969. |
Searching for a spiritual answer more particularly since 1995, he finishes his BA in Agriculture by March 1998. In 2002 decides to quit his job and refresh his mind and body on a pilgrimage to some sacred sites around Europe, alone. He visited Amaravati Buddhist Monastery for the first time in 2003, becoming Anagarika in 2004. Fully ordained on the 9th of July, 2006 at 3:20 pm. | |
Bhikkhu Subhaddo | |
| My lay name is Barry Crisp. I was born in 1948, and grew up in Wimbledon. I lived for some years in Australia and New Zealand. During the return trip through Asia, I came across Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
Subhaddo Bhikkhu. |
Ajahn Nyanarato | |
| Ajahn Nyanarato (Shigehito Nakao) was born in 1958, in Nara, Japan. His sincere interest in the meaning of the life began when he was being trained as a medical doctor in Kyoto University. After graduation, he decided to go to India for spiritual pursuit, instead of becoming a doctor. He spent one year there, then moved on to Thailand, where he visited various monasteries, such as Wat Pak Nam, Wat Suan Mokkh, etc. |
After another year of exploring in Thailand, he came to Wat Pah Nanachat. Being impressed by the serene presence of the Sangha, he finally found a place to settle down. In 1986, he became ordained as a Samanera and received Upasampada the following year. Later, he started to live under the guidance of Ajahn Gavesako, a senior Japanese disciple of Luang Por Chah. In 1989, both of them walked from Tokyo International Airport to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (around 1,000 kilometers) as pilgrimage. It took 72 days and was supported by the word of Ajahn Gavesako, “every single step of ours is a peace march.” When Ajahn Gavesako set up Wat Sunandavanaram in Kanchanaburi in 1990, he joined in and lived there for 10 years. He worked for Maya Gotami Foundation, a charity for the poor youth in Thailand, established by Ajahn Gavesako, as well.
In 2000, he went to Nepal and intended to spend a few years in Sri Lanka. But the political situation at that time did not allow him to do so. As he also had an interest in learning how to live in the Sangha in the West, he came to England instead and spent the Vassa at Chithurst. He moved to Amaravati in 2001. Deeply inspired by Luang Por Sumedho and his teaching, he has resided here ever since.
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Ajahn Panyasaro | |
| Born March 1965 in the North of Thailand but grew up in Bangkok. After he finished his first degree in Law, he came to England for further education in 1987. However he seemed to be born to be a monk not a lawyer. You may find more about him in his article that was published in our Newsletter No.72 “No Regrets" taken from a talk that he gave during the Winter Retreat 2002. He is the secretary to the Abbot. |
I first came to Amaravati a few days before Christmas in 1987. I was a law graduate from Thailand and had come to England to do my Master’s degree. Because my English wasn’t adequate, I couldn’t go to university straight away. I had to attend a language school and live with an English family. Over Christmas, the family asked me to find somewhere else to stay. Somebody gave me the address of Amaravati and let me know that the monastery offered free board and lodging. So this is what brought me here. I intended to stay just two weeks and return to the language school on the 6th or 7th of January.
It was a Saturday, and Ajahn Amaro had been teaching the Saturday meditation workshop. This lasted the whole afternoon, finishing at five o’clock. When I met him, he told me that it was approaching the winter retreat and Amaravati was not accepting guests at that time, and he couldn’t give me permission to stay. As it was already dark however, he allowed me to stay one night. I was supposed to leave the next day, but I asked special permission from Luang Por Sumedho to stay until the 6th of January because it was going to be very difficult to find a place during Christmas and New Year. When the 6th of January arrived I asked Luang Por if I could stay longer, in fact for the whole winter retreat. That was 14 or 15 years ago.
It was quite an emotional time for me. That winter made a strong impression. Like all the other lay guests, I worked in the kitchen, and helped with other chores while the monks and nuns were on retreat. In those days Luang Por was still very much in charge of the monastery, and we rarely had time for our own meditation practice. Every day we had morning chanting at four o’clock. Like all group practice this was compulsory, so no one dared to miss it. If you missed it, you had to see Luang Por and tell him the reason why you weren’t there. As I said, it was very serious in those days.
The talks Luang Por gave then were the same as you hear today: his story about how he met Ajahn Chah, about how he practised in Wat Maha Taht, about receiving ordination in Nong Khai and how his preceptor sent him to Wat Nong Pah Pong. These talks made a strong impression on me because they were on an aspect of Thailand that I knew nothing about. What he said about the Isaan, the Northeast of the country, was quite new to me, because I was educated in a Catholic School in Bangkok. I had never in my life set foot in the Isaan, which is a remote part of Thailand. I grew up in the city, and my upbringing was almost Western. My university had a Western orientation too. This led me to become very critical of Thailand. But at Amaravati, as I reflected on Thailand’s role in the development of Buddhism, my critical attitude began to soften. I began to love my country, and this made me all the more appreciative of Amaravati. During the winter retreat I started to question whether studying law and becoming a lawyer was the right thing for me to do. For the first time in my life I contemplated giving up my education. The winter retreat ended at the end of February; in those days we only got two months. After the retreat we had a big Sangha gathering on Magha Puja day. All the monks from Chithurst, Devon and Harnham assembled to pay respects to Luang Por. The abbots of each monastery took turns at giving the evening talk. In those days, there were about thirty monks. We didn’t have samaneras yet. When the Sangha paid respects to Luang Por the monks bowed first, followed by the siladharas, anagarikas and lay people. Being a layperson, I was right at the back, so I could watch the group of monks bowing together. I found it very inspiring to see, and thought to myself, ‘I want to be in that group.’ And so it was on Magha Puja day that I first started to think about becoming a bhikkhu. Soon after that, I asked Luang Por for ordination as an anagarika. As he was still very much in charge, he gave me permission straight away. In those days there was no need to consult the Sangha; he made all the decisions.
In March, Luang Por went to see his family in the States and I prepared myself for ordination. I remember practising chanting with Ajahn Sucitto, and preparing my robes and white requisites. This was the first time I had ever worked with a sewing machine, and I discovered that I really loved it, and that I didn’t like studying law at all. I realised that this was the direction I wanted to go with my life. It was a drastic, very sudden change. I couldn’t have imagined that after three months I’d find myself in white, but there it was.
When my mother died, I wanted to return to Amaravati, but suddenly found a problem getting a visa. When I had travelled to England as a student I had barely started my studies, and was surprised that the Home Office allowed me to stay, to change my student visa for a religious one. But when I returned to Thailand I couldn’t get back into England again, so Luang Por recommended I stay at Wat Nanachat. So I took samanera and then bhikkhu ordination there.
In 1993, following Ajahn Chah’s funeral at Wat Pah Pong, when I had three vassas, I returned to Amaravati. I found the Sangha here was going through many changes. Luang Por was no longer really in charge. No one seemed to listen to him any more, so it was a difficult time for him. He started to delegate his authority, and we began making decisions in committee meetings. This brought up a lot of conflict, so I will not go into much detail about it. At that time Luang Por planned to leave Amaravati for a while, straight after the temple was built. I felt the same way. Up to that time I had spent all my monastic life with Westerners, even in Thailand when I had stayed at Wat Nanachat. So in 1997, when I had six or seven vassas, I returned to Thailand. I stayed in a monastery, a Pali school, in the South, because I wanted to stay clear of Westerners. When the temple at Amaravati was built, the situation wouldn’t allow Luang Por to leave, because some of the other monks had left. In particular, one very senior monk had departed deeply wounded. If Luang Por had taken his sabbatical at that time, the Sangha would probably have disintegrated, so it is fortunate that he delayed it till now, after the official temple opening, as there is a much better atmosphere here. The Sangha has slowly rebuilt itself; we have learned from our mistakes, we have learned to respect each other’s space and to appreciate each other’s unique offering. When I left Amaravati for Thailand in 1997 I didn’t think I would come back. The Sangha had changed too much. It wasn’t the same place that I had seen in the years previously. Personally, I liked Luang Por’s strong leadership. This is the way they run some monasteries in Thailand. Apart from this, I found there was a lot of interest here in psychotherapy, including pop psychology and all that sort of stuff, where people get deeply hurt over very petty, very tedious stuff. We had to have committee after committee, meeting after meeting. I got very fed up with this. The Amaravati temple opening ceremony was to take place in 1999 and lots of Thai monks were to be invited. Luang Por contacted me in Thailand, inviting me several times to also come. So I decided to return for a year or two to help out a bit, and hoped then to return to Thailand again. After the temple opening ceremony was over, and we had cleaned up the place, dismantled the marquees and tents, and piled all the rubbish into the skip, it was suddenly very quiet here. Very few people were left. This meant I was very busy. I remember I had two or three shawls to make, as well as being the attendant monk and secretary to Luang Por. I had to ask the nuns to take care of the evening locking-up duty.
As I said, my plan was to leave Amaravati soon after the temple opening ceremony, but suddenly a change happened in me, and I ended up solemnly vowing to myself that I would never leave. I decided to stay here indefinitely. It was a big relief for me to relinquish all my uncertainties, always somehow feeling that this is not the right place, that I don’t like the people, and I don’t like their ideas. I let it all go. I began to appreciate other people’s needs. This has helped me a lot in terms of practice.
Some people when they look back on their lives feel a lot of regret. But even if they have accumulated enormous wealth, they can’t retrieve the past. For ourselves however, if we keep practising, when we look back we will never experience regret. When I look back to what’s happened to me over the last 15 years, I never regret a single moment. Even if you sit here with painful knees and a painful back and never get anywhere, never get enough samadhi, or your mind is still restless, remember, this is the process of training; this is the process of meditation, and you will never regret it, whether you believe me or not. When I first came here and heard Luang Por give a Dhamma talk, it seemed like the first time I had heard the word ‘gratitude’ (kataññu). He seems to use the word almost every time he talks about Luang Por Chah. So in turn, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Luang Por and to all the lay supporters here. When I first arrived here I found it easy to make friends, which made me feel that I belonged to the place. That is part of the reason that made me want to join the monastic life, because of such good support, such a good team. Today the director of a local university came to see Luang Por, asking for advice about establishing a course in Buddhist studies. Luang Por later told me he was not at all interested in this sort of thing. I agree with him. Our practice here is so meaningful and inspiring. It is not just a course of education in which you stuff information into your brain so you can get a degree or diploma. I am not at all interested in such an approach. I want a practice that is relevant to my life. By convention it’s not allowed for me to do this, but from the depths of my heart I bow to the feet of the lay support team. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation for all that I have received since the day I arrived, the day that I first met Khun Ladda. She’s not here, but she’s always in my heart. So it’s a good opportunity for me now, the right time and the right moment, to express my feelings to all of you. I hope that you understand what I am saying; I’m quite nervous this is my first time on this high seat. There are many things that I would have liked to say to you this evening, but I haven’t remembered them. So I will finish my talk now. | |
Bhikkhu Aloka | |
| Āloka Bhikkhu ordained on 15 August 2000 in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). His Preceptor was Sayadaw U Janakabhivamsa the Abbot of Chanmyay Yeiktha in Yangon. He joined the Sangha at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in December 2004. He is currently the Monastery Secretary and Coordinator for school visits.
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Āloka Bhikkhu (Petrus Willemse) was born in Masvingo, Zimbabwe on Sunday 9th December 1956. He went to primary school in Gadoma and high school in Harare. In 1977 he completed the Licentiate Diplomas of the Royal Schools of Music in piano teaching and performing at the Zimbabwe College of Music. After his national service he went to University of Cape Town, graduating in 1985 with a degree in music (BMus). After his musical studies he returned to Zimbabwe where he was a senior lecturer in piano and later head of the Piano Department of the Zimbabwe College of Music. In 1990 he changed career and became subject librarian for Musicology at the University of South Africa. Whilst working at the library he studied part-time, and in 1992 completed a degree in library and information science (BBibl) at the University of Pretoria. During this time, while still working at the UNISA Library, he attended a talk given by a Buddhist Monks on Vipassana meditation at the Department of Religious Studies. It was during this talk that he realised that he had found the answer to understanding the way things are. (Previously he had been practising Transcendental Meditation.) He did several Vipassana retreats and decided to ordain in order to practice meditation more fully. In February 2000, he ordained as a Samanera at the Dhammodaya Myanmar Vihara in Pietermartizburg, South Africa. This is a branch monastery of Chanmyay Yeiktha Meditation Centre in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). Later he went to Burma where he took Bhikkhu ordination with Sayadaw U Jannakabhivamsa, the Abbot of Chanmyay Yeiktha, as his Preceptor in August 2000. He spent two years in Burma before returning to South Africa. Whilst living at Dhammodaya Monastery he visited Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the Summer of 2004. He returned to Dhammodaya Monastery, South Africa, to complete his fifth Vassa and then requested permission from Chanmyay Sayadaw to stay at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, returning to Amaravati in December 2004. He is currently the monastery secretary and helps to coordinate the school visits. | |
Caroline Leinster | |
| Caroline Leinster has lived at Amaravati since 2005 and is now the librarian.
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Ajahn Ratanavanno | |
| Ajahn Ratanavanno was born in Korat, N.E. Thailand on 10 February 1971. |
Ajahn Ratanavanno was born in Korat, N.E. Thailand on 10 February 1971. After finishing high school he worked in an industrial concern for a year. After being overlooked in the draft he decided to become a monk for three months. That three months became extended without limit. In his fifth year as a monk Ajahn Ratanavanno moved to Wat Pa Nanachat where he acted as the monastery secretary. In 1999 he spent a year at Abhayagiri Monastery before moving to Amaravati in 2001.
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Ajahn Jayanto | |
| Ajahn Jayanto (Chris Bowen) was born in 1967 in Boston,
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Bhikkhu Nyanadassano | |
| This monk is of Czech origin, although he grew up with his Russian father in Latvia. He came to Amaravati in the autumn 1999, seeking to become a monk, and stayed on. Ordained as a bhikkhu on the 21 July 2002, he spent the following year in Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, returned to ABM and left for Thailand a year after. He lived there mostly in Wat Pah Nanachat, but also spent some time in Wat Pah Pong and Dtao Dum. He currently resides at Amaravati. |
Ajahn Upekkha | |
| Ajahn Upekkha was born in 1949 in Provence, France. After training and receiving a diploma she worked together with children in a kindergarten for twelve years. During that time she was also married, but realised through these experiences that she needed a more fulfilling life. She began her explorations through psychotherapy. This brought her in touch with the sense of a deeper level of being than the conventional self. |
Travelling to India, her life continued to transform. She returned to France, where she met her first teacher, Venerable Nyanadharo, and also spent time living in a Gandhi community. In 1981 Venerable Nyanadharo encouraged her to visit Chithurst. It wasn’t yet the right time to stay, but she returned in 1985 to Amaravati, and ordained in 1987 with Luang Por Sumedho as her preceptor. She is now one of the active senior nuns at Amaravati. She loves to serve the community and help make a place where people can come and find peace. Supporting women in their search for truth is important in her heart and she has been training the novice nuns for many years.
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Ajahn Ānandabodhi | |
| Ajahn Ānandabodhi was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1968. Coming across the Four Noble Truths while still at school a confidence in the Buddha’s teaching was sparked in her heart. She trained in catering and also worked in environmental conservation, all the while looking for spiritual direction. |
Visiting Amaravati in 1990, she experienced a sense of ‘coming home’ and in 1992 joined the community, taking ordination in 1995. Having also lived in Chithurst and Hartridge monasteries, she now resides at Amaravati, taking part in the daily running of the monastery and teaching retreats. She particularly enjoys ‘tudong’ - walking on faith and taking the sign of the samana out into the world. | |
Luang Por Chah | |
| Venerable Ajahn Chah (Pra Bhodinyana Thera) was born into a typical farming family in Baan Gor village, in the province of Ubon Rajathani, N.E. Thailand, in 1917. He lived the first part of his life as any other youngster in rural Thailand, and, following the custom, took ordination as a novice in the local village temple for a number of years, where he learned to read and write in addition to some basic Buddhist teachings. |
After a number of years he returned to the lay life to help his parents, but, feeling an attraction to the monastic life, at the age of twenty he again entered a temple, this time for higher ordination as bhikkhu, or Buddhist monk. He spent the first few years of his bhikkhu life studying scriptures and learning Pali, but the death of his father awakened him to the transience of life and instilled in him the desire to find the real essence of the Buddha’s teaching. He began to travel to other monasteries, studying the monastic discipline in detail and spending a very brief but significant time with Venerable Ajahn Mun, the most outstanding meditation Master of the ascetic, forest-dwelling tradition. Following his time with Venerable Ajahn Mun, he spent a number of years traveling around Thailand, spending his time in forests and charnel grounds, ideal places for developing meditation practice. At length he came within the vicinity of the village of his birth, and when word got around that he was in the area, he was invited to set up a monastery at the Pah Pong forest, a place at this time reputed to be the habitat of wild animals and ghosts. Ven. Ajahn Chah’s impeccable approach to meditation, or Dhamma practice, and his simple direct style of teaching, with the emphasis on practical application and a balanced attitude, began to attract a large following of monks and lay people. In 1966 the first westerner came to stay at Wat Pah Pong (Wat is a Thai word means monastery ), Venerable Sumedho Bhikkhu. From that time on, the number of foreign people who came to Ajahn Chah began steadily to increase, until 1975, the first branch monastery for western and other non-Thai nationals, Wat Pah Nanachat, was set up with Venerable Ajahn Sumedho as abbot. The year 1976 Venarable Ajahn Chah was invited to England together with Ajahn Sumedho, the outcome of which was eventually the establishment of the first branch monastery of Wat Pah Pong outside of Thailand. Since then, further branch monasteries have been established in England, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Italy. In 1980 Venerable Ajahn Chah began to feel more acutely the symptoms of dizziness and memory lapse which he had been feeling for some years. This led to an operation in 1981, which however, failed to reverse the onset of the paralysis which eventually rendered him completely bedridden and unable to speak. However this did not stop the growth of monks and lay people who came to practise at his monastery, for whom the teaching of Ajahn Chah are a constant guide and inspiration. Venerable Ajahn Chah passed away in 1992. | |
Luang Por Sumedho | |
| Luang Por Sumedho was born in Seattle, Washington in 1934. After serving four years in the US Navy as a medic, he completed a BA in Far Eastern Studies and a MA in South Asian Studies. In 1966, he went to Thailand to practice meditation at Wat Mahathat in Bangkok. Not long afterwards, he went forth as a novice monk in a remote part of the country, Nong Khai, before receiving full ordination in 1967.
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A year of solitary practice followed. Although fruitful, it showed him the need for a teacher who could more actively guide him. A fortuitous encounter with a visiting monk led him to Ubon province to practice
In 1975, Luang Por Sumedho, established Wat Pah Nanachat, International Forest Monastery where Westerners could be trained in English. In 1977, he accompanied Luang Por Chah to England and took up residence at the Hampstead Vihara, with three other monks. Luang Por Sumedho was made an Upachaya, in 1981. Since then he has given upasampada (Bhikkhu precepts) to more than a hundred aspirants of many nationalities. Luang Por Sumedho was integral in establishing the Forest Sangha tradition in the United Kingdom. He was central in establishing Amaravati Buddhist Monastery and Chithurst Buddhist Monastery. He is currently resident as senior incumbent at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire. | |
Ajahn Candasiri | |
| Ajahn Candasiri was born in Scotland in 1947 and was brought up as a Christian. After university, she trained and worked as an occupational therapist, mainly in the field of mental illness. In 1977, an interest in meditation led her to meet Ajahn Sumedho, shortly after his arrival from Thailand. Inspired by his teachings and example, she began her monastic training at Chithurst as one of the first four Anagārikā. |
Within the monastic community she has been actively involved in the evolution of the Nuns’ vinaya training. She has guided many meditation retreats for lay people, and particularly enjoys teaching young people and participating in Christian/Buddhist dialogue. | |
Ajahn Sundara | |
| Ajahn Sundara was born in France in 1946. She studied dance in England and in France. In her early thirties, after working for a few years as a dancer and teacher of contemporary dance, she had the opportunity whilst living and studying in England to attend a talk and later, a retreat led by Ajahn Sumedho. |
His teachings and experiences of the monastic way of life in the Forest tradition resonated deeply. Before long, this led to a visit to Chithurst Monastery in England where in 1979 she asked to join the monastic community as one of the first four women novices. In 1983 she was given the Going Forth as a Sīladhāra (10 precept nun) by Ajahn Sumedho. After spending 5 years at Chithurst Monastery she went to live at Amaravati Monastery where she participated in the establishment of the nuns’ community. From 1995 until 1998 she spent 3 years deepening her practice, mostly in Thai Forest Monasteries. In 2000 after spending a year as the senior incumbent of the nuns community at the Devon vihara, she came to the States where she was based at Abhayagiri Monastery. She lives at present at Amaravati Monastery.
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Jande Anderson | |
| Nyanadassi (Jande) Retreat Centre Manager |
Nyanadassi (Jande) has been at the Retreat Centre since March 2004 as helper, Office manager and now currently Kitchen Manager. She inputs along with the rest of the retreat managers the overall planning and development of the Retreat Centre. | |
Medhina | |
| Medhina became a supporter of the Forest Sangha in 1981 after 20 years of solitary study and practice of the Dhamma. She has been a Director of the English Sangha Trust since 1992, and with children of her own has been closely involved with the development of the Family Camps, Dhamma School, Rainbow magazine, and East Herts SACRE (religious education in schools).
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Now retired from a career in Primary School teaching, Medhina has moved from Hertfordshire to Sussex, trained in psychotherapeutic counselling, and offers private tuition to children out of school hours. | |
Keith Hammond | |
| Keith is a qualified Chartered Accountant. Since April 2005 he has been the Trust Secretary of the EST. His duties include working on the financial aspects of the EST, as well as organising Trust meetings and dealing with various compliance matters.
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Keith has been a regular visitor to Amaravati, since first attending a meditation workshop at the monastery in February 1997. He usually goes on two or three retreats a year at the monastery. Occasionally he has led the Saturday Introductory Meditation Workshop.
Before taking up the Trust Secretary post at the English Sangha Trust he worked for 17 years for a large accountancy firm in London, specialising in company tax and later in designing and running internal training courses for the firm’s students.
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Ajahn Vajiro | |
| Venerable Vajiro (Phil Gunton) was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1953. He was educated at Lancing College in England, and went on to study Economics at Bath University. Upon graduating in 1974, he took up a career in accountancy. During this period, a friend encouraged him to go on a ten-day meditation retreat with John Coleman at the Oakenholt Buddhist Centre near Oxford. He attended further retreats there in 1976 and 1977.
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Hearing about the visit Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho made to Oakenholt in 1977, he went to meet them at the Hampstead Vihara. He eventually moved next door to the vihara, while continuing his training as an accountant. In 1978, however, he asked to join the community as an anagārika; he left for Thailand just after the community moved out of London to Chithurst in June 1979. In October that year he became a samanera, and he received upasampada from Ajahn Chah in June the following year. Venerable Vajiro returned to England in 1984, and assisted with the establishment of Amaravati Buddhist Centre. From 1985 to 1986 he resided at Harnham Buddhist Monastery and from 1986 to 1993 he lived at ‘Cittaviveka’. Then between 1993 and 1998 he led the community in ‘Bodhinyanarama’ Wellington, New Zealand. He spent the following three years living quietly in the hermitage ‘Sanghaloka’ near Melbourne, Australia. Before moving to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, where he presently resides. | |
