As long as you’re operating from a sense of me and mine, wanting and not wanting, there's always going to be stress, or dukkha. It’s part of being a separate somebody, which is small, limited, and uncomfortable. In brahmavihāra practice, we’re giving space to that which is not personal—yet arises within our own being and transforms our being. Creating a more spacious awareness is an essential part of the practice. We’re opening to a greater truth, a greater reality, a greater resonance than the little “me and mine” story can really accommodate.
Ayya Anandabodhi
Residential Retreat Teacher, Monastic
Ayya Anandabodhi first encountered the Buddha's teachings in her early teens, igniting a deep interest in the Buddha's Path of Awakening. She lived and trained as a nun in the Forest Tradition at Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries in England from 1992 until 2009, when she moved to the US to help establish Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery, a training monastery for women. Her practice and teaching are guided by early Buddhist scriptures and through nature's pure and immediate Dhamma. In 2011, she took full Bhikkhuni Ordination, joining the growing number of women who are reclaiming this path in the Theravada tradition. She currently resides at Aloka Vihara, near Placerville, CA.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Ayya Anandabodhi through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.