Hartford Street is pleased to announce and invite you to a morning with two Nuns who are compassionate trailblazers in the rebuilding of a lineage of ordained bhikkhunis; stemming originally from the Thai Forest Theravada school of Buddhism ; the Nuns of Aloka Vihara are very well respected and frequently booked speakers/Dharma (Dhamma) teachers. They reside currently in a Vihara near Ocean Beach in San Francisco practicing with a vibrant and dedicated Sangha and are working on the intention to found a training monastery for bhikkhunis in a rural setting on the West Coast.
Ayya Anandabodhi first encountered the Buddha’s teaching in her early teens, which ignited a deep interest in the Buddha’s Path of Awakening. She has practiced meditation since 1989, and lived in Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries in the UK from 1992 for 18 years.
In 2009 she moved to the U.S. on invitation of the Saranaloka Foundation, to help establish Aloka Vihara, a training monastery for women, where she now resides. She took leave of the Ajahn Chah lineage in 2011, in order to take full bhikkhuni ordination. The teachings and example of Ajahn Chah continue to be an influence and inspiration in her practice and teaching.
Sister Jayati was born in England in 1974. She first encountered the Buddha’s teachings at the age of twelve while attending a retreat with the F.W.B.O.(Friends of the Western Buddhist Order). She felt a deep sense of resonance with the teachings on Metta and made a commitment to cultivate this in her life.
Ayya Santacitta (who will be scheduled another date to speak due to unexpected event) was born in Austria and has practiced meditation since 1988. Her first teacher was Ajahn Buddhadasa, who sparked her interest in Buddhist monastic life. She has trained as a nun in both the East and West since 1993, primarily in the lineage of Ajahn Chah. Since 2002, she also integrates Dzogchen teachings into her practice.
Ayya Santacitta is co-founder of Aloka Vihara, a training monastery for women in San Francisco, where she has lived since 2009. In 2011, she received bhikkhuni ordination with Ayya Tathaaloka Theri as preceptor. She offers teachings at the vihara, as well as in the wider Bay Area and occasionally other parts of the US, sharing her experience in community as a means for cultivating the heart and opening the mind.
Please join us for this wonderful event and feel free to read more about the Sisters on their website and watch this very touching video about their work & lives! Beacuse the Nuns as part of their precepts must eat their final main meal of the day by noon Some of our Sangha will formally be offering a meal dana and if you would like, feel free to bring your lunch and join us for lunch at Hartford Street with the Nuns following the talk, during our simultaneous offerings of tea and cookies.
Every Saturday we offer early morning zazen (seated meditation), a brief drop-in meditation instruction at 8:30 am. And again zazen at 9:25 am. We wrap up with a dharma talk at 10:15 am followed by tea and cookies.
Please join us any Saturday and we hope to see you often and for this special Saturday event!
We’ll have a Dharma talk as usual at 10:15 a.m., and afterwards a ceremony celebrating the birth of the baby Buddha in which we circumambulate the zendo (meditation hall) while chanting the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra. Subsequently we’ll repair to the dining room for the birthday party itself. Everyone is welcome!
