Two Bhikkhunīs practicing for liberation consider the Pacific Northwest for a new monastery dedicated to bhavana (the practice leading to liberation, the heart’s release, Nibbāna). Their initial thoughts are to look in Thurston County somewhere in or near Olympia, WA.
Support
To help view the properties before renting, it would be great if the bhikkhunīs could stay a few weeks somewhere close enough to take public transportation and meet up with Olympia area drivers to look at available rentals. Is there someone who has enough extra space to house two bhikkhunis in Western Washington State, USA?
During this time others can provide support with meal offerings or transportation to view properties. Who might be interested?
The niyyanika.org site is being used until a name for the new vihara/monastery is picked and a simple new site made. For now, please use this contact form to connect with the bhikkhunis. One of the bhikkhunis or a support volunteer will get back to you by email.
Useful things
- Amtrak gift cards – Two tickets from San Jose to Olympia are 2 x $115 = $230, so any amount toward that is helpful.
- Temporary housing while we look for a rental in Thurston County, Olympia, WA area.
About the bhikkhunīs
Ayya Suvijjanā Bhikkhunī Therī
Ayya Suvijjana began practicing meditation in 1976. Ayya started with Zen meditation and was a student of Kobun Chino Roshi in Los Altos, CA. In 1998 Ayya Suvijjana was introduced to Vipassana at Santa Cruz Insight. Shortly after Ayya visited Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery and soon became a lay student of Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. Ayya moved to Ukiah to be closer to the monastery. In 2004 Ayya was called to monastic life and began her search for a monastery to train and visited Amaravati in 2005. She became a student of Ayya Tathālokā in 2006 at the first Dhammadharini Vihara in Fremont, CA. Ayya received full ordination as a bhikkhuni in August 2010 at Aranya Bodhi Hermitage. Ayya played a supportive role in establishing Dhammadharini and Aranya Bodhi Hermitage.
Ayya Suvijjana left Dhammadharini in 2020, and has been traveling, spending blocks of time at monasteries in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. She offered Dhamma teaching as part of monastic life when invited. Ayya’s love of the Dhamma, love of the monastic life, and love of the suttas has enriched many.
Ayya Niyyānika Bhikkhunī
Ayya Niyyānika is a fully ordained Buddhist monastic in the Theravada tradition. Ayya uses they/them pronouns.
They received their initial monastic training within the Dhammadharini community from 2014 through 2019 in Sonoma County, CA, USA and then was with the Aloka Vihara community, near Placerville, CA, USA for three years. Practicing within these monastic communities gave them a deeper understanding of renunciation, importance of Saṇgha, and enhanced their wish to fully realize the goal of monastic life.
The past year and a bit have been a time of travel, integration, and deepening in practice. They visited a variety of monastic and lay communities in the West and in Asia, taking time for retreat and study as well as community involvement.
For Ayya Niyyānika, living a life of wise and kind interdependence is critical to embodying an effective monastic life in today’s world. Embodiment based in compassion, wisdom, and equanimity is central to path development and is the focus of Ayya Niyyānika’s practice.