In this session, Ayyā Santussikā speaks about the path of faith that led her to robes, and about how sīla and virtue protected a soldier in the midst of Vietnam.
For more information about the Ayyas and Karuna Buddhist Monastery, home of Ayyā Santussikā, along with Ayyā Cittānandā, visit: www.karunabv.org/
Biography of Ayyā Santussikā Bhikkhuni:
Born in Illinois in 1954, Ayya Santussika began exploring meditation in the late seventies. She received BS and MS degrees in computer science while being a single mother. After working as a software designer and developer for fifteen years in the Bay Area, she trained as an interfaith minister and received a Masters of Divinity degree in 2002. She visited monasteries in the US, Europe, and Asia, learning from master teachers mostly in the Ajahn Chah lineage. In 2012, she received full ordination as a bhikkhuni and founded Karuna Buddhist Vihara, a neighborhood Theravada Buddhist monastery for bhikkhunis.
Biography of Ayya Cittananda Bhikkhuni:
Ayya Cittananda was inspired to follow the Buddhist path in 2005 after a college philosophy class. After completing a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and working as a registered nurse in Texas, she lived as a monastic at a small Pure Land/Chan monastery in Florida. She spent time practicing at monasteries in England and Scotland, and at Aloka Vihara in Placerville, California. She took Anagarika precepts at KBV in March of 2015, Samaneri ordination in April of 2016, and Bhikkhuni ordination in May of 2018 at Buddhi Vihara in Santa Clara, California.