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Ajahn Sundara
Personal
Born1946 (age 77–78)
Religion Buddhism
Nationality French
School Theravāda
Lineage Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah
Order Sīladhārā
Senior posting
Teacher Ajahn Sumedho
Based in Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Ordination1983 (41 years ago)
Website amaravati.org

Ajahn Sundara (born 1946) is a French-born Buddhist sīladhārā in the tradition established by Ajahn Sumedho. [1]

Life

She studied contemporary dance and worked as a dancer and dance teacher until her early thirties when she had the opportunity to meet Ajahn Sumedho in England and to attend one of his Dhamma talks and then a retreat. [2] She was one of the first four women ordained by Ajahn Sumedho in 1979 as an anagārikā (an eight-precept novice) and in 1983 as a ten-precept sīladhārā. [3] [4] After living at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in England, Ajahn Sundara moved in 1984 to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery and was instrumental in founding the nuns' community there. [5] She went to Thailand in the mid-1990s, where she spent more than two years, primarily on retreat at forest monasteries. She has been teaching and leading retreats in Europe and North America for many years. [6] She currently resides at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, whose history and relevance to women in Buddhism she has chronicled in the book chapter "The Theravada Sangha Goes West: The Story of Amaravati". [7]

Publications

  • Gates, Barbara; Gates, Wes, eds. (2008), "On Fearlessness and Fear: a conversation with Tenzin Palmo, Ajahn Sundara, Ajahn Jitindriya and Yvonne Rand" (Paperback), 25 Years of Dharma, Drama, and Uncommon Insight, Boston: Wisdom Publications, pp. 192–198, ISBN  978-0861715510
  • Sundara, Ajahn; Candasiri, Ajahn (2011), Friends on the Path, ISBN  978-1-870205-24-5
  • Sundara, Ajahn; Candasiri, Ajahn; Metta, Ajahn (2013), The Body, ISBN  978-1-870205-72-6
  • Sundara, Ajahn (2014), Walking the World
  • Sundara, Ajahn (2016), Seeds of Dhamma, Amaravati Publications, pp. 1–94, ISBN  978-1-78432-046-1
  • Sundara, Ajahn (2017), Paccuppanna: The Present Moment, Amaravati Publications, pp. 1–78, ISBN  978-1-78432-079-9

See also

References

  1. ^ "Female Monastic Community". Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  2. ^ "It Can be Very Simple: An interview with Ajahn Sundara". Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Archived from the original on 14 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-16.
  3. ^ "Biography". dhammatalks.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2006-05-05. Retrieved 2006-09-16.
  4. ^ "British Museum Special Event - Following the Buddhist path: insights on the nature of mind". 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  5. ^ Angell, Jane (2006). "Women in Brown: a short history of the order of sīladharā, nuns of the English Forest Sangha, Part Two". Buddhist Studies Review. 23 (2). doi: 10.1558/bsrv.2006.23.2.221. ISSN  1747-9681.
  6. ^ Sundara, Ajahn (February 4, 2011). "For Intérieure / 10-11". France Culture (Interview). Interviewed by Olivier Germain-Thomas. Paris.
  7. ^ Chodron, Thubten, ed. (1999). "The Theravada Sangha Goes West: The Story of Amaravati" (Paperback). Blossoms of the Dharma: Living as a Buddhist Nun. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books. pp. 61–74. ISBN  9781556433252.

External links