At this point in time we have five Anagarikas. Eva, Varada, Jen, Galia, Angie and our only male anagarika Daryl as well as Chandra as a long term resident.
Anagarikaa ceremony for Galia & Angie
Galia and Angie had their Anagarikaa ceremony on 12th April. We welcome both of them to the community. Galia is from Israel, she was a biologist and also an artist. She encountered Buddhism about 20 years ago and was inspired by the teaching of the Dalai Lama and Buddhadasa.She attended a retreat and heard a talk about renunciation and was inspired and thus she now has the aspiration to become a nun.
Angie is from Malaysia. When she was 5 years old she went to Sunday Dhamma school and also begun to practise meditation when she was 17. She is mother of 3 daughters, 14, 12 and 10. They also practise meditation and follow the path of dhamma. She was a volunteer yoga teacher at Sentul Temple, Malaysia. Her dhamma teachers including Bhante Javana and Bhante B. Saranankara. She met Ajahn Sujato in Bodghaya early this year and then came to Santi with the intention to ordain as a bhikkhuni.
Varadaa is from England. She started to lead a renunciate way of life in Aug 2000. Since then, she has kept the 8 precepts and spent most of her time practising in the forest monasteries of Ajahn Chah's tradition in Thailand, England and New Zealand.
She found out about the evolving Bhikkhuni Sangha at Santi whilst at Wat Pah Nanachat. Since then serendipity has led her here where she hopes to eventually ordain as a Bhikkhuni
