Ajahn Sundara (born 1946) is a French-born

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

sīladhārā in the tradition established by Ajahn Sumedho.

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and to attend one of his

Dhamma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold'' or ''to support' ...

talks and then a retreat. 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. After living at

Chithurst Buddhist Monastery ''Cittaviveka'' (Pali: ' discerning mind'), commonly known as Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, is an English Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition. It is situated in West Sussex, England in the hamlet of Chithurst between ...

in England, Ajahn Sundara moved in 1984 to

Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Amaravati is a Theravada Buddhist monastery at the eastern end of the Chiltern Hills in South East England. Established in 1984 by Ajahn Sumedho as an extension of Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, the monastery has its roots in the Thai Forest Tr ...

and was instrumental in founding the nuns' community there. 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. She currently resides at

, whose history and relevance to women in Buddhism she has chronicled in the book chapter "The Theravada Sangha Goes West: The Story of Amaravati".

Publications

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References

External links

Amaravati Buddhist MonasteryAudio recordings of 19 Dharma talks in English
on th
Dharma Seed
library

a 2011 interview on the TV sho
Sagesse Boudhiste
on

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

retrieved from the French on-line magazin
Bouddhisme au Feminin
a 2013 interview on the TV sho
Sagesse Boudhiste
on

retrieved from the French on-line magazin
Bouddhisme au Feminin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundara, Ajahn 1946 births Living people French scholars of Buddhism Buddhist writers Converts to Buddhism French expatriates in Thailand Theravada Buddhist monks Thai Forest Tradition nuns French Buddhist nuns 21st-century French nuns Sundara, Ajahn 20th-century Buddhist nuns 21st-century Buddhist nuns 20th-century French women

Life

Publications

See also

References

External links