Ayya Karunika

Ayya Kārunikā was born in Sri Lanka in 1975 and migrated to Australia in 1999. After meeting Ajahn Brahm and learning the Buddha’s teachings under his guidance, she left her career as a scientist at Murdoch University, where she earned a PhD in Microbiology, to embark on the monastic path in 2010. She received full bhikkhunī ordination in 2014 at Dhammasara Nuns Monastery in Western Australia, where she lived and trained for over a decade with Ajahn Hāsapaññā. She has been a student of Ajahn Brahm and Ajahn Brahmali since 2000. Ayya Kārunikā is currently the abbess of Santi Forest Monastery in New South Wales, Australia, and serves as the Spiritual Director of the New Zealand Bhikkhunī Sangha Trust.

Ayya Kārunikā is passionate about sharing her experience and knowledge and enjoys working with people as well as engaging in creative projects. She is an experienced meditator with a good knowledge of the Suttas and has been involved in leading meditation retreats, workshops, and Dhamma teachings for both adults and children.

She is deeply committed to supporting the growth of bhikkhunīs worldwide and is currently involved in initiatives to help establish places for bhikkhunīs within the Theravāda forest tradition. She presently supports bhikkhunī projects in Sri Lanka and Poland and has experience in writing constitutions, monastery rules, and developing monastic infrastructure. She has assisted in drafting monastery rules for Dhammasara Nuns Monastery and served as the project manager for the construction of the main monastery complex at Dhammasara.

Ayya Upekkha

Born in Sri Lanka in 1974, Ven Upekkha grew up in various parts of the world before her family settled down in Perth, Australia. If that wasn’t enough traveling, at 23 she quit her job in the financial industry in Singapore to go seeking in India for ‘the Truth’. Her journey took her through marriage and long retreats in Malaysia and Myanmar with her Irish husband (who later also ordained as a monk) before finally at the age of 35, she returned to Perth where her spiritual journey started. She joined Dhammasara Monastery, a Theravada monastery for Buddhist nuns under the auspices of Ajahn Brahm in 2009 and has been part of that community since then. Ven Upekkha ordained in 2011 and took bhikkhuni ordination in 2014.

Ajahn Hasapanna

Ajahn Hasapanna was born in Ipoh, Malaysia in 1960. During her days as a lay person she and her family generously supported Ajahn Sujato when he was practicing in Ipoh. The main influence in Ajahn Hasapanna’s spiritual development is the monastic lifestyle of the forest tradition. When Ajahn Hasapanna had developed enough courage and inspiration to become a nun, Ajahn Sujato pointed her to join Dhammasara Nuns Monastery.

She joined Dhammasara in 2002, beginning her monastic training as an Anagarika (trainee nun keeping 8 precept). She then ordained as a Ten Precept Nun with Ajahn Vayama as her teacher. She subsequently ordained as a Bhikkhuni in 2009 with Ayya Tathaaloka as her preceptor in a ceremony at Bodhinyana Monastery, WA, Australia.

Currently, Ajahn Hasapanna is the Abbot of Dhammasara Nuns Monastery and the Assistant Spiritual Director of The Buddhist Society of WA (Inc). She is heavily involved in teaching and training nuns, anagarikas and lay people. She is the main teacher to 18 monastic trainees at Dhammasara.

In 2015, she successfully managed the building of Dhammasara Sala Complex, consisting of a large ordination (Sīma) Hall, Dining Hall, Kitchen, Amenities Block, Monastic Library, Accomodation Pods for Monastic and Lay women, and the Annex block. In 2017, she completed the new carpark and seal the main driveway. She was instrumental in getting the approval from City of Swan to build 4 more brick kutis, they were completed in 2020. This has enabled more women to take up monastic training at Dhammasara.