Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery | Resident Community

Resident Community

		Ven. Ajahn Pasanno Ven. Pasanno Bhikkhu took ordination in Thailand in 1974 with Ven. Phra Khru Nanasirivatana as preceptor. During his first year as a monk he was taken by his teacher to meet Ajahn Chah, with whom he asked to be allowed to stay and train. One of the early residents of Wat Pah Nanachat, Ven. Pasanno became its abbot in his ninth year. During his incumbency Wat Pah Nanachat developed considerably, both in physical size and in reputation. Ajahn Pasanno became a well-known and highly respected monk and Dhamma teacher in Thailand. Ajahn Pasanno moved to California on New Year's Eve of 1997 to share the abbotship of Abhayagiri.
		Ven. Ajahn Amaro Born in England in 1956, Ven. Amaro Bhikkhu received his BSc. in Psychology and Physiology from the University of London. Spiritual searching led him to Thailand, where he went to Wat Pah Nanachat, a Forest Tradition monastery established for Western disciples of Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah, who ordained him as a bhikkhu in 1979. He returned to England and joined Ajahn Sumedho at the newly established Chithurst Monastery. He resided for many years at the Amaravati Buddhist Centre north of London, making trips to California every year during the 1990s. Since June of 1996 he has lived at Abhayagiri Monastery. He has written an account of his 830-mile trek from Chithurst to Harnham Vihara called Tudong - the Long Road North, republished in the expanded book Silent Rain, now available for free distribution and he published another book, Small Boat, Great Mountain, in 2003 that is also available for free distribution. On June 16th, 2005 Ajahn Amaro returned to Abhayagiri after spending one year on sabbatical visiting Buddhist holy places in India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
		Ven. Ajahn Sudanto Born in Portland, Oregon in 1968, Ajahn Sudanto became interested in Buddhism and Indian spiritual traditions while completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Oregon. After graduation he set off for a open-ended period of travel and spiritual seeking in India and Southeast Asia. After a year of traveling, he proceeded to Thailand to begin a period of intensive study and meditation, which drew him to Wat Pah Nanachat in the Northeast of Thailand. There he met Ajahn Pasanno (then the abbot) and requested to ordain and train with the resident community, taking full ordination as a bhikkhu in 1994. After training for five years at Wat Pah Nanachat and various branch monasteries in the Ajahn Chah tradition, he came to Abhayagiri to live and train with the emerging sangha in America. Ajahn spent the summer of 2007 together with Ajahn Karunadhammo in the Columbia River Gorge on retreat in an impromptu forest hermitage supported by the Portland Friends of the Dhamma and other generous people from around the Northwest. He is currently spending four months in New Zealand at Vimutti Buddhist Monastery.
		Ven. Ajahn Karunadhammo Ven. Karunadhammo Bhikkhu was born in North Carolina in 1955. He was trained as a nurse and moved to Seattle in his early twenties where he came in contact with the Theravada tradition. In 1992 he helped out with a monastic visit to the Bay Area and spent another two months helping on a winter retreat at Amaravati. He decided to "Go Forth" while in Thailand in December 1995 and asked if he could be part of the prospective California monastery. He arrived in San Francisco in May of 1996, took the Eight Precepts on the thirty-first of that month (Vesakha Puja Day) and was part of the original group arriving at Abhayagiri on June 1, 1996. After a little over a year in white, Anagarika Tom became Samanera Karunadhammo on the Full Moon Day of July 1997 under the preceptorship of Ajahn Pasanno. In May 1998 Samanera Karunadhammo took full bhikkhu ordination, and became the first American-born bhikkhu at the first American branch monastery of the Thai lineage of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho.
		Ñaniko Bhikkhu Ven. Ñaniko was born in California in 1980. After graduating from high school in 1998, he began studying Tibetan Buddhism on his own and was looking for direction and meaning in his life. In 2000 he began studying Ajahn Chah's teachings and felt inspired to look for a teacher and take up the training of the Thai Forest Tradition. When he came to Abhayagiri in May 2001 he was very happy with the lifestyle the monastery had to offer and decided to make a commitment as an anagarika. He was ordained as a samanera on July 24, 2002 and as a bhikkhu on July 13, 2003, Asalha Puja.
		Ahimsako Bhikkhu Born near San Francisco, California in 1959, Ven. Ahimsako spent twenty-eight years living abroad and pursuing a career in classical ballet as a dancer, teacher, and educator. In 1991, while living in England, he traveled to Sri Lanka where his interest in Buddhism prompted him to begin visiting the London Buddhist Vihara and Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. He began his monastic life in 2002 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery (in northern California) with co-abbots Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. Ven. Ahimsako received the upasampada (bhikkhu ordination) on September 26, 2004 with Ajahn Pasanno as preceptor. From June 2006 to June 2007 Ven. Ahimsako was resident at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery.
		Caganando Bhikkhu Ven. Caganando was born in New York in 1954. After receiving a BS in Physics he worked at U of Albany on solar and wind energy meteorology research. A budding interest in Buddhism and voluntary simplicity led to a period of hands on carpentry work, eventually starting a small building company. Asia was calling, and a period of world travel concluded with practice in several monasteries in India and Thailand. Then came five years on staff at IMS in Barre, MA where he first met western monks from the Ajahn Chah lineage – Ajahn Sucitto and Ajahn Amaro. Interested in exploring monastic life, he went to Wat Pah Nanachat in Thailand and ordained as an anagarika in 2002, samanera in 2003, and bhikkhu in 2004 with Luang Por Liem as his preceptor. After meeting Ajahn Pasanno in Thailand he asked to come to Abhayagiri for his third vassa.
		Sampajano Bhikkhu A former Oakland Paramedic, Ven. Sampajāno received Bhikkhu ordination in July 2006 and currently resides at Abhayagiri.
		Thitabho Bhikkhu Ven. Thitabho was born in Tucson, Arizona on April 17, 1985. Although he has been interested in spirituality for the majority of his life, he never had faith or interest in any religion until encountering the teachings of the Buddha on the internet. After spending a year at the University of Arizona working on a Bachelor of Fine Arts, he decided that dedicating his time and energy to the practice of Buddhism would be more beneficial and fulfilling to him. Ven. Thitabho took Samanera ordination on December 19, 2005, received the higher ordination becoming a fully ordained Bhikkhu on April 22, 2007.
		Kassapo Bhikkhu Kassapo Bhikkhu was born in Vietnam and raised in Guangdong, China. Since 1998 he has lived in the Los Angeles area, where he became interested in Buddhism. After visits to various monasteries, he decided to explore monastic life. He was a member of the lay support team during Abhayagiri's 2005 Winter Retreat, during which time he decided to request to undertake the anagarika training. He returned to Abhayagiri in late May, 2005 and received the anagarika "Going Forth" on June 29, 2005 and ordination as a novice (Samanera) on July 16, 2006. Ven. Kassapo received the higher ordination becoming a fully ordained Bhikkhu on July 14, 2007, with Ajahn Pasanno as his preceptor (Upajjhaya).
		Samanera Cunda Samanera Cunda was born in 1974 and hails from the Chicago suburbs. In high school he became interested in Buddhism and subsequently took Dhamma courses in college. After graduating from U.C. Santa Cruz in 1999, he taught English in China and Tibet for two years. Upon returning to the United States, he sat long retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and there heard rumor of a Thai forest monastery in northern California. He arrived at Abhayagiri in the fall of 2005 and was asked to serve the winter retreat in 2006. With his family’s blessings, Samanera Cunda went forth as an anagarika on April 29, 2006 and received novice ordination on April 22, 2007.
		Sāmanera Kaccāna Sāmanera Kaccāna was born in 1976 in Cincinnati, Ohio. While he was in high school, his parents introduced him to the practice of meditation as taught by Sri Ecknath Easwaran. After graduating from Harvey Mudd College, he moved to Berkeley to pursue graduate study in physics. In Berkeley, he continued daily meditation practice, went on retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and participated in the Abhayagiri Upasika program. Realizing that monastic practice might be of great benefit to himself and others, Sāmanera Kaccāna came to Abhayagiri a month after completing his PhD. He went forth as an anagarika on October 7th, 2006, and his sāmanera ordination, or pabbajja, was held on October 6th, 2007.
		Anagarika Nic Anagarika Nic was born in 1983 in Washington, DC and spent much of his childhood in the surrounding suburbs. While in college he developed an interest in spirituality and began to meditate daily and attend retreats. After graduating, Nic decided to pursue his spiritual aspirations by becoming a lay resident at the Bhavana Society Forest Monastery and Meditation Center in West Virginia. After living at the Bhavana Society for a little more than a year, Nic decided to explore his interest in monastic life by visiting different monasteries. Upon arriving at Abhayagiri Nic felt he had found the right place. He went forth as an Anagarika on June 14, 2007.