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Dharma talks from the tradition of Buddhist meditation master Ajahn Brahm and Australian Forest Sangha of monks and nuns presented by the Buddhist Society of Western Australia
Episodes
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Published with permission of Treasure Mountain Podcast. Please visit Treasure Mountain Podcast, Treasure Mountain website and Treasure Mountain Facebook page.
From time immemorial we have looked up to heroes for guidance and as models of how to live an excellent life: people with virtues such as courage, patience, kindness and wisdom. But who are our heroes today? We live in an age of celebrity and social media influencers. But are celebrities and social media influencers our heroes?
To answer these questions and more, we have with us our return guest, Ayya Santussika from the Karuna Buddhist Vihara in northern California to discuss the topic of heroes versus celebrities in the age of social media.
And I think she is well qualified to speak on this topic having attained BS and MS degrees in computer science and worked as a software designer and developer for fifteen years in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ayya Santussika is well familiar with computers and the internet. But on the other hand, her search for deeper meaning and ways to be of service led her to train as an interfaith minister in a four-year seminary program that culminated in a Masters of Divinity degree. Later her quest led her to ordaining as a Buddhist nun, and Ayya Santussika has been a bhikkhuni since 2012. And she has kindly offered her time to reflect upon our current fascination with the rich and famous, and what this says about where we are at in a present culture, as well as search for nobler human qualities.
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Links from this episode:
- Ayya Santussika's biography
- Karuna Buddhist Vihara
- Link to the Vimangsaka Sutta (The Inquirer) referred to in this episode.
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To find and download more precious Dhamma teachings, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the teaching you want and click on the audio to open it up on Podbean.
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Published with permission of Treasure Mountain Podcast. Please visit Treasure Mountain Podcast, Treasure Mountain website and Treasure Mountain facebook page.
On this episode of Sage Advice we have as our return guest, Venerable Santussika, the abbott of Karuna Vihara in northern California to offer sage advice on what role, if any, does faith play in the Eightfold Path of Buddhist practice.
Ayya Santussika was born in Illinois in 1954 and grew up on a farm in Indiana. While being a single mother, she received BS and MS degrees in computer science. She worked as a software designer and developer for fifteen years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her search for deeper meaning and ways to be of service led her to train as an interfaith minister in a four-year seminary program that culminated in a Masters of Divinity degree. She began traveling in Asia from 1999, learning from master teachers, particularly in Thailand. It was these experiences, along with time spent at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California that caused her faith to develop to the point of choosing to live and practice as a Theravadan nun.
Ayya Santussika entered monastic life as an anagarika (eight-precept nun) in 2005, then ordained as a samaneri (ten-precept nun) in 2010 and a bhikkhuni (311 rules) in 2012 at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara in Los Angeles. She has trained in large and small communities of nuns, including Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries of the Ajahn Chah tradition in England.
Links related to this interview:
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Published with permission of Treasure Mountain Podcast. Please visit Treasure Mountain Podcast, Treasure Mountain website and Treasure Mountain facebook page.
On this episode of Spirit Stories our guest is Ayya Santussika, the abbott of Karuna Buddhist Vihara in northern California.
Ayya Santussika was born in Illinois in 1954 and grew up on a farm in Indiana. While being a single mother, she received BS and MS degrees in computer science. She worked as a software designer and developer for fifteen years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her search for deeper meaning and ways to be of service led her to train as an interfaith minister in a four-year seminary program that culminated in a Masters of Divinity degree. She began traveling in Asia from 1999, learning from master teachers, particularly in Thailand. It was these experiences, along with time spent at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California that caused her faith to develop to the point of choosing to live and practice as a Theravadan nun.
Ayya Santussika entered monastic life as an anagarika (eight-precept nun) in 2005, then ordained as a samaneri (ten-precept nun) in 2010 and a bhikkhuni (311 rules) in 2012 at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara in Los Angeles. She has trained in large and small communities of nuns, including Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries of the Ajahn Chah tradition in England.
Links related to this interview:
Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.
To find and download more precious Dhamma teachings, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the teaching you want and click on the audio to open it up on Podbean.