Ajahn Candasiri

Ajahn Candasiri is a prominent figure in Western Theravāda Buddhism, recognized for her role as a senior monastic and co-founder of Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in West Sussex, England. She is ordained as a sīladharā, adhering to ten precepts, which represents the highest level of female ordination allowed within the Thai Forest Tradition's western branch. Her training and subsequent teachings have significantly contributed to the development of monastic life for women in this lineage.

Life and Historical Context

Born in 1947 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Ajahn Candasiri was raised in a Christian background. After completing her university education and working as an occupational therapist in the United Kingdom, she encountered Buddhist teachings in 1977 through Ajahn Sumedho. Her path to renunciation began in 1979 when she became an anagārikā, a white-robed practitioner following eight precepts, at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery.

In the early days of Chithurst, a monastery that was initially a dilapidated house, Ajahn Candasiri was one of four anagārikā women who worked alongside a group of monks to establish a functional residence. The nuns eventually moved to a nearby house, Āloka Cottage, where they founded the sīladharā ordination community. In 1983, Ajahn Candasiri took sīladharā ordination, receiving brown robes and committing to ten precepts under a unique set of 137 rules established by Ajahn Sumedho to facilitate training within Ajahn Chah's lineage.

Contributions and Teachings

Ajahn Candasiri was among the pioneering sīladharā monastics who received training from bhikkhus (fully ordained monks), learning from parts of the Suttavibhanga and a version of the Vinaya Patimokkha. Despite the sīladharā community being subordinate to monastic men, she remained at Chithurst. She has been instrumental in teaching and leading retreats, and her dedication has helped sustain the sīladharā community through periods of growth and shrinkage.

After living at Chithurst until 1999, Ajahn Candasiri moved to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, where she continues to teach and is considered one of the most senior monastics. Since 2015, she has also been spending increasing periods at Milntuim Hermitage in Perthshire, Scotland, where she resides and teaches, often with a junior female monastic from Amaravati.

Publications

Ajahn Candasiri's writings offer insights into Buddhist practice and philosophy. Her notable works include "The Secret of Happiness" (2021), "Simple Kindness" (2012), "Friends on the Path" (2011), and "Rituals and Observances" (2001).