Vidyalila

I initially moved to Tiratanaloka in 2000 for 8 months, to help out on the support team. I had a strong response to service and could see that the Ordination team needed extra help. After being here for a couple months I knew I wanted to stay for longer and I am still here! I was ordained in 2003.

My name means “she who has the playfulness of aesthetic appreciation”. I see this as an inspiration to live more and more in appreciating things for how they are in their intrinsic aesthetic nature, with a playful attitude of mind. I come from a conditioning of a strong work ethic, and much of my identity has been tied up with doing things well. So an attitude of appreciative awareness, that Bhante talks about, in the Greater Mandala of uselessness, is something I have come to value and develop.

When I left school, I trained in Hotel and Catering management and then later I did a degree in fine art(painting) I have had a few exhibitions and feel nourished and inspired as well as mystified by painting. I see it as a medium for communicating and understanding the Dharma in more subtle ways, beyond words, both to myself and others.

I first started coming to Tiratanaloka in 1996, when I was training for ordination. Tiratanaloka holds a mythical place in my heart and I feel very happy to be contributing to its continued presence in helping women be ordained.

I enjoy exploring the Dharma in groups, learning from others and becoming clearer about what it means to live a Buddhist life. I like creating rituals/pujas that take us into a more mythic realm of the imagination and archetypal. I also look after the gardens and I oversee the food for the retreats.