Passaddhi Vihara
Seeking a monastic residence in the Pacific Northwest
***** Help find lodgings for the first six months to a year. See criteria. *****
Two Bhikkhunīs practicing for liberation are considering the Pacific Northwest for a new monastery dedicated to bhavana (the practice leading to liberation, the heart’s release, Nibbāna). Their initial thoughts are to look in Thurston County somewhere in or near Olympia, WA
Housing Support
***** Help find lodgings for the first six months to a year. See criteria. *****
April 24-30: A room is offered on Capital Hill in Seattle
💥💥💥 Housing in May is needed for two bhikkhunīs somewhere close enough to take public transportation and meet up with Olympia area drivers to look at available rentals. Please contact us at with housing offers or ideas? The bhikkhunīs are able to stay at different places week by week if needed.
***** Longer term, do you have or know of housing in the Olympia area that could be rented as a temporary monastic dwelling at least through October or the end of 2024? [We are looking for a two or two+ bedroom dwelling for the two bhikkhunis that is <$2000 a month] *****
Ways you can help in the Pacific Northwest
support FOR Temporary housing,
meal offerings, And transportation is Needed.
💥💥💥 Temporary lodgings 💥💥💥
Housing in May is needed for two bhikkhunīs somewhere close enough to take public transportation and meet up with Olympia area drivers to look at available rentals. Please contact us with housing offers or ideas?
Vihara Dwelling
***** Help find lodgings for the first six months to a year. See criteria. *****
Errands / Kappiya Assistance
- None at this time
Rides
- Volunteers to offer rides to view rentals as they become available. See offerings calendar.
Meal Offerings
Most meal offerings in May will be dependent on our location in the Olympia area: See offerings calendar.
- Saturday, May 11th At Saint Mark’s Clear Mountain Gathering
Gift certificates to Olympia restaurants that are open before noon are also welcome. Examples:
Grocery cards (email to get address to send non-electronic cards) ready-to-heat/eat items may be used by the monastics directly and other groceries may be turned into meals by the kind people the monastics are staying with.
We rejoice in your financial contribution!
Your support joins that of others in making monastic life possible in today’s world.
The QR codes below link to an account that is managed by volunteers who act as financial stewards. These stewards act on your behalf in seeing that Ayya Niyyānika (U.S. legal name: Michelle Raymond) and Ayya Suvijjānā are supported in their monastic life.
Zelle, bank deposit and Venmo are without fees.
When you donate please send an email to so we can acknowledge your generosity.
About the Bhikkhunis
Ayya Suvijjānā Bhikkhunī Therī
Ayya Suvijjānā began practicing meditation in 1976. Ayya started with Zen meditation and was a student of Kobun Chino Roshi in Los Altos, CA. In 1998 Ayya Suvijjānā was introduced to Vipassana at Santa Cruz Insight. Shortly after Ayya visited Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery and soon became a lay student of Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. Ayya moved to Ukiah to be closer to the monastery. In 2004 Ayya was called to monastic life and began her search for a monastery to train and visited Amaravati in 2005. She became a student of Ayya Tathālokā in 2006 at the first Dhammadharini Vihara in Fremont, CA. Ayya received full ordination as a bhikkhuni in August 2010 at Aranya Bodhi Hermitage. Ayya played a supportive role in establishing Dhammadharini and Aranya Bodhi Hermitage.
Ayya Suvijjānā left Dhammadharini in 2020, and has been traveling, spending blocks of time at monasteries in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. She offered Dhamma teaching as part of monastic life when invited. Ayya’s love of the Dhamma, love of the monastic life, and love of the suttas has enriched many.
Ayya Niyyānika Bhikkhunī
Ayya Niyyānika is a fully ordained Buddhist monastic in the Theravada tradition. Ayya uses they/them pronouns.
They received their initial monastic training within the Dhammadharini community from 2014 through 2019 in Sonoma County, CA, USA and then was with the Aloka Vihara community, near Placerville, CA, USA for three years. Practicing within these monastic communities gave them a deeper understanding of renunciation, importance of Saṇgha, and enhanced their wish to fully realize the goal of monastic life.
The past year and a bit have been a time of travel, integration, and deepening in practice. They visited a variety of monastic and lay communities in the West and in Asia, taking time for retreat and study as well as community involvement.
For Ayya Niyyānika, living a life of wise and kind interdependence is critical to embodying an effective monastic life in today’s world. Embodiment based in compassion, wisdom, and equanimity is central to path development and is the focus of Ayya Niyyānika’s practice.
