Ayyā 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 took leave from Dhammadharini in 2020 returning for periods of time, 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 and focus on the teachings in the suttas has enriched many.

Ayya uses they/them pronouns.

Ayya began monastic training in 2014 and spent eight years training in bhikkhunī communities at Dhammadharini and Aloka Vihara in California, USA. This gave them a deeper understanding of renunciation and the importance of Saṅgha.

Ayya then traveled for a year in the West and Asia, giving them a broader view of our conditioned world and how Buddhists practice around the world.

Now, Ayya is a part of Passaddhi Vihara in the Pacific Northwest, USA.

For Ayya Niyyānika, embodiment, based in kindness and wise compassion, is central to their path development and is the focus of their monastic practice.