Forest Meditation with Passaddhi Vihara Bhikkhunis

Written by: Suvijjānā Bhikkhunī, Niyyānika Bhikkhunī, Sianita Natalia, and Amber Siefer

This year, the Passaddhi Vihara Support Foundation began a fundraising campaign to purchase a property for Passaddhi Vihara in the Pacific Northwest.

The vision is to create a bhikkhuni monastery that offers refuge from the pressures of modern life, supports full-time monastic practice, and provides a sanctuary for the wider community. The property will foster peacefulness, loving-kindness, wisdom, and the conditions for realization and awakening.

Monastics and lay people gather in Olympia’s Plaza Park for a celebration of Vesak

.As the Theravāda bhikkhunī sangha continues to grow in the Pacific Northwest, there is increasing need not only for qualified teachers and preceptors, but also for a stable monastic environment where training, practice, and community life can flourish over the long term. Bhikkhunis are generally defined as female monastics, compared to bhikkhus, who are generally male.

At present, there is not yet an established Theravāda bhikkhunī monastery in the Pacific Northwest with a permanent monastic property,” said Sianita Natalia, a lay person who serves as Passaddhi Vihara’s treasurer. “Supporting Passaddhi Vihara’s efforts helps create the conditions for a lasting residence, where Theravāda bhikkhunis can live, practice, train, and serve the wider community for generations to come.”

Monastics and lay people gather in Olympia’s Plaza Park for a celebration of Vesak

Currently two bhikkhunis – Suvijjānā Bhikkhunī and Niyyānika Bhikkhunī – reside, practice and teach at Passaddhi Vihara, which is currently housed in a rented Olympia apartment. These co-founders stated that a key reason for the planned property purchase is to better create supportive conditions for monastic development.

“Passaddhi Vihara’s foremost aim is to support development toward awakening for its current and future monastics. We focus on deep understanding of the dhamma and commitment to the path,” Niyyānikā Bhikkhunī said. “From that basis, at the pace of practice we will gradually build and grow a community of monastics, lay renunciants, and lay practitioners seeking sanctuary and refuge. Our aspiration is that the entire process of developing the monastery remains aligned with the path, and becomes a ground for awakening.”

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The bhikkhunis plan to establish a monastery where monastics can dedicate themselves fully to the dhamma through practice, study, and community life. This requires secluded spaces for meditation, as well as shared areas where monastics can receive meal offerings and teach the dhamma.

Another aim is to create a place where lay practitioners can participate in meditation, reflection, and dhamma programs during scheduled hours. The monastery will serve as a sanctuary for quiet practice, with respect for the natural environment while also preserving the simplicity of monastic life. With clearly defined public and private areas, including a detached meditation hall, the property will support both monastic training and community practice.