Ayya Nirodha is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

Buddhist nun Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. Her story was featured in the Buddhist Life Stories of Australia Project (2014–2015).

Early life

Ayya Nirodha was born Elizabeth Gorski, in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in 1945.

Later life

Nirodha emigrated to Australia, aged 20 years, with her husband. They divorced a few years later. Nirodha lived in

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to ...

, and lived 'a privileged life of a

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

socialite, travelling often to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

'. At a health retreat in the Blue Mountains she began to question her lifestyle and look for something deeper. A neighbour introduced her to an Indian Vipassanā guru,

Anagarika Munindra Anagarika Shri Munindra (1915 – October 14, 2003), also called Munindraji by his disciples, was an Indian Vipassanā meditation teacher, who taught many notable meditation teachers including Dipa Ma, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and Sur ...

-Ji. During the gathering the guru announced that there was an upcoming retreat at Wat Buddha Dhamma, which Nirodha subsequently attended. Nirodha notes that her study of Buddhism allowed her to understand her

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

roots better. Nirodha was connected to the

Insight Meditation Society The Insight Meditation Society (IMS) is a non-profit organization for study of Buddhism located in Barre, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1975, by Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, and Joseph Goldstein and is rooted in the Theravada tradition. Its ...

in the Blue Mountains, and spent time in Buddhist centres in the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. In 1986, she purchased a property in

Bundanoon Bundanoon is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire, on Gandangarra and Dharawal Country (where these two countries meet). It is an Aboriginal name meaning "place of deep gullies" and was forme ...

, NSW, and named it the Citta Bhavana Hermitage. When her partner passed away, she decided to become a nun and donated the property to a committee with

Ajahn Brahm Phra Visuddhisamvarathera ( th, พระวิสุทธิสังวรเถร), known as Ajahn Brahmavaṃso, or simply Ajahn Brahm (born Peter Betts on 7 August 1951), is a British-born Theravada Buddhist monk. Currently, Ajahn Brah ...

as Spiritual Director; in 2003 it was renamed as Santi Forest Monastery.

Sunnataram Forest Monastery Sunnataram Forest Monastery is a Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition. The establishment of the monastery was in July 1990. It is situated on the outer lying area of the town Bundanoon Bundanoon is a town in the Souther ...

was set up on property donated by Nirodha to enable the establishment of a Thai forest monastery in Australia. In 2001, Nirodha moved to Dhammasara Monastery, Gidgegannup, Western Australia. In 2001, Nirodha took part in an

Anagārika In Buddhism, an anagārika (Pali, 'homeless one', ; f. ''anagārikā'' ) is a person who has given up most or all of their worldly possessions and responsibilities to commit full-time to Buddhist practice. It is a midway status between a bhikkh ...

ceremony, which included undertaking Eight Precepts, shaving her head and putting on white robes. In 2003, she was ordained as a Ten Precept nun. This included changing to brown robes, and relinquishing all money and assets. Nirodha reports that both her family and the bank were shocked at her intention to give away all her belongings because of her substantial assets. She was the first Sāmaṇerī, Ten Precept Nun of the

Thai Forest tradition The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism. The ...

to be ordained in Australia.

Ordination controversy

In 2009, Nirodha and three other nuns from the Dhammasara community requested to become bhikkhunis. The ordination ceremony was performed on 22 October 2009 at

Bodhinyana Monastery Bodhinyana is a Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition located in Serpentine, about 60 minutes' drive south-east of Perth, Australia. History The monastery was built in the 1980s and gained interest from Perth media over tim ...

, Serpentine. The ordination of Nirodha and other bhikkhunis was opposed by leading English and Thai monks of the Wat Pa Pong order, of which Bodhinyana was a branch. As the most prominent member of the ordination quorum, Ajahn Brahm was excommunicated with his community from the

Wat Pah Pong ''Wat Nong Pah Pong'' (Generally shortened to: ''Wat Pah Pong'', Thai: วัดหนองป่าพง) is a Theravada Buddhist monastery in Ubon Ratchathani Province, ( Amphoe) Warin Chamrap, Thailand. It was established by the late Ajahn ...

order for his role in the process. This response has been described as 'swift and draconian', and indicative of sexism which was not part of Buddha's original vision.

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

founded the bhikkhuni order by ordaining his maternal aunt and also his stepmother,

Mahapajapati Gotami Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī (Pali; Sanskrit: महाप्रजापती गौतमी, ''Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī'') or Pajapati was the foster-mother, step-mother and maternal aunt (mother's sister) of the Buddha. In Buddhist tradition, s ...

. The 'bhikkhuni ordination issue' is reported as being number 3 in the Top 10 international Buddhist news stories of 2009. In 2012, Nirodha became the Abbess of Santi Forest Monastery at Bundanoon, New South Wales, on the departure of

Bhante Sujato Bhante Sujato, known as Ajahn Sujato or Bhikkhu Sujato (born Anthony Best), is an Australian Theravada Buddhist monk ordained into the Thai forest lineage of Ajahn Chah. Life Bhante Sujato identifies as an anarchist. A former musician with ...

Retirement

In 2017, Nirodha retired and moved into retreat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nirodha, Ayya Living people 20th-century Australian women Buddhist abbesses 1945 births