Santacitta Bhikkhuni was born in Austria and did her graduate studies in Cultural Anthropology, focusing on dance, theatre and ritual. She also worked in avant-garde dance theatre as a performer and costume designer. In 1988 she met Ajahn Buddhadasa in southern Thailand, who sparked her interest in Buddhist monastic life. She trained as a nun in England and Asia from 1993 until 2009, primarily in the lineage of Ajahn Chah and has also received teachings in the Shechen lineage of Tibetan Buddhism since 2002.
Santacitta Bhikkhuni co-founded Aloka Vihara in 2009 and received Bhikkhuni Ordination in 2011. She is committed to Gaia as a living being and resides as senior weaver at Aloka Earth Room, currently located in San Rafael, CA.
Events with Ayya Santacitta
Taking a Larger Perspective in these Transition Times [Online]November 21 - 23, 2025
This online retreat is open to both new and experienced practitioners. Registration for this program closes on November 21, 2025 at 5pm Pacific Time. To inquire about joining after registration closes, please contact guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org. Slowing down – Listening – Re-membering – Engaging In this retreat we will look at what’s happening in our world through the lens of the end of modernity – that time in history characterized by beliefs in limitless growth, colonialism, science & technology, human supremacy and individualism. If we can see what’s happening as necessary and unavoidable, we can begin to let something new be born,…
New Year's Retreat: Weaving Ancient and New Ways of BeingDecember 27, 2025 - January 3, 2026
This retreat welcomes both beginners and experienced meditators. Registration for this retreat closes on December 21st, 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. If looking to join after this date, please inquire at guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org. During this retreat we will come together in community to support each other in consciously letting go of the past and opening to the New Year from a place of stability, ease and the inner freedom we find in deepening our practice. In these uncertain times, old cultural narratives are dissolving and we are called to navigate the world differently. The Four Protective Meditations offer us protection from…