Special event: Family Wellbeing Retreat

Collaboration with Santi Forest Monastery

Presenters: Bhikkhuni Ayya Kārunikā, Bhikkhuni Ayya Anālayā, Bhikkhuni Ayya Pasanna and Tina Ng

When: Sat 18 February | 9am – 5pm

Location: Santi Forest Monastery, Bundanoon

Cost: By Donation

In collaboration with Santi Forest Monastery, Metta Centre will be hosting a one day retreat for parents and their children to attend for a day of family healing and wellbeing. This is a very special program. The retreat will involve activities to bring the family together, practice of deep listening, creating bridges of understanding between parents and children, meditation, bushwalking, and private interviews with a facilitator. The retreat will take place in the beautiful and peaceful Santi Forest Monastery in Bundanoon. To ensure the facilitators have time to help the families involved, spaces for this retreat is limited and booking is essential.

For more info about the organisations:

Santi Forest Monastery: https://santifm.org

Metta Centre: https://www.mettacentre.com

About the Presenters:

Bhikkhuni Ayya Kārunikā is currently the senior resident monastic at Santi Forest Monastery and has been in monastic life for over 12 years. She received her full ordination as a bhikkhunī in 2014 at Dhammasara Nuns monastery in Western Australia where she lived and trained for over a decade with Ajahn Hāsapaññā. She is also a student of Ajahn Brahm and Ajahn Brahmali. Ayya Kārunikā is able to articulate the Buddhist teachings in a way that is practical and comprehensible to people of all ages and has experience in conducting day retreats for both adults and youth. While she has a PhD in Microbiology and worked as a scientist, she has also been the building project manager for the construction of Dhammasara main monastery complex and has worked with many volunteers over the years. Ayya Kārunikā was born in Sri Lanka but has been living and working in Australia for over 2 decades. She has a passion to share her experience and knowledge and loves working with people and also doing creative projects.

Bhikkhuni Ayya Anālayā was born in Taiwan but has been living and practicing monastic life at Dhammasāra monastery since 2012 under the guidance of her teacher, Ajahn Hāsapaññā. Ayya Anālayā received the “going forth” as a sāmaṇerī in 2013, followed by bhikkhunī ordination in 2016 with Ayyā Santinī from Indonesia as preceptor. She is the monastic training Master at Dhammasara Monastery and currently visiting Santi Forest Monastery to support the nuns’ community on the East Coast.

Bhikkhuni Ayya Pasanna was born in Amsterdam to an American father and English mother. Her family moved to Australia when she was almost 7 and lived most of her life around Adelaide. She has worked in design, media and publishing. She has discovered the Dhamma in her early 20s through listening to various podcasts and later served on the committee of the Buddhist Society of South Australia. She became an Anagārikā, in Adelaide, on the last day of 2016 with Venerable Santacārī. In 2018 she moved to Dhammasāra Monastery in WA where she took Novice ordination, in March 2019 and Bhikkhuni ordination in August 2021, with Ajahn Hāsapaññā as her preceptor. These were the first bhikkhuni ordinations held in Australia with an Australian preceptor.

Tina Ng is the Founder and President of the Metta Centre and also the Principal Solicitor of Metta Legal, a law firm that deals with cases relating to family law, child protection, property, civil litigation and guardianship matters. She is an accredited mediator at Metta Resolution, which provides mediation, training and coaching to resolve conflict in the community and within families. Tina has a keen interested in supporting the youth, and has run various mentoring programs through her business and social projects. She has organised various events, has played the role of coordinator, emcee, and auctioneer at charity functions. She has shared the Buddha’s teachings in conferences, talks, workshops, and in her writings.