About Karuna Buddhist Vihara (KBV)
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KBV was founded in 2012 as a monastery where:
KBV is incorporated as a non-profit, tax-exempt Buddhist church in the state of California. Currently, KBV has two residents, Santussikā Bhikkhuni and Cittānandā Bhikkhuni, who live at the hermitage in the Santa Cruz Mountains and offer public programs at the meditation center in Sunnyvale, California.
The vision and mission
KBV intends to support its entire community in striving as diligently as possible for the realization of Nibbāna, thereby developing more and more sustaining happiness in each and all of our lives.
KBV intends to share concrete experiences and real-life examples of developing:
Current offerings & community
The nuns at KBV study the suttas, the Vinaya and the Pali language and practice the Noble Eightfold Path with diligence, and share their learnings through public weekly chanting, meditation and sutta study sessions, daylong meditation retreats, and other Dhamma programs, as well as traditional Buddhist observances such as Kathina. The bhikkunis meet with people for spiritual counseling on request. They also offer meditation instruction, Dhamma talks and retreats for many groups outside of KBV.
Since KBV began, the community of participants has steadily grown and is uniquely diverse with people from a wide range of ethnicities, ages and backgrounds. The common theme is interest in traditional Theravada teachings from the Pali Canon, as practiced and presented by monastics, relating to modern Western culture.
Hopes for future development
As more bhikkhunis join KBV, the range of offerings and services for the public will expand according to their strengths and interests. This might include a youth program, Pali classes, Qigong sessions, or regular Dhamma chats over tea.
Since acquiring the hermitage in 2019, KBV hopes the property will one day accommodate 5 monastics and up to 5 lay people at any given time. The secluded redwood forest presents optimal conditions for progress as described by the Buddha, which then allows for residents to provide improved teachings to the public, for lay guests to experience renunciate life, and for all to deepen their practice.
- Theravada bhikkhunis live,
- Women train to become bhikkhunis,
- All teachings are based on the Pali Canon,
- Traditional chanting and ceremonies are conducted, and
- Meditation and Dhamma teachings are freely offered to the public.
KBV is incorporated as a non-profit, tax-exempt Buddhist church in the state of California. Currently, KBV has two residents, Santussikā Bhikkhuni and Cittānandā Bhikkhuni, who live at the hermitage in the Santa Cruz Mountains and offer public programs at the meditation center in Sunnyvale, California.
The vision and mission
KBV intends to support its entire community in striving as diligently as possible for the realization of Nibbāna, thereby developing more and more sustaining happiness in each and all of our lives.
KBV intends to share concrete experiences and real-life examples of developing:
- Sīla moral virtue, samādhi meditation, and paññā wisdom, which leads to additional beneficial qualities such as mettā loving kindness, karuṇā compassion, muditā sympathetic joy, and upekkhā equanimity
- A simple life, inspired by the many monks and nuns that the KBV residents have lived with and learned from, as well as the Buddha himself
Current offerings & community
The nuns at KBV study the suttas, the Vinaya and the Pali language and practice the Noble Eightfold Path with diligence, and share their learnings through public weekly chanting, meditation and sutta study sessions, daylong meditation retreats, and other Dhamma programs, as well as traditional Buddhist observances such as Kathina. The bhikkunis meet with people for spiritual counseling on request. They also offer meditation instruction, Dhamma talks and retreats for many groups outside of KBV.
Since KBV began, the community of participants has steadily grown and is uniquely diverse with people from a wide range of ethnicities, ages and backgrounds. The common theme is interest in traditional Theravada teachings from the Pali Canon, as practiced and presented by monastics, relating to modern Western culture.
Hopes for future development
As more bhikkhunis join KBV, the range of offerings and services for the public will expand according to their strengths and interests. This might include a youth program, Pali classes, Qigong sessions, or regular Dhamma chats over tea.
Since acquiring the hermitage in 2019, KBV hopes the property will one day accommodate 5 monastics and up to 5 lay people at any given time. The secluded redwood forest presents optimal conditions for progress as described by the Buddha, which then allows for residents to provide improved teachings to the public, for lay guests to experience renunciate life, and for all to deepen their practice.