On this episode of Spirit Stories we have as our guest, Radan Kuča from the Czech Republic who has kickstarted interest in Buddhism by setting up the channel Ajahn Brahm Cesky to translate teachings into the Czech language. As you’ll find out this effort has already had a big impact and may already be spilling over into similar efforts for Ukrainian translations.
This interview has information about:
Radan’s challenges in finding out about Buddhism in a country with almost no organisations in Czechia
what inspired Radan to start a channel to translate the teachings of Ajahn Brahm, and how he he and fellow volunteers have gone about doing this and making it really successful in just a year and a half
how the Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine has impacted the Czech Republic and what Czech people have been doing to help Ukrainians, as well efforts to start translating Buddhist teachings into Ukrainian to help Ukrainians coping with the trauma of war.
and what is coming next for the Czech and Ukrainian Buddhist channels.
 
Links referred to in this episode:
Ajahn Brahm CZ Facebook group 
Ajahn Brahm Cesky on Youtube 
Ajahn Brahm Ukrainian on Youtube - Аджан Брам UA
Treasure Mountain links:
Treasure Mountain Podcast
Treasure Mountain website
Treasure Mountain facebook page

On this episode of Treasure Mountain we have Ajahn Kovilo and Venerable Nisabho who are both American monks that have trained in the Thai Forest Tradition in Asia and the United States. Together Ajahn Kovilo and Venerable Nisabho have the shared aspiration of establishing Clear Mountain Monastery in the vicinity of Seattle in the north-west United States. They have also set up a top quality online teaching presence through their Clear Mountain Dhamma youtube channel and podcast, and we’re going to find out about how they hope to take their experience of authentic Buddhist communities based around the principles of Early Buddhism and apply them in modern America.
Links referred to in this episode:
Clear Mountain Monastery 
Clear Mountain Dhamma Youtube Channel
Clear Mountain Dhamma Podcast
Clear Mountain Monastery Facebook page
Treasure Mountain links:
Treasure Mountain Podcast
Treasure Mountain website
Treasure Mountain facebook page
Support Clear Mountain Monastery

On this episode of Sage Advice we have as our return guest, Venerable Santussika, the abbott of Karuna Vihara in northern California to offer sage advice on what role, if any, does faith play in the Eightfold Path of Buddhist practice.
Ayya Santussika was born in Illinois in 1954 and grew up on a farm in Indiana. While being a single mother, she received BS and MS degrees in computer science. She worked as a software designer and developer for fifteen years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her search for deeper meaning and ways to be of service led her to train as an interfaith minister in a four-year seminary program that culminated in a Masters of Divinity degree. She began traveling in Asia from 1999, learning from master teachers, particularly in Thailand. It was these experiences, along with time spent at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California that caused her faith to develop to the point of choosing to live and practice as a Theravadan nun.
Ayya Santussika entered monastic life as an anagarika (eight-precept nun) in 2005, then ordained as a samaneri (ten-precept nun) in 2010 and a bhikkhuni (311 rules) in 2012 at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara in Los Angeles. She has trained in large and small communities of nuns, including Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries of the Ajahn Chah tradition in England.
Links related to this interview:
Karuna Buddhist Vihara
Donate to Karuna Buddhist Vihara
Treasure Mountain links:
Treasure Mountain Podcast
Treasure Mountain website
Treasure Mountain facebook page

On this episode of Spirit Stories our guest is Ayya Santussika, the abbott of Karuna Buddhist Vihara in northern California.
Ayya Santussika was born in Illinois in 1954 and grew up on a farm in Indiana. While being a single mother, she received BS and MS degrees in computer science. She worked as a software designer and developer for fifteen years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her search for deeper meaning and ways to be of service led her to train as an interfaith minister in a four-year seminary program that culminated in a Masters of Divinity degree. She began traveling in Asia from 1999, learning from master teachers, particularly in Thailand. It was these experiences, along with time spent at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California that caused her faith to develop to the point of choosing to live and practice as a Theravadan nun.
Ayya Santussika entered monastic life as an anagarika (eight-precept nun) in 2005, then ordained as a samaneri (ten-precept nun) in 2010 and a bhikkhuni (311 rules) in 2012 at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara in Los Angeles. She has trained in large and small communities of nuns, including Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries of the Ajahn Chah tradition in England.
Links related to this interview:
Karuna Buddhist Vihara
Donate to Karuna Buddhist Vihara
Treasure Mountain links:
Treasure Mountain Podcast
Treasure Mountain website
Treasure Mountain facebook page

On this episode of Treasure Mountain Podcast we have a guest who has been a mentor to me and remains a personal friend. Dennis Sheppard has been involved with Buddhist community since 1978, joining with the Buddhist Society of Western Australia as a young man interested in meditation and spiritual practice, and going on to serve multiple terms as president, as well as serving in several other capacities including designing several buildings for both monastics and the lay community.
In this interview with Dennis Sheppard:
Getting involved with Buddhism in Australia in the late 1970s and what that was like
Sending lay people to Thailand to request Ajahn Chah to send monks to Australia
How Ajahn Jagaro changed the Buddhist Society of WA and his lasting legacy
The impact of Ajahn Jagaro's departure and the commencement of Ajahn Brahm's tenure as Spiritual Director
What the early years of the Buddhist Society of WA were like, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them.
Links from the episode:
The Buddhist Society of Western Australia website
Dennis Sheppard's website
Treasure Mountain links:
Treasure Mountain Podcast
Treasure Mountain website
Treasure Mountain facebook page

In this episode of Sage Advice, we have Bhikkhuni Candavisuddhi, known as Venerable Canda, the pioneering nun blazing a trail for women monastics by striving to establish the Anukampa project, a monastery for fully ordained nuns in the United Kingdom. Those who previously listened to Venerable Canda’s story in a previous episode of Treasure Mountain will know that she has a lot grit to practice in challenging circumstances, and now to lead the way to establish a community of practice, and eventually a monastery in the UK. One quality that she has demonstrated in large measure is resilience, and she joins us today for this episode of Sage Advice to discuss the topic of resilience and determination.
Ayya Canda's links:
Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project - website
Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project - Facebook page
Treasure Mountain links:
podcast: https://www.treasuremountain.stream/
web: https://www.treasuremountain.info/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TreasureMountainPodcast
 
 

In this episode of Spirit Stories our guest is Venerable Candavisuddhi, also known as Ayya Canda, who first encountered meditation and the spiritual path when travelling through Asia as a young woman. This led to several years of going on and supporting retreats in India and Nepal. Whilst the yearning to live the Buddhist monastic life intensified, she found that opportunities for women to lead a meditative monastic life were few, until finding out about a chance to ordain with Sayadaw U Pannyajota in rural Burma. The meditative life suited Venerable Canda very well, but four years of the Burmese climate, diet and parasites took a toll on her health, and she decided to return to the West. A chance encounter led Venerable Canda to the teachings of Ajahn Brahm, and the opportunity to practice and take higher ordination at Dhammasara Monastery in Western Australia in 2014. Now she is blazing a trail for women monastics by leading a project to start a monastery for bhikkhuni sangha in the country of her birth, the United Kingdom. Venerable Canda joins us now to share her Spirit Story.
Links related to this episode:
Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project
Donate to the Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project to help Ayya Canda start a monastery.
To find out more or volunteer with the Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project email team@anukampaproject.org

On this episode of Sage Advice, Venerable Mettaji returns to offer his advice on the topic of giving from the heart.
 
Treasure Mountain Podcast links:
https://www.treasuremountain.info/ 
https://www.facebook.com/TreasureMountainPodcast