Paths of Practice with Ayya Santacitta

Paths of Practice with Ayya Santacitta

Author: Vincent Moore September 18, 2024 Duration: 1:05:54

Ayya Santacitta Bhikkhuni co-founded Aloka Vihara in 2009, a monastic residence for a small group of nuns that had moved to America from England, and received Bhikkhuni Ordination in 2011. Santacitta Bhikkhuni is committed to Gaia as a living being and resides at Aloka Earth Room, a contemporary temple-space located in San Rafael, California.

For more information about the Aloka Earth Room, events, and Ayya Santacitta's programs, please see the following links:

https://alokavihara.org/aloka-earth-room/ https://alokavihara.org/earth-room-events/

https://alokavihara.org/aloka-earth-room-events/

In the podcast, we discussed weaving art, ecology, and Buddhism together in the Aloka Earth Room, how to develop the courage to be with the unknown, dharma as meaning "to support" and "to be supported," actively being a part of the Earth's immune system to meet the illness of the climate crisis, and the experience of living in monasteries and monastic communities around the world within the Thai Forest Tradition.

If you're interested in some book recommendations around the topics we discuss and Ayya Santacitta's work, Ayya Santacitta suggests picking up the following:

David Abram, Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology, 2011

David Abram, The Spell of the Sensous, 1997

Vanessa Machado de Oliviera, Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity’s Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism, 2021


Vincent Moore hosts Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into Buddhism, a space where personal stories take center stage. Each episode is built around a simple, profound question: what does it actually look like to live with Buddhist teachings? You’ll hear from people whose lives have been shaped by this path, from long-time monastics and dedicated lay practitioners to those who have just felt a curious pull toward mindfulness and compassion. The conversations avoid dry theory, focusing instead on the messy, human, and often surprising realities of integrating practice into daily life-through family, work, doubt, and discovery. This podcast operates on the belief that there are as many ways to walk this road as there are people walking it, gently exploring that diversity one honest conversation at a time. It’s less about providing answers and more about sharing the map-making process itself, offering companionship and insight for anyone interested in the varied terrain of spiritual life.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into Buddhism
Podcast Episodes
Paths of Practice with Yogi Lama Gursam Rinpoche [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:21
Yogi Acharya Lama Gursam Rinpoche was born in India and received a monastic education from the age of six. He went on to study at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi where he received his bachelor…
Paths of Practice with Gullu Singh, JD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:05
Gulwinder “Gullu” Singh is a mindfulness and Dharma teacher who also practices corporate real estate law. Although he was exposed to meditation as a child, he found his own practice when, after law school, he found himse…
Paths of Practice with Ven. Lobzang Dorje [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:28
The Venerable Lobzang Dorje, Leon E. Pettiway, Ph.D., began his dharma studies in January 1999 and took refuge under the guidance of Kyabje Dagom Rinpoche in May of that year. In 2002, he received Getsul (Novice) Vows in…
Paths of Practice with Rev. Dr. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez (Part 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:31
Rev. Dr. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez is a professor of Humanities and Digital Society at the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja-UNIR and a Jōdo Shinshū priest that serves Jinen-Kō, an online community of Portuguese and Spa…
Paths of Practice with Rev. Hibiki Junkyo Murakami [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:24
Rev. Hibiki Junkyo Murakami serves as an Associate Minister at the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple. He was born and raised as the oldest son of Jonen-ji Temple in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan. Rev. Murakami rec…
Paths of Practice with Rev. Nyoze Kwong [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:34
Rev. Nyoze Kwong serves as abbot of Sonoma Mountain Zen Center (Genjo-ji) in Santa Rosa, CA. Kwong-roshi received a B.A. in Anthropology/Archeology from University of California Santa Cruz. He worked as a fundraiser in S…
Paths of Practice with Sensei José Shinzan Palma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:09
Sensei José Shinzan Palma was born in Veracruz, Mexico. He is an ordained Zen priest and the Dharma successor of Roshi Joan Jiko Halifax. He met Korean Zen teacher, Ven. Samu Sunim in Mexico City in 1996, and then traine…
Paths of Practice with Kaira Jewel Lingo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:36
Kaira Jewel Lingo is a Dharma teacher with a lifelong interest in blending spirituality and meditation with social justice. Having grown up in an ecumenical Christian community where families practiced a new kind of mona…
Paths of Practice with Rev. Blayne Higa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:29
Rev. Blayne Higa is the Resident Minister of the Kona Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Kealakekua on the Big Island of Hawaii. He holds a Master of Divinity from the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California with…
Paths of Practice with Rev. Shinshu Roberts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:43
Rev. Shinshu Roberts is a Dharma Heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. She received her priest training at San Francisco Zen Center and from the North American branch of the Japanese Soto Sch…