On Sunday 20 April 2025, Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage celebrated “TwoYears in Samson”. Fourteen lay supporters attended the event. We began the event with a guided meditation session followed by sutta syudies and concluded with Paritta Chanting, with blessings for all our supporters and beings at Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage.
Jacky Lambert passed away on Friday, 4 April 2025. We know her as our long-time supporter and also someone who had generously offered Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni and Ayya Seri Bhikkhuni accommadation in Jane Brook, Western Australia, for twelve years.
Thirty people participated in a meditation and talk session at Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage on Sunday 6 April, to remember Jacky and to share merits with her.
Jacky Lambert’s memorial service will be held on Thursday, 24 April at 1pm at Bruce Douglas Pavilion, 110 Salisbury Rd, Swan View WA.
Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni went forth on 17 March 1985 at Parappuduwa Nuns’Island in Dodanduwa, Sri Lanka with Venerable Piyaratana as her preceptor and Ayya Khema as her teacher.
Ayya Seri Bhikkhuni conducted a Half-dayMeditation programme on Sunday 16 March at Paracara Bhikkhuni Hermitage to remember Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni. Fifteen people participated in the programme. We share merits with Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni at the end of the practice.
May Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni be at peace. May she attain Nibbana.
Sadhu sadhu Sadhu.
CHAIRPERSON’S SPEECH – Patacarra Bhukkhuni Hermitage
(presented at the AGM on 9th February 2025)
This is an opportunity for us to recall, reflect and re-examine with gratitude and appreciation the Path of Patacara Bhukkhuni Hermitage, and its progress to serve the Buddhist community.
Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage started due to an individual health need of a great nun, Ajahn Vayama.
This great Bhikkhuni initiated the Bhikkhuni Sangha community in WA. She spent two full years in solitude in a forest with absolute minimum facilities – a pit toilet, no running water, no electricity, and for bathing she travelled to a lay person’s house. Each day she had to walk over a kilometre to a location where phone signal was available to inform the lay community that she was alive. She was supported by the Buddhist community.
Today this nunnery that Ajahn Vayama founded, progressed to be one of the best Forest Bhikkhuni Sangha nunneries in the world.
When Ajahn Vayama’s illness was diagnosed, some fifteen years ago, our Ayya Seri courageously and single handedly came forward to attend to Ajahn Vayama’s needs. Initially the care for Ajahn Vayama was undertaken in a private house of one of Ayya Seri’s relatives.
I came to know of this information which I am listing, as I have heard it. Please forgive me should there be any inaccuracies in this presentation.
There had been a small group of devotees at that time, supporting the two nuns, as I have heard, and many of them are here even today.
Within a year, Jacky Lambert very generously offered her own home to give stability and a base for Ajahn Vayama’s care. And Jacky subsequently made changes to her home to better suit the needs of a care environment.
It was around this period that the legal entity of Patacara Bhukkhuni Hermitage Incorporated was formally established.
Ajahn Vayama’s health declined progressively which increased her care needs, until her care reached 24/7. Ayya Seri became a health professional who was on 24 hr duty. She managed individual high care needs of Ajahn Vayama, plus the management of 24/7 carers roster; preparation of standard operation procedures for each shift; management of specific Dana needs; and co-ordination of the Dana roster.
Ayya Seri consistently and devotedly, dedicated up to 15 years of her life in nursing her teacher and our great nun, Ajahn Vayama.
Ayya Seri followed what our Lord Buddha preached – “WHEN YOU NURSE THE SICK AND LOOK AFTER A PATIENT, IT’S AS GOOD AS YOU NURSING AND LOOKING AFTER BUDDHA”.
Needless to say, the Merits are very high that Ayya Seri accrued with her tireless effort and commitment over years to her teacher Ajahn Vayama.
Since the passing away of Ajahn Vayama in 2021, Ayya Seri recuperated with a year retreat and then her subsequent leadership gave birth to the Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage as we all know it today.
It has been a very arduous journey for her to achieve what we now have, and she couldn’t have achieved this without the support of the Buddhist community.
Ayya Seri and this community can be very proud of these achievements. Apart from the buildings we have built, she has now become a renowned teacher herself, who lives and spreads the word of the Buddha.
Thank you and we wish you all blessings of The Noble Triple Gem.
Ravi De Silva
Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage’s 2025 Annual General Meeting was held at the Hermitage in Samson, WA, at 2pm, on Sunday, 9 February 2025.
One of the highlights of the meeting was a video presentation of Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni. Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni was the founding abbot of Dhammasara Nuns Monstery. At the start, the video featured Ayya Vayama’s participation in the ceremony which marked her move to live on the land at Dhammasara Nuns Monastery on 5 December 1998. Further on, the video also featured the ceremony which marked the First Year Anniversary of Dhammasara Nuns Monastery on 5 December 1999. At this ceremony, Ayya Vayama offered refuges and precepts, followed by a talk.
Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni and Ayya Seri Bhikkhuni founded Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage in November 2010 and on 26 November 2010, they moved into the Hermitage in Jane Brook.
We would like to express our gratitude to all the supporters.
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu
The journey of creating our native garden started in April 2024. A visitor to Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage after Ajahn Brahm’s retreat, wanted to help and they started clearing the side garden.
Even though the garden work is not yet finished, it gives me much inspiration for the practice of the Dhamma – it started somewhere and then one step at a time. It grew.
We now have a beautiful garden.
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu.
The afternoon of 22 January 2025 found Ayya Seri and Venerable Dhammadheera sitting on the newly installed stone bench and the eight stepping stones in the native garden of Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage.
Sadhu sadhu sadhu to Michelle who was involved with the logistics and the installation of the project and to all the volunteers and donors who assisted in so many ways.
All of us at Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage would like to wish you a very happy and peaceful new year.
Today, 20th November 2024, is Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni Theri’s third death anniversary.
May Ayya Vayama Bhikkhuni Theri be at peace. May she attains Nibbana.
Patacara Bhikkhuni Hermitage 