Our “herstory”
Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project was founded by Venerable Candā in 2016 at the request of her teacher Ajahn Brahm, who serves as Spiritual Adviser, and was registered as a charity in April 2017. Our main objective is to promote the teachings and practices of Early Buddhism leading to full awakening, for the benefit of many.
For the past decade, we’ve nurtured this aim by organising retreats and talks at venues such as retreat centres, Quaker meeting houses, hotels and community halls, in the UK and elsewhere.
Thanks to the generous support of Buddhists throughout the world who understand the crucial role female renunciants play in living and expounding the teachings of the Buddha, we were able to establish our Anukampa Grove residence for bhikkhunis in 2024.
As the first bhikkhuni residence in the UK, Anukampa Grove is taking a monumental step towards restoring gender equity in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as bhikkhunis now have somewhere to live and practice the high ethical code laid down for them by the Buddha.
Recollecting
milestones
2016
Ven. Candā starts teaching and developing a network of Buddhist supporters in the UK, relying on the generosity of lay people who offer their homes for a few days at a time. With dear friend Aminah, she organises a teaching programme for Ajahn Brahm that reaches over 1,000 people. An anonymous supporter donates several hundred thousand pounds, making Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project viable.
2017
After enormous efforts from our trustees, Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project registers as a UK religious and educational charity with the dual aim of spreading Early Buddhism and developing a monastic residence for women to live and practice as bhikkhunis. Our charity registration number is 1172570.
2018
Our first 8-day residential retreats with Ajahn Brahmali and Ajahn Brahm in England are held, with over 130 participants between each.
2019
We rent our first temporary residence for bhikkhunis in central Oxford, the “City of Dreaming Spires.”
2022
A purchased townhouse in Iffley Village, Oxford becomes our first home for bhikkhunis in the UK. It is soon obvious that other women with monastic aspirations wish to join, and a larger place will be needed in the near future. Fundraising efforts consequentially increase.
2024
We move from our first townhouse into a larger, more secluded property in the woodland hamlet of Boars Hill, a 15-minute drive from Oxford. With this suitable residence for bhikkhunis, we can now give women the opportunity to live and practice as fully ordained female monastics, completely supported by Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project for their requisite needs.
How to support us
If you would like to help us continue spreading the teachings, support the running costs at Anukampa Grove and provide requisites to the resident monastics, please see our donations page.