Ajahn Sundarā was born in France in 1946. She studied dance in England and France. After working for a few years as a dancer and teacher of contemporary dance, she had the opportunity while living and studying in England to attend a talk and later a retreat led by Ajahn Sumedho. His teachings and experience of the monastic way of life in the Forest tradition impressed her deeply. Before long this led her to visit to Chithurst Monastery, where in 1979 she asked to join the monastic community as one of the first four women novices. In 1983 she received ordination as a sīladhāra, with Ajahn Sumedho as her preceptor. After spending five years at Chithurst Monastery she went to live at Amaravati Monastery, where she took part in establishing the nuns’ community.

Ajahn Sundarā spent the three years from 1995 until 1998 deepening her practice, mostly in forest monasteries in Thailand. In 2000, after spending a year as the senior incumbent of the nuns' community at the Devon vihāra, she went to live for some years at Abhayagiri Monastery in California. She returned to Amaravati in 2004 and has been senior nun here since then.

Ajahn Sundarā is interested in exploring ways of practising, sustaining and integrating Buddhist teachings in Western culture. Since the late eighties, she has taught and led meditation retreats worldwide.

Ajahn Cittapālā (Jutta Richter) was born in Germany in 1949. She worked for nearly twenty years as a teacher and artist in Hamburg. In 1990/91 she visited Indonesia to study awareness movement, a practice which connected her more and more with the Buddhist teachings. In 1994, overcoming her resistance to visiting a monastery, she followed a retreat with Luang Por Sumedho at Amaravati. His teachings on 'the way it is' were so supportive that she felt drawn to Amaravati, where she has been living since 1996. In 1999 she received ordination as a sīladhāra.

Ajahn Cittapālā now supports the sangha at Amaravati, where until recently she was involved with leading the family activities. She is still continuing to lead the Creative Weekends for adults. During these weekends, she is interested in exploring ways of practice which combine formal meditation with intuitive activities such as painting, play and movement as means of liberating insight. She uses her training in Source Breathwork, as a skilful means of using the breath to become aware and let go of unconscious holding patterns that are based on negative beliefs and reactions acquired during early childhood. She has integrated this into her own practice and teachings, focusing on cultivating loving awareness for the body and breath as gateways to a deeper understanding of how suffering arises and ceases and who we are and are not.

After a year on sabbatical, with visits, teachings and times of solitary retreat at different places in Thailand, Indonesia, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, Ajahn Cittapālā returned to live at Amaravati in November 2014.

Ajahn Tejasā (Crystal Tan Hankiang) was born in Singapore in 1971. She graduated in the UK from the University of Buckingham in accounting. Her first interest in Buddhism came through the teaching of the Pure Land in Australia.  After reading a book of Ajahn Chah that her teacher had given to her she became interested in the vipassana practice. She spent a year at Cittaviveka Monastery to explore the teaching and practice of Dhamma of the Ajahn Chah tradition. She then decided to become an Anagārikā and in 2016 she received the Going-Forth (Pabbajjā) as a Sīladharā, with Luang Por Amaro as preceptor.

Sister Jayavīrā was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She learned about the Buddha’s teaching through her father when she was young. She began practising Buddhism and meditation more seriously after she finished her training as a Chartered Accountant. She moved to Dublin in 2007 to further her career and has been visiting Amaravati and Chithurst as a regular guest since 2009. She decided to spend more time on her spiritual practice and moved from Dublin to stay in Amaravati in 2016. She took her anagārikā precepts in November 2016 and received the Going Forth (Pabbajjā) as a Sīladharā with Luang Por Amaro as preceptor in July 2019.

Born 1973 near Munich, Germany. She became seriously interested with Buddhism and meditation during her study time (mass media). In the beginning and for many more years she benefited mostly from the teachings of German Bhikkhunis. During a stay in Thailand she gained much confidence and inspiration in the Ajahn Chah Tradition. Therefore she was happy to discover the branch monasteries in Switzerland and the UK. In December 2019 she took the 8 precepts as an Anagārikā. She received pabbajjā as a Sīladharā in May 2022 with Luang Por Amaro as Preceptor.

Born in Hungary, in 1987.
Worked as a freelance caricature artist for more than 10 years. She started to meditate in 2016 and realized how the teachings of the Buddha changed her life in a positive way. She had been part of engaged Buddhist groups in Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition and visited the evening classes of the Dharma Gate Buddhist College in Budapest. The Thai Forest Tradition's approach – especially the teachings of Ajahn Chah - resonated with her on a really deep level. She spent some time in the retreat center of Bajna to offer help in the “to-be theravada monastery” in Hungary. After attending to several meditation retreats in different traditions she realized that to really live a life of renunciation and constant letting go - to give all her time to study the mind - became so important that after a short visit to ABM and CBM monasteries in 2018, she decided to ask for the anagarikaa training.

She took the eight precepts in August 2019 and received pabbajjā as a Sīladharā in November 2022 with Luang Por Amaro as Preceptor.

Sister Ñāṇesī (USA) took the eight precepts in May 2022, and received pabbajjā as a Sīladharā in February 2025.