Our Vision:
Sacred Mountain Sangha (SMS) brings the wisdom of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism and the devotional Kuan Yin Dharma practices into global, inter-faith partnerships with equitable, diverse organizations and teachers to cultivate ecological awareness, sacred activism, and mutual belonging within the web of life. May these practices ignite liberation and joy for all beings.
Our Values:
Stewardship: Inspired by the lineages of the Forest School of Ajahn Chah and the Kuan Yin Dharmas of Master Hua, we cherish and preserve the Dharma through embodying practice and teachings.
Justice: We respect the sacred web of life and are committed to social justice, inclusion, equity, accessibility, protection of nature, and systemic transformation.
Sacredness: We reclaim the sacred through integrating heart, mind and body, and respectfully learning from
mystical wisdom traditions, including honoring and re-integrating the Sacred Feminine.
Community: We honor the interconnectedness of all beings through caring for the Sangha and nurturing sacred kinship.
Integrity: We uphold the Triple Jewel (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) by orienting our lives to generosity, ethics, courage, compassion, service and devotion.
Collaboration: We lead collaboratively and center a diversity of voices and practices.
"Sacred Mountain Sangha events are embracing, unique, powerful, while opening into a depth of peace and compassion. They return me to my own embodied heart and presence."
-- JC
Founders: Kittisaro & Thanissara
Kittisaro, from Tennessee, graduated from Princeton as a Rhodes Scholar before ordaining with the Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah in 1976. He was a monk for 15 years, during that time helped found several monasteries in the UK. Since disrobing, he has taught internationally. Kittisaro also studied and practiced Chan and Pure Land for 35 years informed by the Chinese school of Master Hua, completing two-year-long silent self-retreats.
Thanissara was inspired to ordain after meeting Ajahn Chah after practising in the U Ba Khin school. She spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun and was a founding member of Chithurst and Amaravati Buddhist Monasteries in the UK. She has led in-depth meditation retreats for the last 30 years and has an MA in Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy Practice. She has authored several books, including poetry books, her latest book is Time to Stand Up.
Kittisaro & Thanissara co-founded Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat and helped initiate and support a number of HIV/Aids response projects in South Africa. They also co-wrote Listening to the Heart, A Journey into Engaged Buddhism. They co-founded Sacred Mountain Sangha Non Profit in California in 2017 and currently reside in Sebastopol. They are also on the Spirit Rock Teacher Council.
