Thanissara started Buddhist practice in the Burmese school in 1975. She was inspired to ordain after meeting Ajahn Chah and spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun, where she was a founding member of Chithurst Monastery and Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the UK. She has facilitated meditation retreats internationally the last 30 years, has an MA in Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy Practice from Middlesex University & the Karuna Institute in the UK, and is a core teacher at IMS. With Kittisaro, she co-founded Dharmagiri Insight Meditation Centre and helped initiate and support a number of HIV/Aids response projects in South Africa. She has written several books, including two poetry books. Her latest book is Time To Stand Up, An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth.
