Ayyā Soma is cofounder, with Bhante (Ayya) Suddhāso, of Empty Cloud Monastery in New Jersey (USA). Ayyā Soma grew up in Italy and moved to New York for her career. While she had encountered the Buddha’s teachings previously, meeting Bhante Suddhāso became a turning point. As a lay woman she helped start Buddhist Insights in New York City and eventually followed her heart to ordain as a monastic. In recent years, family circumstances took her back to Italy part-time, where she discovered a hunger for the Dharma and the need for a monastery there, too. Ayyā Soma and others are now working to meet a June 2024 deadline to purchase an ancient forested property in southern Italy to create Empty Cloud Italia monastery.
AfB president Wren Withers interviewed Ayyā Soma in Spring 2024.
Alliance for Bhikkhunis (AfB): What initially brought you to New York City?
Ayyā Soma: I used to work in fashion and had lived in Milan and London. New York was a place I hadn’t yet been on the “fashion path,” so I moved there about 15 years ago. Back then I had already been introduced to the teachings of the Buddha, but I was still a “greed” type. I remember thinking, “Yes, there is suffering, but there are lots of good things. I’m sure I’ll be happy if I accomplish A-B-C…” Yet after a whole alphabet of accomplishments, I was still not satisfied, not fully happy. […]
Spring 2024 Interview with Ayya Soma
Posted: May 11, 2024 by Alliance Bhikkhunis
Ayyā Soma is cofounder, with Bhante (Ayya) Suddhāso, of Empty Cloud Monastery in New Jersey (USA). Ayyā Soma grew up in Italy and moved to New York for her career. While she had encountered the Buddha’s teachings previously, meeting Bhante Suddhāso became a turning point. As a lay woman she helped start Buddhist Insights in New York City and eventually followed her heart to ordain as a monastic. In recent years, family circumstances took her back to Italy part-time, where she discovered a hunger for the Dharma and the need for a monastery there, too. Ayyā Soma and others are now working to meet a June 2024 deadline to purchase an ancient forested property in southern Italy to create Empty Cloud Italia monastery.
AfB president Wren Withers interviewed Ayyā Soma in Spring 2024.
Alliance for Bhikkhunis (AfB): What initially brought you to New York City?
Ayyā Soma: I used to work in fashion and had lived in Milan and London. New York was a place I hadn’t yet been on the “fashion path,” so I moved there about 15 years ago. Back then I had already been introduced to the teachings of the Buddha, but I was still a “greed” type. I remember thinking, “Yes, there is suffering, but there are lots of good things. I’m sure I’ll be happy if I accomplish A-B-C…” Yet after a whole alphabet of accomplishments, I was still not satisfied, not fully happy. […]
Category: Interview