Born in Kandy, Sri Lanka (the country’s second largest city) in 1967, Sujatha was the youngest of two children. As a child, he knew he wanted to become a Buddhist monk at a very early age. Initially, his parents (who were both Buddhists) were not entirely thrilled about the idea for their young son. However, Sujatha persevered and eventually persuaded them this was his true desire, and when he turned 11, his parents finally granted him permission to enter the monastery.

Soon afterwards, Sujatha entered the Subodharama International Monk Training Center in Kandy. This temple is a part of the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. Theravada is regarded among its practitioners as the lineage closest to the original form of Buddhism. It was brought to Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in 250 BCE, and is now widespread through many other Southeast Asian countries including India, Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Kampuchea (Cambodia). As a novice monk, Sujatha trained under the school’s ordination teacher, the Venerable Dhammawasa Thero.

Compared to their American counterparts, life for a young boy in a Buddhist monastery is quite rigidly structured. At Subodharama, the young monks were expected to rise at 4 a.m. and make tea for all the other members of the temple before beginning their chanting and meditation practice at 5 a.m. Only two meals a day were served at the temple: breakfast and a large lunch. After breakfast, the boys studied the Buddhist scriptures, followed by more chanting and study time. At 11 a.m., they showered and laundered their robes. Lunch was followed by five hours of study in the classroom, and at 5 p.m. it was time for a second round of temple cleaning. This was followed by more meditation and chanting, and then another round of study time. Bed-time for the young monks came at 9:30 or 10 p.m.

In addition to their study and meditation, the young monks were also expected to go into town and do alms collections. For this, they would carry bowls into which the townspeople donated food for the temple.

Sujatha says the most important thing he learned at the monastery was "how to get along successfully with other people anywhere in the world." As a result of the rigorous training he completed in the monastery, he believes it is "much easier to handle other people (and their various issues and personalities) when you’ve learned how to handle your own."

Following his graduation, Sujatha served as a teacher at Subodharama for 2 years. In 1993, he left Sri Lanka for Brisbane, Australia, where he taught meditation and Buddhism at the Sri Lankarama Buddhist Monastery. Four years later, he was asked by one of his former teachers, the Venerable Mudtha Thero, to join him in the United States. Sujatha accepted the invitation and soon relocated to the Midwest, where he helped establish the Great Lakes Buddhist Vihara in Southfield, Michigan.

After obtaining his permanent residency in the US five years later, Sujatha decided it was time to do something different. Although he enjoyed spending time with the Sri Lankan community in the US, he wanted to do something to help his fellow Americans, who always seemed "vaguely dissatisfied despite their many possessions and high standard of living" and to be "constantly striving after the next best thing."

At this point, Sujatha began sending out exploratory emails and got in touch with several of the Unitarian Churches in the US. In particular, he began communicating with the Congregational Unitarian Church of Woodstock, who invited him to visit McHenry County. When he came to visit IL, Sujatha also toured McHenry County College and said he felt “really good and happy” there. He decided McHenry County was a good place for him to be, and moved here not long afterwards.

After enrolling as a student at McHenry County College (MCC), where Sujatha is currently pursuing a degree in psychology, he was approached by Rev. Dan Larsen of the Unitarian Church in Woodstock to start a meditation class. Sujatha agreed, and in January of 2003 he began teaching meditation classes both at MCC and at the church in Woodstock, and thus the Blue Lotus Temple was born.

Sujatha believes his job here in McHenry County is not only teaching meditation, but also "teaching people how to be happy." He says his primary goal is to help people apply the teachings of Buddhism into their everyday lives. According to Sujatha, "the core essence of all the Buddhist teachings is the same; but how things are done, and the ways people are guided, is different." To illustrate this with an analogy, he explains, "We can get into the ocean in different ways, or from different places, but it’s still the same ocean."

Sujatha says that he "believes in change, rather than tradition," particularly when dealing with life in our fast-paced Western society. His approach to teaching is easy-going rather than dogmatic, and he makes every attempt to explain things to an American audience so that even absolute beginners can understand how to practice meditation, and how to apply the spiritual teachings to their own daily lives.

"I hope to help people here by teaching them to see their jobs and work as a form of spiritual practice," he says. "Then they can learn to enjoy whatever they are doing in the moment, instead of always worrying about the future or the past. That’s the most important thing."

Sujatha further explains "for monks, meditation is a very different practice than for regular people living in a community". Since monks spend most of their time in a cloistered environment away from the rest of society, they do not face many of the same challenges as other people who must contend with family and relationship stresses, along with the intense pressures that career and daily life often entail.

Fortunately for Westerners, Sujatha maintains that one’s daily life can become an excellent form of meditation, if you can learn to view your whole life as a form of spiritual practice. In this way, whenever we are faced with difficult situations in our daily lives, we can learn to retrain our minds and become "mindful" of our feelings and emotions, and learn to practice kindness, compassion, and patience instead of anger, vengefulness, and intolerance. In this way, not only do we become more peaceful, ourselves, but we also become more positive influences on the world around us.

As the spiritual leader of the Blue Lotus Temple, Sujatha believes he is here to "prepare the field for other people, who — when they achieve happiness — will hopefully plant the seeds and do the rest." He is also hopeful that members of the group will be able to create the possibilities for establishing a permanent home for the Blue Lotus Temple in McHenry County. Meanwhile, the Congregational Unitarian Church of Woodstock has been extremely kind in sharing their space for the Temple's practice.

Sujatha says the biggest challenge he faces here in the US is in learning to communicate clearly with such a different culture from the one in which he was raised. "I can use a word that means one thing in my culture, and it might mean something completely different here in the US. So communication can be tough at times," he admits. "But at this point, I feel like I now understand about 80% of US culture, so things are getting much better!"

There is still the occasional culture clash. For example, at a meditation retreat he hosted in Harvard, IL, Sujatha was approached by two college students during a break. The young women expressed their surprise at seeing Sujatha wearing a watch, along with the traditional saffron robe. Quite surprised by their questions, himself, Sujatha chuckled and gently explained that the watch was a gift from his mother back in Sri Lanka, and that he likes to wear it to remind him of her. The students then explained that their confusion was most likely based on erroneous impressions of how a Catholic monk (or nun) is expected to behave, and that these ideas may have biased their view of Sujatha as a Buddhist monk. Since there aren’t that many Buddhist monks currently residing in the US, the students realized they didn’t have any frame of reference for dealing with one. This encounter caused Sujatha to consider some further cross-cultural issues. "I have a sense that some [American] people might worry that it would be difficult to interact with a Buddhist monk," he admits. So to help overcome that issue, Sujatha tries to keep his teaching style very "informal and easy going." Furthermore, he says he also always tries to "respect the US’s own culture first and foremost, and then teach meditation in a way that people here can better understand."

"Bhante Sujatha and I became monks under the same teacher and in the same place, called Subodharama Monastery. Bhante Sujatha is also one of my teachers. In 2007, I was sponsored by Bhante Sujatha and I moved to the United States. Before coming to Blue Lotus Temple, I spent a couple of months in Michigan at the Great Lakes Buddhist Vihara. Being here is a great opportunity for me to work with Westerners, and I also wish to share my Dhamma knowledge with you as much as possible.

When I asked for permission to become a monk, my mom didn’t like it. Finally, due to my influence, she gave me permission. At first, I missed my family so much, but as time passed, I became accustomed to it. I became a monk at the age of 11 in 1993 and I got my higher ordination in 2003. I studied Colonial Studies as monks are supposed to do, and after I finished my monastic studies, I completed my Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. In 2004, I received my Master of Arts (MA) degree from the Buddhist and Pali University in Sri Lanka.

Living as a monk was a truly hard time for me, though I enjoyed the monastic life. I worked with more than 60 brother monks. We were very close to each other and took care of each other. When we become monks, we don’t have that much of a relationship with our parents, brothers, and sisters, so my teacher assumed the parental role, and he is the greatest person I have ever met in my life. He is very kind, and took care of us as children. My elder brother monks helped me with my studies and they even washed my robes; they were so nice to me. I was lucky enough to have met such nice brothers.

Anyway, now I am happy to be here. I like to see things from beyond the traditional concepts. The Buddhist teachings help me with that, as I am not a person who already knows everything. I just have knowledge from education, but I don’t have that much experience through my life. I think that Enlightenment is the supreme experience we can ever achieve in our lives—and the hardest thing. Because it is hard, people think they can’t achieve it. But hard doesn’t mean can’t. Dhamma is not for the next life, it is just for this moment. I believe everybody has the potential for that, but it is covered by ignorance. We can practice the Dhamma, discuss the Dhamma, and finally we may all attain peaceful (Nirvana) Enlightenment."

— Bhante Sanyatha

Bhante Samita was born in Sri Lanka and became a novice monk when he was 14. After having his seven year monastic training he received his full ordination on 1999. He was served as Deputy Abbot of Sanghabodhi Buddhist Temple and was assistance lecture of Viddiyavasa monks training institute in Sri Lanka. He was in Singapore, and Malaysia shares his Dhamma experience also. He moved to Great Lakes Buddhist Vihara in Michigan 2006 and served there 2 years. He loves to work with children.

Bhante Punna is a scholar Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka where he was ordained as a monk in 1983. He has 4 years experience teaching at the monks' college in Sri Lanka. He worked for 4 years in Sri Lankaramya Buddhist Monastery in Brisbane, Australia as a religious advisor. After Australia, Bhante Punna went to Singapore and worked 1 year as a resident monk and teacher at the Singapore Buddhist mission. In addition, he has traveled to Japan and conducted teaching programs in Tokyo. He was then invited to the United States and settled in Michigan, at the Great Lakes Buddhist Vihara, where he was invited to conduct several meditation sessions. Some interested people at that workshop decided to start a global Dhamma conference through internet, which Bhante Punna was a part of. He also visited Triple Gem of Northern Minnesota and participated in several religious ceremonies. At the same time, he was invited to Hilda Jayawardanaraya Buddhist temple in Ottawa, Canada where he spent some months, and performed his service under the guidance of Bhante Muditha. Finally he came to Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple. Bhante Sujatha assigned him to Blue Lotus Insight Meditation Center in Las Vegas, NV. He is now an abbot of the Blue Lotus Las Vegas and serving the community. Bhante Punna also has a strong commitment to further his studies in philosophy and religious studies at University level.

Bhante Rahula was born in Sri Lanka and became a novice monk when was 12. After having his 8 year monastic training, he received his full ordination in 1999 and completed his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree at the University of Jayawardanapura in Sri Lanka. He served as Deputy Abbot of Sudharshanaramaya Buddhist Temple in Sri Lanka. He taught in Singapore and Malaysia, where he shared his Dharma experiences. He moved to the United States in 2007. He trained under Bhante Sujatha for 6 months and was then assigned by Bhante Sujatha as abbot of the new Blue Lotus Temple branch, Blue Lotus Dharma Grove in Peoria, IL.

Ven. Vimala was raised as a fundamentalist Christian in Houston. She renounced organized religion at age 17. Instead, life became one experiment in truth after the next. After college, she moved to California, where she met her first husband and encountered Eckankar, a small religious movement founded in 1965 by author Paul Twitchell. Central to Eckankar's teaching is the belief that the soul can leave the body at will.

Suspicious about the organization's leadership, Franklin separated from it about the same time she separated from her first husband. She moved to Japan to teach English and first encountered Buddhism, though it held no appeal.

Born Judy Franklin, she has been devoted to the quest for truth. Her circuitous journey has led her through churches, newsrooms, marriage, motherhood, divorce and cancer. She knew she had reached her destination when she attended a Tibetan Buddhist retreat 13 years ago.

The following year, she attended the Tibetan Buddhist retreat in Milwaukee and took vows as a practitioner within days. She continued to drive the distance for eight years. Meditation opened her eyes to the sad reality that her 12-year marriage had to end.

Franklin credits her fundamentalist background to drawing her toward Theravada teachings. But it was the teaching of Theravada Buddhism that there are 84,000 truths in the universe that appealed to her most of all. Buddhism being only one truth.

She consulted her teacher, Sujatha Bhante of Crystal Lake, who explained that motherhood was no obstacle. In fact, the first Buddhist nun was the woman who had raised the Buddha himself.

That, she said, prepares her even more for full ordination. The 311 vows required for full ordination govern relating with and respecting others and their spiritual paths.

At ordination, Bhante named her Vimala, or clarity. She is currently in Chicago at a temple.

Sangha Patron: Bhante Sujatha

President: Glen Ebey

Vice President: Guy Spinelli

Secretary: Nancy Schwab

Treasurer: Bill Reddy

Directors: Brian Waspi, Kristin Hannah, Julie Gibson