Santacitta Bhikkhuni, born Sylvia Helga Bayer in Austria, grew up in a hotel environment and traveled extensively with her family. After hotel management school and studies in cultural anthropology in Vienna, she worked in theatre before her travels to Thailand sparked an interest in Buddhism. Following personal losses, she visited Wat Suan Mokkh and learned to meditate. After a brief marriage and further experiences in Thailand, she moved to Amaravati monastery in England, where she became an anagarika and later a siladhara named Santacitta.
Becoming increasingly aware of gender limitations in the monastery, she later traveled and explored Tibetan Buddhism. In 2011, she and a fellow nun left the Ajahn Chah lineage and were ordained as bhikkhunis. They established Aloka Vihara forest monastery in California, later founding the Aloka Earth Room, focusing on Dharma, ecology, and art.
