Born in Canada, Ven. Sona's background as a layperson was in classical guitar performance. His encounter with Buddhist wisdom as a young man initiated a spiritual journey that led him to become a lay hermit for several years. He subsequently ordained as a Theravada monk under Ven. Gunaratana, at the Bhavana Society in West Virginia, where his first years of training took place.  Ven. Sona further trained for over three years at Ajahn Chah's forest monasteries in northeast Thailand, particularly Wat Pah Nanachat. Upon his return to Canada in 1994, he founded the first 'Birken Forest Monastery' near Pemberton, B.C.  As its spiritual guide, Ajahn ("teacher") Sona has led the monastery through each stage of its growth.  In 2001, Ajahn Sona established Birken (or, 'Sītavana', 'cool forest') to its final location just south of Kamloops, B.C.

Ven. Sona has a great deal of experience leading meditation retreats and lecturing on Buddhist meditation and practice, both in Canada and abroad. His teachings combine tried-and-true Buddhist wisdom with modern commonsense.

Ven. Bhikkhu Pavaro

Ven. Pavaro began his monastic training at Birken in 2001. He arrived at the beginning of the construction phase of the monastery from a career as an academic in Calgary, with chainsaws and 2x6s replacing lecture preparation. Over this time he has continued to deepen his understanding of the Dhamma and monastic life. Ven. Pavaro received his full ordination in November 2003, with Ajahn Pasanno, co-abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, as preceptor (upajjhaya), and Ajahn Sona as his teacher (acariya).

Note: Ven. Pavaro is currently away, training at Wat Pah Nanachat, in Thailand.

Ven. Subharo's interest in Buddhism began in 1996 with Goldstein & Kornfield's 'Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation'. He gravitated to Theravada via Religious Studies courses on Buddhism in university.  He went on his first of several ten-day 'Goenka retreats' in 2000. It was then that he knew he had to become a monk so that his life could centre around meditation. Before ordaining, he worked mainly as a Systems Administrator for various software corporations. His formal education is a four-year B.Sc of Computational Science from the University of Saskatchewan.

Maechee Naruemon ("Sister Mon")

Sister Mon is an Eight-Precept Maechee (Thai nun). She undertook monastic training under Ajahn Sona in 2001. After training at Birken for a number of years, Sister Mon returned to practice in her native country of Thailand for a couple of years.  She most recently returned to join Birken's monastic community in the spring of 2011.