In 2004 I was deeply unhappy and had run out of options for how to deal with that, so in desperation I found myself at the London Buddhist Centre (LBC) learning how to meditate. Right from the start I had an intuition that there was something precious available there, though I couldn't have said why I felt that because I struggled with meditation, and in fact I still do! Over the subsequent years I became more and more drawn to the teachings of the Buddha as the only path I had encountered that really made sense of what it means to be human, what it means to suffer and how to move beyond that. I began teaching meditation in 2009 and am now regularly involved in teaching at both the LBC and the North London Buddhist Centre. I currently live around the corner from the LBC, in a community of 6 Buddhist practitioners (plus one elderly cat!).
When I joined the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2018 I was given the name Suvarnajyoti, meaning "She who is a golden light". I was ordained by Maitrivajri who had been ordained by Ratnasuri - one of the pioneers who built Taraloka for the generations of women since then. I therefore feel a special and deep connection to the magical space that is Taraloka and very much look forward to carrying the torch of my lineage forward by joining the team of Taraloka guest teachers whenever I have the opportunity to do so.