Ajahn Cunda
Bhante Cunda was born on 28 January 1976 in Malaysia. His father got a job in the mines on Christmas Island and he was joined by his family over time. Kim Yee Chan, as he was known then, moved over in 1980. Then he started spending his time between Christmas Island and Perth. At the age of 23, Kim Yee came across Buddhism on the island and found some recorded tapes with Ajahn Brahm’s meditation instructions (Ajahn Brahm had visited a few years before). He subsequently visited Bodhinyana Monastery a few months later for the first time. He then asked his parents for permission to ordain, but they did not oblige. So, he patiently waited 10 years, while visiting the monastery frequently. During that time, he worked as a mechanic in the mines, and ran a workshop together with a friend for some years. He soon became an asset in the monastery as their “monk-anic”, maintaining the Bodhinyana fleet of eight road and work vehicles. After 11 years, he made another attempt to ask his parents to go forth. “No” was the answer again. So, he asked what would happen, if he asked again 10 years down the track. “Never, when we are still alive” they answered. He was keen to ordain and since waiting would not make things better, he went ahead anyway and joined the Bodhinyana community in 2008. His family has since accepted his decision, as they can see the positive changes in him.