About Us

Carolina Buddhist Vihāra is a temple and monastery in South Carolina, USA. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to offering teachings of the Buddha, primarily by bringing Theravada Buddhist nuns and monks to Greenville. “Theravāda” refers to the oldest surviving branch of Buddhism, the highly traditional school found in countries such as Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. 

Carolina Buddhist Vihāra provides a home in a quiet neighborhood in Mauldin for one or two monastics at a time. They live in accordance with the ancient Vinaya strict code of monastic discipline. The monks divide their time each day between personal development in seclusion and offering services to the general public.

A very nice history of the Vihāra can be found here. We recommend that you review our Visitor Etiquette page prior to your visit.

Ayya Sudinna

A Sri Lankan by birth, Bhikkhuni Sudinna was ordained as a samaneri in 1999 by Bhante Gunaratana at the Bhavana Society. She received the higher ordination (Upasampada) in 2002 in Sri Lanka. In lay life, Ayya Sudinna served as a teacher in Government schools and as a lecturer in English at the Government Teachers Training College, Maharagama, and later under the Higher Education Ministry in Sri Lanka. She has an honours degree in English and an M.A. in Buddhist philosophy. She is the author of three children’s story books titled Delightful Tales, Precious Tales I, and Precious Tales II.