Who are we?

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The management of Stichting De Boeddhawierde:

  • Annabelle Katouw

    Annabelle

    Annabelle loves dancing, cooking and meditating. She was involved with the Boeddhawierde from its very beginning. She helped with building it and later she lived there for almost two years. She is a care-worker and at the moment lives in The Hague.


  • Antonnie Aue

    Antonnie

    Antonnie lived in the Boeddhawierde for more than two years, and helped with building it. Among many other things, he sewed the curtains for the chambrettes in the loft. He used to work as a cook, and still enjoys cooking on retreats. Later he studied philosophy and at the moment he is training to be a philosophy teacher.


  • Jannike Oltmans

    Jannike

    Was born in bred in Groningen but in 2005 love made her move to Amsterdam, where she came into contact with the sangha and meditation. Although she enjoys living in Amsterdam, she also likes to come ‘home’ to Groningen. She works as a project manager in youth care and is mother to two sons.


  • Mariëtta Vasen

    Mariëtta

    In the past years Mariëtta has explored Buddhism through Triratna and connected more and more with the Dharma. She recently became ‘mitra’. She works as a behaviour specialist in disability care. She has lived a few years in Scotland and New Zealand. In her free time she likes to travel together with her partner Michael. 


  • Michael Fichtner

    Michael

    Michael works in disability care, at the moment he is doing an internship as a behaviour specialist. Originially from Germany Michael has travelled and lived in South-Africa, India, Scotland and New Zealand. At the moment he calls Usquert his home. In his free time he travels with his partner Mariëtta and takes beautiful pictures of the landscapes they encounter.


  • Parina van de Berg

    Parina

    Parina lives in Amsterdam, and since the beginning of 2019 has been chairman of Buddhist Center Amsterdam, a responsibility in which she connects her creativity and playfulness with clarity and awareness. Being on retreat and leading retreats are inextricably linked to her life: the simplicity, focus, stillness, being away from the busy city with its distractions are desperately needed from time to time.


The residents of the Boeddhawierde:

  • Mariëtta Vasen

    Mariëtta

    In the past years Mariëtta has explored Buddhism through Triratna and connected more and more with the Dharma. She recently became ‘mitra’. She works as a behaviour specialist in disability care. She has lived a few years in Scotland and New Zealand. In her free time she likes to travel together with her partner Michael. 


  • Michael Fichtner

    Michael

    Michael works in disability care, at the moment he is doing an internship as a behaviour specialist. Originially from Germany Michael has travelled and lived in South-Africa, India, Scotland and New Zealand. At the moment he calls Usquert his home. In his free time he travels with his partner Mariëtta and takes beautiful pictures of the landscapes they encounter.


  • Siddhi en Ratna

    Siddhi en Ratna

    Siddhi and Ratna are brother and sister and grew up in the Boeddhawierde. Siddhi is extremely intelligent for a cat, he opens the cat flap from the wrong side, investigates everything, and you meet him in unexpected places. Ratna likes to sit in front of the window and meditate, and likes to fall asleep at the feet of the Buddha, just like us.


  • Silavadin

    Silavadin

    Silavadin (Meynard Vasen) was a care-worker for people with special needs in Steiner communities for many years, then a drama teacher, and after that he studied philosophy. He likes to compare buddhism with western philosophy. He lived four years in a retreat centre in Wales, Vajraloka, from where he became a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order. With the help of many people he built the Boeddhawierde in Usquert.


Who leads the retreats:

  • Akasasuri

    Akasasuri (Akasa Rottier)

    Since she encountered Buddhism in 1985 she can’t imagine living without it. She lived 16 years in various retreat centres in the UK, and came back to Holland in 2003. The teaching of the Buddha continues to surprise her in its simplicity and depth: change is possible. Wonderful! We can use some of that on our planet.


  • Amritapurna

    Amritapurna studied literature in the Netherlands, Spain and Mexico. She teaches Spanish in Groningen. In 1997 she encoutered Buddhism in Mexico City and since then the teachings of the Buddha have a place in her heart. In 2008 she entered the Triratna Order. These days she is active in de sangha’s of the Netherlands and Spain.


  • Anisitta

    anissita

    Was born in 1961 not far from Rotterdam, Netherlands. During his study philosophy he came in contact with Buddhism and he is practicing it since then, with a special interest in meditation. He has been living in Essen, Germany, for several decades, with his wife and three children. Focus of his practice is the cultivation of patience and generosity.


  • Gerda Blees

    Gerda

    Gerda is a writer and visual artist. She has been practicing Buddhism for ten years with the Triratna movement. Her work and practice often deal with different ways in which we can deal with grief and other sources of suffering. Writing and making art are important ways for her to gain insight.


  • Irene de Jong

    Irene

    Irene is a self-taught artist from the Netherlands, based in England. From her studio in Cambridge, she runs Makings and Musings, a platform that inspires adults worldwide to be creative. Irene teaches both online and in-person, helping her students paint and draw more freely while letting go of perfectionism.


  • Jayachitta

    Jayachitta

    Has followed a Buddhist practice since 1981 and a member of the Order since 1990. She has lived and worked with other Buddhists for a lot of that time. 

    Jayachitta has a deep love of performance and the infinity of human expression. Improvisation, movement and exploring the clown are very important to her as additional approaches to the spiritual life, as they are based in physical expression and play. She sees them as an interactive way of entering and exploring the space that one discovers in meditation. It’s in that spirit of play that we can discover who we are and can be.

    For more information please see: https://www.playofnow.com/


  • Silavadin

    Silavadin

    Silavadin (Meynard Vasen) was a care-worker for people with special needs in Steiner communities for many years, then a drama teacher, and after that he studied philosophy. He likes to compare buddhism with western philosophy. He lived four years in a retreat centre in Wales, Vajraloka, from where he became a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order. With the help of many people he built the Boeddhawierde in Usquert.


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