Venerable (Ajahn) Candā encountered the Dhamma in 1996, in India. She lived in India, Nepal and other parts of Asia for the best part of thirteen years, meditating and serving on scores of vipassana retreats in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, before ordaining in Myanmar in 2006, where she lived a further four years with her preceptor Sayadaw U Pannajota. Deeply inspired by a chance meeting with Ajahn Brahm through some of his recorded early Dhamma talks, she felt compelled to move to Australia in 2012 and seek him out as her meditation teacher and mentor.

In April 2014, she received full (bhikkhuni) ordination at Dhammasara Monastery, with Ayya Santini as preceptor and confirmed by the Bhikkhu Sangha of Bodhinyana Monastery, with Ajahn Brahm and Brahmali playing key roles. In 2016, she and Ajahn Brahm established Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project, a UK charity committed to spreading the Buddha's teachings and developing Britain's first monastery for women aspiring to bhikkhuni ordination - an opportunity previously denied to women in the UK. After many years living at kind supporters' homes, whilst organising retreats for Ajahn Brahm and serving a growing online community, Ven Canda and the charity acquired a spacious, peaceful property in rural Oxfordshire to become "Anukampa Grove Bhikkhuni Monastery," a female monastic residence for the Bhikkhuni Sangha. Ven Canda has been residing there since March, 2024.

As a meditation teacher, Ven Canda is known for her warmth and inclusivity and receives numerous invitations to lead retreats around the world. Her style is engaging, compassionate and richly informed by the Early Buddhist Texts. She emphasises right view, kindness and letting go as wise perspectives in meditation. She is passionate about inclusivity and helping people integrate meditation into their lives through the holistic, empowering practice of the Noble Eightfold Path.

In addition to leading retreats, serving Anukampa's online community and running Anukampa Grove, Ven Canda is committed to spending three to four months a year in silent meditation. Her aspiration is to realise full Enlightenment whilst serving others. Central to this is creating a diverse and welcoming Buddhist community, and supportive conditions that enable female renunciants to flourish.