Buddhist Nuns/Monastic Life

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The Buddhist community includes monastics and lay people. Both are necessary for the preservation of Buddhism. However, monastics choose a life of vowed simplicity, a life directly related to the preservation and dissemination of the Dharma to benefit others. They are the core of that lifestyle that all Buddhist practitioners are committed to. In the articles here, Venerable Chodron shares with us the joys and difficulties of being a nun and the special challenges of being a Western Buddhist nun. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama notes, all Buddhist nuns have a unique role to play in the evolution of Buddhism where the universal principle of the equality of all human beings takes precedence. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be a monastic, you'll find these articles intriguing and stimulating.

In February, 1987, in Bodhgaya, India, for the first time in approximately 800 years, a bhikshuni sangha in India performed the Bhikshuni Posadha, the nuns' bimonthly purification and restoration of vows. The Buddha established that the bhikshuni sangha do this ceremony on the full moon and new moon days every month and required that a minimum of five fully ordained nuns be present. Because Buddhism had died out in India hundreds of years ago, the Bhikshuni Posadha had not been done in the land where the Buddha's teachings originated for many centuries. Fortunately, the lineage of fully ordination for women had been kept alive in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam.

(Click on photo for bigger picture.)

The first Sakyadhita -- "Daughters of Sakyamuni Buddha" -- conference was in Bodhgaya in February, 1987. This brought together more than ten bhikshunis -- most from Taiwand and the USA -- who could do the Bhikshuni Posadha, where this photo (above) was taken. In 1998, another historic event for the bhikshuni sangha occured in Bodhgaya. Under the auspicies of Fo Kwang Shan Temple, the bhikshuni ordination was once again given in India. (picture below)

The International Full Ordination Ceremony in Bodhgaya 1998

Ven. Chodron and friend at their Bhikshuni Ordination in Taiwan.

Ven. Chodron at her Bhikshuni Ordination in Taiwan, 1986.

Ven. Chodron at her Bhikshuni Ordination in Taiwan, 1987.

Growing Sangha in Sravasti Abbey

FIRST NUN TO ORDAIN AT SRAVASTI ABBEY

Jan Howell-Venerable Thubten Tarpa
http://www.sravastiabbey.org/dec06interview.html

20080503_Barbara's ordination_Thubten Chonyi

Contents:

General material
For Those Considering Monastic Ordination
Buddhist Nuns and Bhikshuni Ordination
Blossoms of the Dharma: Living as a Buddhist Nun
Western Buddhist Monastics
For information on nuns and women in Buddhism in European languages, please visit: www.sakyadhita-europe.org

[All Audio in mp3 format unless otherwise stated.]

General Articles, Transcripts & Audio

Relevance of Vinaya in modern circumstances by Ven. Jampa Tsedroen (pdf file)
The Value of a Disciplined Way of Life by HHDL
A Monastic's Mind - a Talk To New Sangha
The Purpose of Precepts - a Talk to New Sangha
Attachment makes the World Go 'Round
The International Full Ordination Ceremony in Bodhgaya
Renunciation Roundtables (pdf file)
Recommended Further Reading

Audio:

For Those Considering Monastic Ordination

Audio:

Buddhist Nuns and Bhikshuni Ordination

Introducing the Bhikshuni Ordination into the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition

The Present Status of the Bhikshuni Ordination
The Committee of Western Bhikshunis
A New Possibility: Introducing Full Ordination for Women into the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, March 06
Agenda for the Seminar on Bhikshuni Ordination Organized by the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration. (pdf file) This paper is a summary of much of the research done on the bhikshuni ordination by Geshe Thubten Jangchub of the DRC.
These are two papers circulated by the Department of Religion and Culture in February, 2006, concerning the possibility of introducing the bhikshuni ordination into the Tibetan traditions.
- Paper I (pdf file)
- Paper II (pdf file)
Research Regarding the Lineage of Bhikshuni Ordination, March 06. (pdf file) - this is a response by the Committee of Western Bhikshunis to the questions posed in the above two papers.
Establishing Full Ordination (Tibetan, pdf file) - this is a Tibetan translation of the Research above.
Conference on Gelongma Ordination Creates Remarkable Awareness by Bhikshuni Jampa Tsedroen
The First International Congress on Buddhist Women’s Role in the Sangha:

Ven. Chodron's report on the Conference
A Summary Report: Bhikshuni Vinaya and Ordination Lineages by Dr Alex Berzin
Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Bhikshuni Ordination in the Tibetan Tradition.
A Tibetan Precedent for Multi-tradition Ordination: Support for Giving Bhikshuni Ordination with a Dual Sangha of Mulasarvastivada Bhikshus and Dharmaguptaka Bhikshunis

Dark Matter by Bhikku Sujato (pdf file)
Interview of Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron by Andrea Miller, Buddhadharma Quarterly
The day after the conclusion of the conference on bhikshuni ordination in Hamburg in 2007, His Holiness the Dalai Lama called conference participants together again for a previously unplanned meeting to share some of his thoughts on where we should go from there. To listen to his talk, click here (mp3 file).

Equal Opportunity for Nuns: an interview with Ven. Tenzin Palmo
Bhiksunis in Theravada by Bhikkhu Sujato (pdf file)
Ordination of Nuns by Monks by Bhikkhu Sujato (pdf file)
Ordination: Sakyadhita’s Heritage from the Buddha,
Feb 06 by Bhikshuni Dhammananda
In Spirit: An Equal Chance at Enlightenment by Vasana Chinvarakorn: an article in Bangkok Post on Bhikkhuni Jampa Tsedroen and her dedication to seeking equality on behalf of female Buddhist practitioners.
Statements from His Holiness the Dalai Lama regarding the Bhikshuni Ordination: