Monastic Life

A treasury of information about the joys and challenges of life as a Buddhist monastic.

All Posts in Monastic Life

Living in Community

The ten benefits of monastic precepts

The ten reasons the Buddha gave for establishing the precepts cover benefiting the the individual…

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Venerable Damcho smiling and holding one of the texts.
Life at Sravasti Abbey

No small thing: Encouragement from China

The Abbey celebrates the arrival of 32 volumes of the annotated edition of the Nanshan…

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Full Ordination for Nuns

Bhikshunis propagate the Dharma

Venerable Master Jingliang of the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China talks about the…

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Room full of monastics present for the World Buddhist Bhikkhuni Association Signing Ceremony in 2016 in Taiwan.
Full Ordination for Nuns

The World Buddhist Bhikshuni Association is establis...

The world's first international organization formed by bhikshunis is established in November 2016.

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Bhikshuni Award 2016 Headlines
Full Ordination for Nuns

Presenting the first Global Awards for Outstanding C...

The first Global Awards for Outstanding Contributions of Commended Bhikshunis were awarded by Taiwan’s Chinese…

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Nuns at Jangchub Choeling, listening to a teaching.
Living in Community

Living in community as Dharma practice

A talk to Tibetan nuns about community living at Sravasti Abbey and how nuns can…

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Full Ordination for Nuns

The bhikshuni sangha in the West and its future

The current situation, progress and future outlook for Buddhist nuns in the West. The status…

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Group of monastics standing together.
Western Buddhist Monastic Gatherings

The 22nd Annual Western Buddhist Monastic Gathering

Venerable Thubten Chodron reports on the 22nd annual monastic gathering, which took place at Land…

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Group of geshemas seated together.
A Nun's Life

Congratulations to the first geshemas!

Photos of the first batch of Geshemas from Jangchub Choeling Nunnery, wearing the yellow dongka…

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Explore Monastic Life

Humility, transparency, and self-acceptance

Venerable Tenzin Tsepal reflects on the Exploring Monastic Life program and how it supports the…

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Explore Monastic Life

Reimagining Buddhist ethics in the world

Venerable Thubten Jampa shares the many ways that Westerners can practice ethics in their daily…

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Lay guests read the food offering prayer as monastics listen standing behind an alms bowl with food.
Monastic Life

The practice of generosity

Why Buddhist monastics do not work for a living and give the Dharma freely.

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