Bhikkhunī
27
MENTIONS
10
EPISODES
7
PODCASTS
Search complete. 27 mentions across 10 episodes found for "Bhikkhunī".
Nov 5, 2026
Ajahn NisabhoHOST
Wat Pananachat, Wat Map John, both in Thailand, really good.
Ajahn NisabhoHOST
And then for women, it's obviously a lot more difficult right now as the Bhikkhuni song in the Theravada is just beginning again.
Ajahn NisabhoHOST
But you have Karuna Buddhist Vihara in Southern California.
Ajahn NisabhoHOST
You have Dhamma Durini.
Ajahn KoviloHOST
Whereas, like myself, even, yeah, just jump into a male monastic community of 15 and even though I've got my rough edges and my coarse habits and you know hair before
speaker_0UNKNOWN
danning
Ajahn KoviloHOST
um uh i can fit in you know well enough i can hide basically hide or people i'm not taking up that much space but yeah these different forms so somebody could be an anagarika for years depending on the monastery or a novice for years that's extremely common in sri lanka um or for females Manchi in Thailand, Dasa Silamata in Sri Lanka, Siladara in Europe, or Bhikkhunis at more and more monasteries across the world.
Ajahn NisabhoHOST
Ajahn, before we go to the questions, so people have gotten to the monastery, they've decided to try to go forth.
KoviloHOST
And I'm curious if you think that you're a unique situation, that you had like a particularly strong touch and feel on what your heart needed.
KoviloHOST
Or is it something that you would be able to advise other women or other practitioners who are wondering, like, where do I ordain? What system do I ordain in? Do I not ordain? Do I go Mecce? Do I go Bikuni? Do I go Sayulei? All these things.
Debbie StampGUEST
It's much more complicated now than it was for me.
Debbie StampGUEST
Because here there wasn't that much.
ArianneGUEST
They have bhikkhus, are the term for fully ordained monks.
ArianneGUEST
And they had the female equivalent, the bhikkhuni order, used to exist in Theravada Buddhism and was particularly at one point thrived in Sri Lanka.
ArianneGUEST
But the bhikkhuni order never existed.
ArianneGUEST
at least not until the modern era, it didn't spread to Southeast Asia, countries like Thailand and Burma, Myanmar.
ArianneGUEST
And then as Buddhism really took a beating in Sri Lanka, the order of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis died out.
ArianneGUEST
And they were only able to restart the bhikkhu order from Southeast Asia.
ArianneGUEST
So the bhikkhuni order for a while died out in Theravada Buddhism.
ArianneGUEST
And in modern times, there have been people who have brought it back using bhikkhunis from other Buddhist traditions.
YanaMODERATOR
um what part of buddha's teaching maybe do you still find most uncomfortable or hard to follow or maybe to accept even
Ajahn NisabhoGUEST
that's a good question well done there's certain parts With women in the bhikkhuni order, the narrative which some of you may know, where the Buddha's stepmother came requesting ordination and the Buddha had some resistance initially to granting it.
Ajahn NisabhoGUEST
I have investigated that narrative a lot and think it did not happen like it's expounded in that sutta or that narrative.
Ajahn NisabhoGUEST
I think it's actually from the Vinaya maybe even.
CandaHOST
Because quite often we talk about it and it's almost unappealing, isn't it? Well, there's no self.
CandaHOST
Yeah, but what about my pain? What about my You know, what about the discrimination I experience as a non-binary person or as a Bikuni or as a person of colour? How can you say there's a non-self? Because actually it seems to matter very much to everyone else or other people how I refer to myself.
CandaHOST
You know, there's designations, there's apparent external designations that are used.
CandaHOST
But when we trace it back to that elemental level and we can start to sense these elements in an embodied way it gives us a direct experience of what is meant by that and it starts to dissolve those constructs of self and other right of self and the world outside this is only an artificial designation really there's no real separation in the indigenous australian culture they don't say they're part of nature they say they are nature
Dionne GinesNARRATOR
What was the essence of his doctrine? Answer.
Dionne GinesNARRATOR
that the way of emancipation lies in leading the holy life and following the rules laid down which will be explained later on q tell me what name he gave to this course of life a the eightfold path q how is it called in the pali language ariyo athangiko mago question whither did the buddha go then answer to uruvela question what happened there answer he converted a man named kashyapa renowned for his learning and the teacher of the jatilas a great sect of fire-worshippers all of whom became his followers q who was his next great convert a king bimbisara of magadha q which two of the buddha's most learned and beloved disciples were converted about this time a sariputra and moggallanya formerly chief disciples of sanjaya the ascetic q for what did they become renowned a sariputra for his profound learning prajna moggallanya for his exceptional spiritual powers idi question are these wonder-working powers miraculous a no but natural to all men and capable of being developed by a certain course of training q did the buddha hear again from his family after leaving them a oh yes seven years later when he was living at rajagra his father king suddhodana sent a message to request him to come and let him see him again before he died q did he go a yes his father went with all his relatives and ministers to meet him and received him with great joy q did he consent to resume his old rank a no in all sweetness he explained to his father that the prince siddhartha had passed out of existence as such and was now changed into the condition of a buddha to whom all beings were equally akin and equally dear instead of ruling over one tribe or nation like an earthly king he through his dharma would win the hearts of all men to be his followers q did he see yasodara and his son rahula a yes his wife who had mourned for him with deepest love wept bitterly she also sent rahula to ask him to give him his inheritance as the son of a prince q what happened a to one and all he preached the dharma as a cure for all sorrows his father son wife ananda his half-brother devadatta his cousin and brother-in-law were all converted and became his disciples two other famous ones were anuruddha afterwards a great metaphysician and upali a barber afterwards the greatest authority on vinaya both of these gained great renown q who was the first bhikkhuni a prajapati the aunt and foster-mother of prince siddhartha with her yasodhara and many other ladies were admitted into the order as bhikkhunis or female devotees question what effect did the taking up of the religious life by his sons siddhartha and ananda his nephew devadatta his son's wife yasodhara and his grandson rahula have upon the old king suddhodana a it grieved him much and he complained to the buddha who then made it a rule of the order that no person should thenceforth be ordained without the consent of his parents if alive Tell me about the fate of Devadatta.
Dionne GinesNARRATOR
Answer.
Dionne GinesNARRATOR
He was a man of great intelligence and rapidly advanced in the knowledge of the Dharma, but being also extremely ambitious, he came to envy and hate the Buddha, and at last plotted to kill him.
1 HR 21 MINS LATER
Dionne GinesNARRATOR
Question.
Dionne GinesNARRATOR
Who came with Sanghamitta? Answer.
Dionne GinesNARRATOR
Many other bhikkhunis.
Dionne GinesNARRATOR
She, in due time, admitted the queen and many of her ladies, together with 500 virgins, into the order.
speaker_0NARRATOR
Yes.
Shechen RabjamGUEST
Sangha, Bhikshu and Bhikshunis.
speaker_3UNKNOWN
So
Shechen RabjamGUEST
that's very important.
speaker_0NARRATOR
Yes.
Shechen RabjamGUEST
Sangha, Bhikshu and Bhikshunis.
speaker_3UNKNOWN
So
Shechen RabjamGUEST
that's very important.
Oswin HollenbeckGUEST
He specializes in translating the early Pali scriptures, but also the early Chinese scriptures.
Oswin HollenbeckGUEST
He's been very helpful to the women who are trying to restore the Bhikshuni or Bhikkhuni lineages.
Oswin HollenbeckGUEST
And the woman who wrote this book on Mahapajapati draws on his research that brings out different aspects of these events around the ordination of women.
Oswin HollenbeckGUEST
This author also, she went and talked to people about, who had stories about the Buddha, who had stories about Mahapajapati, who had stories about the early disciples of the Buddha, stories that had just been passed down word of mouth among the common people.
KoviloHOST
After receiving her initial monastic training under the renowned teacher Bhante Gunaratana of the Bhavana Society in West Virginia, Ayya Sudhamma has since gone on to become a beloved Buddhist teacher and pioneer of Buddhism in America.
KoviloHOST
She was the first Western woman to become fully ordained in Sri Lanka with the bhikkhuni sangha there.
KoviloHOST
She co-founded the North American Bhikkhuni Associate- Associations, and hosted the first ever Theravada bhikkhuni sangha, uh, proceeding in the USA.
KoviloHOST
In 2013, Ayya founded the Charlotte Buddhist Vihara in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, where she continues to offer regular Dhamma programs.
KoviloHOST
So, um, I got to meet Ayya for the first time at the Metta Conference at Empty Cloud last spring, and I'd heard about you, Ayya, um, but just was, y- you know, some people know the term thera, which means elder, and we are usually referred to as monastics 10 years or more.
10 MINS LATER
SudhammaGUEST
Yeah.
KoviloHOST
Can you say more about that? Um...
SudhammaGUEST
Well, I gotta add, uh, among the bhikkhunis, we've got a Yale graduate, we've got a Harvard graduate.