We are happy to let you know that on September 26, if all conditions come together, we will have a quiet Bhikkhuni Ordination for Ven Dhammadipa, who completed her two years samaneri training in May.
We are inviting the required number of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis for a valid ordination. Ayya Sobhana Theri from Dhammadharini Monastery will be presiding as Preceptor. Bhante Rahula Mahathera and two bhikkhus will be coming from Buddhi Vihara, Santa Clara and Bhante Sumitta Mahathera will be coming from Dhamma USA, LA with two other senior bhikkhus. We so appreciate their generosity and willingness to travel and support the Bhikkhuni Sangha during these critical times.
International Bhikkhuni Day Online From Dhammadharini
This Saturday, September 20th, Dhammadharini Monastery in California will host online the annual International Buddhist Day celebration, marking the initiation of the female Sangha by the Buddha himself.
Ayya Sudhamma of the Charlotte Buddhist Vihara writes:
I just received the detailed schedule; it promises to be the most inspiring and powerful bhikkhuni gathering online that has yet been organized. (This program was originally set for Sept 5th, closer to this year’s full moon, but a wildfire bearing down on the hosts’ coastal Hermitage caused disruption and delay. Residents are safe. After many prayers and chants, and firefighters’ efforts, the blaze was stalled and eventually doused. It had come within a mile of the property.)
From Buddhistdoor Global: From Hearts to Hearts: An Interview with Ven. Dhammananda Bhikkhuni
Read this recent article on Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni who is Thailand’s first fully ordained Theravada bhikkhuni.
Tricycle Article: What Does an Alms Gatherer Eat Now?
While COVID-19 has turned the whole world upside down, Theravada monastics have faced unique challenges because of the restrictions of the Vinaya, or the Buddhist monastic code. Even getting food has become a challenge, as the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis (monks and nuns) follow rules that prohibit storing or cooking their own food and cutting or injuring plants, let alone animals. Monastics usually walk into nearby human habitations with their begging bowls to gather their daily meal, which must be eaten before noon, or remain at their monastery while householders bring food or cook it for them there. This “economy of gifts” requires close daily contact between almsgatherers and laypeople—a partnership that the Buddha intended to cultivate but that COVID makes nearly impossible.
Read the full article which mentions Ven. Bhikkhunī Tathālokā Mahātherī and Dhammadharini.
News from Dhammadharini
Newly appointed bhikkhunī preceptor: Ven. Bhikkhunī Pavattinī-Upajjhāyā Sobhanā Therī —
from Dhammadharini founding abbess Ven. Bhikkhunī Tathālokā Mahātherī:
I write with joy on behalf of our Dhammadharini Sangha which gathered together yesterday for the first time this year at our Aranya Bodhi Hermitage on the Sonoma Coast.
Yesterday, September 5th was a special day for us. Vassa-time hermitage residents and retreatants returned to Aranya Bodhi after the nearby coast fire on September 3rd. On the 5th, we were joined by our Dhammadharini Monastery residents (as day visitors) together with Ayya Niyyanikā, Sāmanerī Dhammadipa and Anāgārikā Janice from Aloka Vihara (as campers), and the close families of Vassa-time supporters who are this year’s pledged Kathina donors.
As the first Saturday after the September full moon, we had originally planned to have our International Bhikkhuni Day celebration on September 5th together with Anāgārikā Dhammavarā’s Pabbajjā “Going Forth as a Woman Sāmana in Training”. Due to the fires, we’ve postponed the public online part of our celebration for two weeks to Sept 19th (more to come soon!), but we preserved Anāgārikā Dhammavarā’s Pabbajjā date, as it is a special one for our sangha together, and all the more special this year.
As you may known, this September 5th was the 25th anniversary of my own Sāmanerī ordination, and with our sangha gathered together on our forested hermitage land, it was the day of Sāmanerī Pabbajjā for our Dhamma Sister Dhammavarā. It was also the day of Ayyā Sobhanā’s appointment as a bhikkhunī preceptor.
Anāgārikā Dhammavarā joined our Dhammadharini community as an Anāgārikā two years ago. We had originally thought of her Sāmaṇerī Pabbajjā at the beginning of this Vassa, but due to COVID, we delayed. Now, as the pandemic is lasting longer than earlier expected, we feel we should not delay ordinations too long, and other monasteries like our brother monastery Abhayagiri has also been going ahead, Empty Gate Monastery in NJ is also going ahead with Bhikkhuni Ordination plans, and our sister monastery Aloka Vihara in the Sierra foothills is also going ahead. The Jagoda-Jayakody Family who are supporting our Vassa this year offered her alms bowl, and they and friends together with our Dhammadharini bhikkhunīs’ community sewed and offered her robes. At her request, i served as preceptor for Dhammavarā’s undertaking the Sāmanerī Precepts. It was the 58th ordination i’ve served as preceptor for, as the first western woman to be appointed as a bhikkhunī preceptor in contemporary Theravāda Buddhism.
Sāmanerī Dhammadipā and her bhikkhuni teachers at Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery have requested Ayyā Sobhanā to serve as the preceptor (bhikkhunī pavattinī-upajjhāyā) for her upcoming bhikkhunī ordination the last week of September at Aloka Vihara. Ayyā Sobhanā has the requisite years of seniority, and has been serving as an assisting and lead ācārinī/instructor and officiant for bhikkhunī ordinations around the globe for more than ten years now. We’ve been considering this possibility for several years, and our bhikkhunīs’ community has kindly accepted this worthy request. We gathered for the Sanghakamma (Act of the Sangha) yesterday to formally agree upon and appoint her, with Ven. Bhikkhunī Sucittā Therī serving as Kammavācācārinī with the blessings of our Sangha.
Congratulations new Sāmaṇerī Dhammavarā! And congratulations new Bhikkhunī Pavattinī-Upajjhāyā Ven. Sobhanā Therī. Muditā! A special day in life for all of us.
May this goodness and blessings of this day and of this time together be shared with all, especially all those in need, and all of our benevolent and kind Dhamma friends, kalyānamittās and benefactors, who we appreciate so much. May we all grow in the Dhamma and in the Path as a result.
Happy International Bhikkhuni Day!
Today (Sept. 1st) is the 2604th Full Moon Anniversary of the Bhikkhuni Sangha in the US, the day in which Mahapajapati Gotami received higher ordination from the Buddha in Vesali. It is a day we celebrate every year as International Bhikkhuni Day in commemoration of the creation of the bhikkhuni sangha, and one that we honor through practice and support.
We would like to pay our utmost respect to Mahapajapati Gotami as well as to all the bhikkhunis living and passed-on who have made the creation and revitalization of the bhikkhuni lineage possible, as well as to those who continue to support bhikkhunis in every corner of the world.
We will be posting International Bhikkhuni Day events on Facebook throughout the day, and if you are hosting an IBD event, please let us know!
May you always be well, happy, and peaceful, and may you find freedom from suffering.
News From Ayya Tathaloka on CA Fires
The Myers Fire adjacent to our hermitage is now 98% contained, and the much larger Walbridge Fire two ridges over is, as of this morning, 42% contained – an enormous gain.
COVID Memorial Cairn
In memory of the many people around the world who have died of COVID-19, Aloka Vihara has created a COVID Memorial Cairn, under the great Gray Pine. More
Forthcoming Book by Wendy Garling
From Wendy Garling
“I am thrilled to be sharing news of my forthcoming book, The Woman Who Raised the Buddha: The Extraordinary Life of Mahaprajapati, release date March 2021. Now available for preorder through Amazon and major book sellers. Many thanks to the wonderful team at Shambhala! Here is the promo blurb. I would be so grateful if you would share!”
The Woman Who Raised the Buddha tells the life story of the Buddha’s adoptive mother, Mahaprajapati. She is the only mother he ever knew: his birth mother, Maya, died shortly after childbirth and her sister, Mahaprajapati, took the infant to her breast, nurturing and raising him into adulthood. While there is a lot of ambiguity overall in the Buddha’s biography, this detail remains consistent across all Buddhist traditions and literature.
Most present-day accounts are one-off stories or story fragments that focus on Mahaprajapati’s life as a nun. The Woman Who Raised the Buddha looks at her entire life, with attention to her early years as a laywoman in her role as sister, queen, matriarch, and mother, as well as her later years as foremost nun and preceptor to the sangha of nuns.
For the first time, her life is woven into a single narrative, drawing from story fragments and canonical records. The Sanskrit and Pali sources open windows into the past, revealing just how exceptional Mahaprajapati’s role was in helping the Buddha establish an equal fourfold community of lay and monastic women and men.
Mother to the Buddha, mother to early Buddhist women, mother to the Buddhist faith, Mahaprajapati’s journey is finally presented as one interwoven with the founding of Buddhism.”
Preorder on Penguin/Random House, Amazon and other publishers internationally:
Dhammadharini Roof Repair Project has been Completed!
This project which had been on our “Projects Needing Support” page is completed. It was finished successfully during winter retreat, just before the COVID pandemic lockdown started. Thank you to all donors!
A Recent Reflection from Ayyā Nimmalā
More than two and a half millenia ago, in ancient India, one of the Buddha’s royal supporters, King Pasenadi of Kosala, was fortunate enough to be given a teaching using a powerful simile to remind him of the imminent nature of aging and death. And how powerful, too, was the wise king’s response.
GoFundMe Fundraiser for Karuṇā Sevena in the Czech Republic
The Association Karuṇā Sevena is asking for support for venerable bhikkhunī Visuddhi. They write:
As mendicants who live dependent on the material support of the lay community, Buddhist monastics are among the most vulnerable at times of challenges and crisis. This is the case for our venerable. So we would like to ask all our donors and friends who were not too drastically touched by the current situation resulting from the pandemic to keep financially supporting our venerable bhikkhunī through the Association Karuṇā Sevena. Dear friends, right now, your help is much needed.
Our bhikkhunī went forth to realize the end of dukkha, Nibbāna. Our heartfelt wish is to facilitate the availability of supportive conditions for her practice for this to manifest in this very lifetime.
The Passing of “Achie Ayye” Bhikkhuni Satima Theri
From Ven. Tathālokā Therī:
Our dear venerable Dhamma Sister, known to us affectionately as “Sadhu Achie” or “Achie Ayye” Venerable Bhikkhuni Satima Theri entered the great transition peacefully earlier this week on the morning of May 24th 2020 at Metta Vihara in Colorado USA. She had been in hospice, and saying it was time to go, since April.
Ayya Satima was a native of Sri Lanka and immigrated to the US where she worked as a Montessori teacher. She had a great love of children, and of the Buddha’s Teaching and path of practice. She raised her own children and grandchildren in the US. A devout Buddhist, she was ordained a Zen priest before Bhikkhuni Ordination was available in her native Theravada tradition.
When Bhikkhuni Ordination came to be available again, with the support of her teachers at the Minnesota Buddhist Vihara, together with our Dhammadharini vice-abbess and teacher Ven Bhikkhuni Sobhana Theri from Iowa and Ven Bhikkhuni Gunanusari Theri from Vietnam, she received full Bhikkhuni Ordination with the Dambulla Bhikkhuni Sangha in Sri Lanka in 2006 at the age of 70.
In 2007, she joined the vanguard of the rising Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha in North America, actively participating with Ayya Sobhana and I in:
the first Theravada Bhikkhuni Patimokkha Recitation in North America
the First International Congress on Buddhist Women in Hamburg Germany
the 2nd International Tipitaka Recitation in Bodhgaya
Buddha Vision Bhikkhuni Training in Bodhgaya
International Bhikkhuni Parisad in Maharashtra, India
In 2008, she again joined us an active participant in:
the first and enormously groundbreaking Bhikkhuni Seminar at Santi Forest Monastery in Australia
establishment of the Sanghamittarama Sima and First Bhikkhuni Patimokkha Recitation in Australia
And in 2009, she joined for:
the first Theravada Bhikkhuni Ordination at Bodhinyana Monastery in Australia
Bhikkhuni Training Camp at the nascent Aranya Bodhi Hermitage here with us in California
In 2010, she joined for:
the first All Theravada Dual Sangha Bhikkhuni Ordination with Dhammadharini at Aranya Bodhi Awakening Forest Hermitage in California
In 2011 she was requested by the Dhammasara Bhikkhuni Monastery Sangha and Ajahn Brahm to serve as preceptor for the Samaneri Pabbajja of Anagarika Dr Khemanthie Nandaseni, with my blessings, when I was not able to travel to Australia due to health.
When Ajahn Brahm came to the US for Dhammadharini Benefit Teaching Tour, Ayya Satima was a part of it.
When the time came ripe for the first Bhikkhuni Ordination at Anenja Vihara in Germany, she unhesitatingly flew all that way to join the Bhikkhuni Sangha quorum.
All this in her 70s and with a heart condition! She was that amazing.
The list goes on and on, up to supporting the next generation of Bhikkhunis and Samaneris recently in USA as a teacher, preceptor and exemplar, a Bhikkhuni grandmother to our Sangha. So we called her “Achie Ayye” and our Sri Lankan friends called her “Sadhu Achie”. “Achie” means “grandmother” in Ayya Satima’s native Sinhalese language.
Wherever she went, our dear “Achie Ayye” was unfailing in kindness, a power pack of goodwill metta and loving kindness, energy and blessings. Although she entered into monastic life at a late age, she was never lacking in energy, enthusiasm, devotion, and the wish to apply herself well to the Buddha’s teaching with every last bit of her heart and life energy.
In April “Achie” Ayye Satima entered into hospice, saying she felt ready to go!
Last Friday we received word from Ayya Dhammadhira, who was with her, that she was entering her final time of life. On Monday, we received this message from her:
“This morning [24 May 2020] Ayya Satima passed away peacefully surrounded by many family members and a couple friends. We held a ceremony with chanting and ritual that nine monks and myself participated in. Many kind words were shared recalling Ayya’s good qualities. Next Saturday (May 30th) we will gather for a 7-day [memorial] ceremony.
Thank you for your support with chanting and metta. May her destination be bright.”
I rejoice to have had the company of such a lovely human being and blessed Dhamma Sister in this lifetime.
Kitchen Manager Position at Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery
Aloka Vihara is looking for a kitchen manager. There is an initial 3 month commitment, which after a review, could be extended to 6 month or 1 year at a time. The steward’s room has a separate entrance and could be used for a 14 day self quarantine in these times of covid.
A short overview:
We offer our steward food, lodging, 1 day off per week and most afternoons are off.
We ask our steward to take care of the kitchen (in cooperation with anagarikas & guests), shopping & for participation in our monastic daily schedule.
May 21: Anagarika Precepts Ceremony at Aloka Vihara
Janice Inskeep is preparing for her Anagarika Precepts Ceremony on May 21 at Aloka Vihara.
This is a mutual commitment for training in the eight precepts as an anagarika for one year. More
Online Vesak program
On May 9th there was an online Vesak program led by bhikkhunis from multiple monasteries at Dhammadharini monastery. View
How is AfB Helping Bhikkhunis During the Pandemic?
Across the globe we are all feeling the suffering and isolation of the pandemic. Female monastics are often particularly hard hit since they rely on the support of the lay sangha for their essential requisites (food, clothing, medicine, and shelter). With loss of jobs and social isolation the lay sangha often does not have the same means to support them. AfB recently sent out a communication to female monastics worldwide asking if they need assistance at this time. The response was both encouraging and heartbreaking. While many of the female monastics in North America were in good condition, it was evident that there is an acute need in Asia for help, particularly in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Read More
Monastery Closures and Cancellations due to Coronavirus Precautions
Anukampa
Having closely followed the development of the Coronavirus situation worldwide and in the UK and aware of the threat it poses to human life, we have decided to cancel all teaching events from 15th March until 15th April. We will review this again at that time and keep you updated. More
Santi Forest Monastery
As the fast-changing situation develops with the coronavirus, and the government has increased regulations around travel and social-distancing to help slow the spread of the virus (and look likely to continue to strengthen such measures), we feel responsible to also act appropriately with the safety of all prospective visitors to Santi in mind.
Based on medical advice given to us, it has been recommended we close the monastery to visitors and guests for the time being. This is not an easy decision to make, however we feel it is in the best interests of everyone connected with Santi, considering the extraordinary circumstances we are all in the midst of. Evidence from overseas countries ahead of us in this pandemic suggests that refraining from gathering in groups is the best measure to inhibit the spread of the virus and protect the community at large. We can all help to protect each other in this way. More >>
Tilorien Monastery
Following the orders of the Belgian government, we have closed Tilorien Monastery for visitors and activities until at least the 5th April, after which the situation will be reviewed.
All sutta classes, chantings and meditations are suspended, visitors are not accepted for overnight stay and there is no possibility to bring dana to the monastery. Our caretaker will take care of meals. Instead, we will offer an alternative virtual program. We hope that with this we can help people in lockdown over the next weeks.
The Buddha taught us that everything is impermanent, changing, uncertain. The uncertainty of the present situation with the Covid-19 virus brings much suffering, fear, even panic, but also many possibilities to grow in the Dhamma.
Karuna Buddhist Vihara
Events moved online due to Coronavirus precautions More
Sati Saraniya Hermitage
During the COVID-19 Emergency, the Hermitage will remain closed to visitors.
Video Just released – Three Bhikkhunis Set Up an Arama in Thailand
This new video, Sharing Dhamma, Spreading Joy, highlights achievements at Analaya Bhikkhuni Arama. It depicts how three new bhikkhunis (just two vassas as bhikkhunis) set up a place of their own in the countryside in Thailand over the past two years (2018-2019).
The First Free Women is a beautiful rendering of a timeless collection, and a well-suited reminder of the enlightenment potential in every one of us, without limit. From the Introduction: “This book is dedicated to the courageous women who began the sangha of Buddhist nuns, as well as to all women of all traditions who continue to put on robes, in one form or another, and walk the path to awakening. The path must be for everybody. Don’t we all want to be free?”
The Alliance for Bhikkhunis wishes to offer a copy of The First Free Women: Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns to any Bhikkhunis or Samaneris who would like to receive one. Please contact us at info@bhikkhuni.net if you would like a copy for yourself or your library.
The First Free Women is scheduled for release on 2/11/2020, and is available for preorder from Shambhala Publications.
2021 Update: Please note that as of 2021, “The First Free Women” has been republished by Shambhala Publications. You can read their reasons for doing so here, and purchase the new edition on this page.
We are no longer distributing copies of the book at this time. With mettā.
Milestones from the Past Year at Aloka Vihara
From Aloka Vihara’s January Newsletter:
Looking back over the past year, there have been a few milestones for us. Both Ayya Santacitta and Ayya Anandabodhi are now U.S. citizens, Ayya Ahimsa is in the process of applying for permanent residency, and the property of Aloka Vihara has now been fully paid for! Aloka Vihara Publications has printed it’s first book. The forest is being managed for fuel reduction and we are staking out the location for our first well insulated kuti (meditation hut) to be built later in the year.
We have now returned and the monastery is up and running again after a 6-week hiatus. The drought has well and truly broken and the fires are well and truly out with the deluge of rain we’ve had. There are now streams running all over the property that had been dry for over 3 years… It’s like all the rain we didn’t get over the last few years was delivered in just one week!
Last Sunday we had a wonderful group of people come together to help clean up the house and studios, (it was too wet to do anything outside). It felt so much better to get things clean and sorted on the inside. Many thanks to all those who helped and also to Janaka and family for bringing dana for everyone that day too.
Just yesterday we reopened to the public and had a large number of people come and visit and show their support, which was really lovely.
News from Sakyadhita Australia Association of Buddhist Women on Fires
January 20, 2020
It is awful to realise that 80% of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Site (where we had the Sakyadhita Conference last year), which consists of 1,000 hectares of national park and forest, has now been destroyed.
2020 Bhikkhuni Happenings
Sept 26: Bhikkhuni Ordination for Ven Dhammadipa
From Aloka Vihara’s Website:
We are happy to let you know that on September 26, if all conditions come together, we will have a quiet Bhikkhuni Ordination for Ven Dhammadipa, who completed her two years samaneri training in May.
We are inviting the required number of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis for a valid ordination. Ayya Sobhana Theri from Dhammadharini Monastery will be presiding as Preceptor. Bhante Rahula Mahathera and two bhikkhus will be coming from Buddhi Vihara, Santa Clara and Bhante Sumitta Mahathera will be coming from Dhamma USA, LA with two other senior bhikkhus. We so appreciate their generosity and willingness to travel and support the Bhikkhuni Sangha during these critical times.
More
International Bhikkhuni Day Online
From Dhammadharini
This Saturday, September 20th, Dhammadharini Monastery in California will host online the annual International Buddhist Day celebration, marking the initiation of the female Sangha by the Buddha himself.
Ayya Sudhamma of the Charlotte Buddhist Vihara writes:
From Buddhistdoor Global:
From Hearts to Hearts: An Interview with Ven. Dhammananda Bhikkhuni
Read this recent article on Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni who is Thailand’s first fully ordained Theravada bhikkhuni.
Tricycle Article:
What Does an Alms Gatherer Eat Now?
While COVID-19 has turned the whole world upside down, Theravada monastics have faced unique challenges because of the restrictions of the Vinaya, or the Buddhist monastic code. Even getting food has become a challenge, as the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis (monks and nuns) follow rules that prohibit storing or cooking their own food and cutting or injuring plants, let alone animals. Monastics usually walk into nearby human habitations with their begging bowls to gather their daily meal, which must be eaten before noon, or remain at their monastery while householders bring food or cook it for them there. This “economy of gifts” requires close daily contact between almsgatherers and laypeople—a partnership that the Buddha intended to cultivate but that COVID makes nearly impossible.
Read the full article which mentions Ven. Bhikkhunī Tathālokā Mahātherī and Dhammadharini.
News from Dhammadharini
from Dhammadharini founding abbess Ven. Bhikkhunī Tathālokā Mahātherī:
I write with joy on behalf of our Dhammadharini Sangha which gathered together yesterday for the first time this year at our Aranya Bodhi Hermitage on the Sonoma Coast.
Yesterday, September 5th was a special day for us. Vassa-time hermitage residents and retreatants returned to Aranya Bodhi after the nearby coast fire on September 3rd. On the 5th, we were joined by our Dhammadharini Monastery residents (as day visitors) together with Ayya Niyyanikā, Sāmanerī Dhammadipa and Anāgārikā Janice from Aloka Vihara (as campers), and the close families of Vassa-time supporters who are this year’s pledged Kathina donors.
As the first Saturday after the September full moon, we had originally planned to have our International Bhikkhuni Day celebration on September 5th together with Anāgārikā Dhammavarā’s Pabbajjā “Going Forth as a Woman Sāmana in Training”. Due to the fires, we’ve postponed the public online part of our celebration for two weeks to Sept 19th (more to come soon!), but we preserved Anāgārikā Dhammavarā’s Pabbajjā date, as it is a special one for our sangha together, and all the more special this year.
As you may known, this September 5th was the 25th anniversary of my own Sāmanerī ordination, and with our sangha gathered together on our forested hermitage land, it was the day of Sāmanerī Pabbajjā for our Dhamma Sister Dhammavarā. It was also the day of Ayyā Sobhanā’s appointment as a bhikkhunī preceptor.
Anāgārikā Dhammavarā joined our Dhammadharini community as an Anāgārikā two years ago. We had originally thought of her Sāmaṇerī Pabbajjā at the beginning of this Vassa, but due to COVID, we delayed. Now, as the pandemic is lasting longer than earlier expected, we feel we should not delay ordinations too long, and other monasteries like our brother monastery Abhayagiri has also been going ahead, Empty Gate Monastery in NJ is also going ahead with Bhikkhuni Ordination plans, and our sister monastery Aloka Vihara in the Sierra foothills is also going ahead. The Jagoda-Jayakody Family who are supporting our Vassa this year offered her alms bowl, and they and friends together with our Dhammadharini bhikkhunīs’ community sewed and offered her robes. At her request, i served as preceptor for Dhammavarā’s undertaking the Sāmanerī Precepts. It was the 58th ordination i’ve served as preceptor for, as the first western woman to be appointed as a bhikkhunī preceptor in contemporary Theravāda Buddhism.
Sāmanerī Dhammadipā and her bhikkhuni teachers at Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery have requested Ayyā Sobhanā to serve as the preceptor (bhikkhunī pavattinī-upajjhāyā) for her upcoming bhikkhunī ordination the last week of September at Aloka Vihara. Ayyā Sobhanā has the requisite years of seniority, and has been serving as an assisting and lead ācārinī/instructor and officiant for bhikkhunī ordinations around the globe for more than ten years now. We’ve been considering this possibility for several years, and our bhikkhunīs’ community has kindly accepted this worthy request. We gathered for the Sanghakamma (Act of the Sangha) yesterday to formally agree upon and appoint her, with Ven. Bhikkhunī Sucittā Therī serving as Kammavācācārinī with the blessings of our Sangha.
Congratulations new Sāmaṇerī Dhammavarā! And congratulations new Bhikkhunī Pavattinī-Upajjhāyā Ven. Sobhanā Therī. Muditā! A special day in life for all of us.
May this goodness and blessings of this day and of this time together be shared with all, especially all those in need, and all of our benevolent and kind Dhamma friends, kalyānamittās and benefactors, who we appreciate so much. May we all grow in the Dhamma and in the Path as a result.
Happy International Bhikkhuni Day!
Today (Sept. 1st) is the 2604th Full Moon Anniversary of the Bhikkhuni Sangha in the US, the day in which Mahapajapati Gotami received higher ordination from the Buddha in Vesali. It is a day we celebrate every year as International Bhikkhuni Day in commemoration of the creation of the bhikkhuni sangha, and one that we honor through practice and support.
We would like to pay our utmost respect to Mahapajapati Gotami as well as to all the bhikkhunis living and passed-on who have made the creation and revitalization of the bhikkhuni lineage possible, as well as to those who continue to support bhikkhunis in every corner of the world.
We will be posting International Bhikkhuni Day events on Facebook throughout the day, and if you are hosting an IBD event, please let us know!
May you always be well, happy, and peaceful, and may you find freedom from suffering.
News From Ayya Tathaloka on CA Fires
The Myers Fire adjacent to our hermitage is now 98% contained, and the much larger Walbridge Fire two ridges over is, as of this morning, 42% contained – an enormous gain.
COVID Memorial Cairn
In memory of the many people around the world who have died of COVID-19, Aloka Vihara has created a COVID Memorial Cairn, under the great Gray Pine.
More
Forthcoming Book by Wendy Garling
From Wendy Garling
“I am thrilled to be sharing news of my forthcoming book, The Woman Who Raised the Buddha: The Extraordinary Life of Mahaprajapati, release date March 2021. Now available for preorder through Amazon and major book sellers. Many thanks to the wonderful team at Shambhala! Here is the promo blurb. I would be so grateful if you would share!”
The Woman Who Raised the Buddha tells the life story of the Buddha’s adoptive mother, Mahaprajapati. She is the only mother he ever knew: his birth mother, Maya, died shortly after childbirth and her sister, Mahaprajapati, took the infant to her breast, nurturing and raising him into adulthood. While there is a lot of ambiguity overall in the Buddha’s biography, this detail remains consistent across all Buddhist traditions and literature.
Most present-day accounts are one-off stories or story fragments that focus on Mahaprajapati’s life as a nun. The Woman Who Raised the Buddha looks at her entire life, with attention to her early years as a laywoman in her role as sister, queen, matriarch, and mother, as well as her later years as foremost nun and preceptor to the sangha of nuns.
For the first time, her life is woven into a single narrative, drawing from story fragments and canonical records. The Sanskrit and Pali sources open windows into the past, revealing just how exceptional Mahaprajapati’s role was in helping the Buddha establish an equal fourfold community of lay and monastic women and men.
Mother to the Buddha, mother to early Buddhist women, mother to the Buddhist faith, Mahaprajapati’s journey is finally presented as one interwoven with the founding of Buddhism.”
Preorder on Penguin/Random House, Amazon and other publishers internationally:
Dhammadharini Roof Repair Project has been Completed!
This project which had been on our “Projects Needing Support” page is completed. It was finished successfully during winter retreat, just before the COVID pandemic lockdown started. Thank you to all donors!
A Recent Reflection from Ayyā Nimmalā
More than two and a half millenia ago, in ancient India, one of the Buddha’s royal supporters, King Pasenadi of Kosala, was fortunate enough to be given a teaching using a powerful simile to remind him of the imminent nature of aging and death. And how powerful, too, was the wise king’s response.
Read the Full Reflection
GoFundMe Fundraiser for Karuṇā Sevena in the Czech Republic
The Association Karuṇā Sevena is asking for support for venerable bhikkhunī Visuddhi. They write:
As mendicants who live dependent on the material support of the lay community, Buddhist monastics are among the most vulnerable at times of challenges and crisis. This is the case for our venerable. So we would like to ask all our donors and friends who were not too drastically touched by the current situation resulting from the pandemic to keep financially supporting our venerable bhikkhunī through the Association Karuṇā Sevena. Dear friends, right now, your help is much needed.
Our bhikkhunī went forth to realize the end of dukkha, Nibbāna. Our heartfelt wish is to facilitate the availability of supportive conditions for her practice for this to manifest in this very lifetime.
GoFundMe Fundraiser
The Passing of “Achie Ayye” Bhikkhuni Satima Theri
From Ven. Tathālokā Therī:
Our dear venerable Dhamma Sister, known to us affectionately as “Sadhu Achie” or “Achie Ayye” Venerable Bhikkhuni Satima Theri entered the great transition peacefully earlier this week on the morning of May 24th 2020 at Metta Vihara in Colorado USA. She had been in hospice, and saying it was time to go, since April.
Ayya Satima was a native of Sri Lanka and immigrated to the US where she worked as a Montessori teacher. She had a great love of children, and of the Buddha’s Teaching and path of practice. She raised her own children and grandchildren in the US. A devout Buddhist, she was ordained a Zen priest before Bhikkhuni Ordination was available in her native Theravada tradition.
When Bhikkhuni Ordination came to be available again, with the support of her teachers at the Minnesota Buddhist Vihara, together with our Dhammadharini vice-abbess and teacher Ven Bhikkhuni Sobhana Theri from Iowa and Ven Bhikkhuni Gunanusari Theri from Vietnam, she received full Bhikkhuni Ordination with the Dambulla Bhikkhuni Sangha in Sri Lanka in 2006 at the age of 70.
In 2007, she joined the vanguard of the rising Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha in North America, actively participating with Ayya Sobhana and I in:
In 2008, she again joined us an active participant in:
And in 2009, she joined for:
In 2010, she joined for:
In 2011 she was requested by the Dhammasara Bhikkhuni Monastery Sangha and Ajahn Brahm to serve as preceptor for the Samaneri Pabbajja of Anagarika Dr Khemanthie Nandaseni, with my blessings, when I was not able to travel to Australia due to health.
When Ajahn Brahm came to the US for Dhammadharini Benefit Teaching Tour, Ayya Satima was a part of it.
When the time came ripe for the first Bhikkhuni Ordination at Anenja Vihara in Germany, she unhesitatingly flew all that way to join the Bhikkhuni Sangha quorum.
All this in her 70s and with a heart condition! She was that amazing.
The list goes on and on, up to supporting the next generation of Bhikkhunis and Samaneris recently in USA as a teacher, preceptor and exemplar, a Bhikkhuni grandmother to our Sangha. So we called her “Achie Ayye” and our Sri Lankan friends called her “Sadhu Achie”. “Achie” means “grandmother” in Ayya Satima’s native Sinhalese language.
Wherever she went, our dear “Achie Ayye” was unfailing in kindness, a power pack of goodwill metta and loving kindness, energy and blessings. Although she entered into monastic life at a late age, she was never lacking in energy, enthusiasm, devotion, and the wish to apply herself well to the Buddha’s teaching with every last bit of her heart and life energy.
In April “Achie” Ayye Satima entered into hospice, saying she felt ready to go!
Last Friday we received word from Ayya Dhammadhira, who was with her, that she was entering her final time of life. On Monday, we received this message from her:
“This morning [24 May 2020] Ayya Satima passed away peacefully surrounded by many family members and a couple friends. We held a ceremony with chanting and ritual that nine monks and myself participated in. Many kind words were shared recalling Ayya’s good qualities. Next Saturday (May 30th) we will gather for a 7-day [memorial] ceremony.
Thank you for your support with chanting and metta. May her destination be bright.”
I rejoice to have had the company of such a lovely human being and blessed Dhamma Sister in this lifetime.
Kitchen Manager Position at Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery
Aloka Vihara is looking for a kitchen manager. There is an initial 3 month commitment, which after a review, could be extended to 6 month or 1 year at a time. The steward’s room has a separate entrance and could be used for a 14 day self quarantine in these times of covid.
A short overview:
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May 21: Anagarika Precepts Ceremony at Aloka Vihara
Janice Inskeep is preparing for her Anagarika Precepts Ceremony on May 21 at Aloka Vihara.
This is a mutual commitment for training in the eight precepts as an anagarika for one year.
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Online Vesak program
On May 9th there was an online Vesak program led by bhikkhunis from multiple monasteries at Dhammadharini monastery.
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How is AfB Helping Bhikkhunis During the Pandemic?
Across the globe we are all feeling the suffering and isolation of the pandemic. Female monastics are often particularly hard hit since they rely on the support of the lay sangha for their essential requisites (food, clothing, medicine, and shelter). With loss of jobs and social isolation the lay sangha often does not have the same means to support them. AfB recently sent out a communication to female monastics worldwide asking if they need assistance at this time. The response was both encouraging and heartbreaking. While many of the female monastics in North America were in good condition, it was evident that there is an acute need in Asia for help, particularly in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
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A thank-you to our donors
Monastery Closures and Cancellations due to Coronavirus Precautions
Anukampa
Having closely followed the development of the Coronavirus situation worldwide and in the UK and aware of the threat it poses to human life, we have decided to cancel all teaching events from 15th March until 15th April. We will review this again at that time and keep you updated.
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Santi Forest Monastery
As the fast-changing situation develops with the coronavirus, and the government has increased regulations around travel and social-distancing to help slow the spread of the virus (and look likely to continue to strengthen such measures), we feel responsible to also act appropriately with the safety of all prospective visitors to Santi in mind.
Based on medical advice given to us, it has been recommended we close the monastery to visitors and guests for the time being. This is not an easy decision to make, however we feel it is in the best interests of everyone connected with Santi, considering the extraordinary circumstances we are all in the midst of. Evidence from overseas countries ahead of us in this pandemic suggests that refraining from gathering in groups is the best measure to inhibit the spread of the virus and protect the community at large. We can all help to protect each other in this way.
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Tilorien Monastery
Following the orders of the Belgian government, we have closed Tilorien Monastery for visitors and activities until at least the 5th April, after which the situation will be reviewed.
All sutta classes, chantings and meditations are suspended, visitors are not accepted for overnight stay and there is no possibility to bring dana to the monastery. Our caretaker will take care of meals. Instead, we will offer an alternative virtual program. We hope that with this we can help people in lockdown over the next weeks.
The Buddha taught us that everything is impermanent, changing, uncertain. The uncertainty of the present situation with the Covid-19 virus brings much suffering, fear, even panic, but also many possibilities to grow in the Dhamma.
Karuna Buddhist Vihara
Events moved online due to Coronavirus precautions
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Sati Saraniya Hermitage
During the COVID-19 Emergency, the Hermitage will remain closed to visitors.
Video Just released – Three Bhikkhunis Set Up an Arama in Thailand
This new video, Sharing Dhamma, Spreading Joy, highlights achievements at Analaya Bhikkhuni Arama. It depicts how three new bhikkhunis (just two vassas as bhikkhunis) set up a place of their own in the countryside in Thailand over the past two years (2018-2019).
Link to video
“The First Free Women” and an Offer to Nuns
The Alliance for Bhikkhunis wishes to offer a copy of The First Free Women: Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns to any Bhikkhunis or Samaneris who would like to receive one. Please contact us at info@bhikkhuni.net if you would like a copy for yourself or your library.
The First Free Women is scheduled for release on 2/11/2020, and is available for preorder from Shambhala Publications.
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2021 Update: Please note that as of 2021, “The First Free Women” has been republished by Shambhala Publications. You can read their reasons for doing so here, and purchase the new edition on this page.
We are no longer distributing copies of the book at this time. With mettā.
Milestones from the Past Year at Aloka Vihara
From Aloka Vihara’s January Newsletter:
Looking back over the past year, there have been a few milestones for us. Both Ayya Santacitta and Ayya Anandabodhi are now U.S. citizens, Ayya Ahimsa is in the process of applying for permanent residency, and the property of Aloka Vihara has now been fully paid for! Aloka Vihara Publications has printed it’s first book. The forest is being managed for fuel reduction and we are staking out the location for our first well insulated kuti (meditation hut) to be built later in the year.
More news from Aloka Vihara
Santi is Back After Fires!
Update from Santi Forest Monastery – 2/16/20
We have now returned and the monastery is up and running again after a 6-week hiatus. The drought has well and truly broken and the fires are well and truly out with the deluge of rain we’ve had. There are now streams running all over the property that had been dry for over 3 years… It’s like all the rain we didn’t get over the last few years was delivered in just one week!
Last Sunday we had a wonderful group of people come together to help clean up the house and studios, (it was too wet to do anything outside). It felt so much better to get things clean and sorted on the inside. Many thanks to all those who helped and also to Janaka and family for bringing dana for everyone that day too.
Just yesterday we reopened to the public and had a large number of people come and visit and show their support, which was really lovely.
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News from Sakyadhita Australia Association of Buddhist Women on Fires
January 20, 2020
It is awful to realise that 80% of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Site (where we had the Sakyadhita Conference last year), which consists of 1,000 hectares of national park and forest, has now been destroyed.
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