16th Annual International Bhikkhuni Day
September 26, 2026, Full Moon of September
Celebrating the 2610th Anniversary of the Founding of the Bhikkhuni Sangha
Theme: INSPIRING Bhikkhuni Arahants
The full moon of September is recalled as the ordination day of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī Therī & the Courageous 500 Founding Mothers of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, the first Buddhist bhikkhunis. The 1st Annual International Bhikkhunī Day (IBD) happened on September 17, 2011. Each year since then, we have paid respects to the Bhikkhuni Sangha and acknowledged its essential role in preserving the Dhamma.
This year we share the reflections of present-day bhikkhunis and the ancient arahant bhikkhunis who have inspired them on their path.
To organize an event International Bhikkhunī Day event in your community, click here for some tools you can use to create an informative and inspiring celebration.
Below is a list of a few videos and talks about inspiring arahant bhikkhuni disciples of the Buddha.
We invite you to join this year’s International Bhikkhuni Day celebration of the worldwide Bhikkhuni Sangha!
(You can also check out our archives of all past IBDs.)
Alliance for Bhikkhunis asked contemporary bhikkhunis, “Which arahant bhikkhuni has inspired you in your practice?”
“Mahapajapati Gotami has always been a great inspiration to me. Besides her courage, determination and spiritual powers, her leadership and organizational skills have deeply impressed me. She has obviously used all of her personal talents and familial assets—including the educational opportunities of being born into the leadership strata of her clan—in order to support women who felt called to practice the teachings of the Buddha in the same way as he did, as a monastic. Her strength in advancing the building of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, as well as her own practice, is amazing to me, especially considering the societal obstacles for women in Iron Age India. Mahapajapati Gotami is a prime example of perseverance in the ‘midst of it all’, doing what was possible at the time and not giving up because the situation looked hopeless and extremely challenging. Today’s Bhikkhuni Sangha stands on this foundation, built by Mahapajapati Gotami and her contemporaries, over 2,500 years ago. And there is indeed still a lot of work left to be done, in particular in the Theravada and Vajrayana schools. The intersecting issues of patriarchy and impending global climate collapse make the full acceptance of monastic women into the Sangha more essential and vitalizing than ever before. We must do what we can to outgrow immature attitudes of taking natural support systems – including women – for granted, by merely skimming the surface of the profound Dharma that planet Earth so convincingly demonstrates.”
anandabodhi Bhikkhuni, parayana vihara, port townsend, Washington, USA
“Patachara experienced unbearable loss and heartbreak. As a young woman, she followed her heart and not the rules of society. While she married the man she loved, they struggled as a family because of poverty and his fear of retribution from her family. In one night and day, she lost her new baby and little child, her husband, her parents, and the house she was raised in—all of it gone. She lost everything in the world, then she found the Dhamma and understood it deeply. As an awakened bhikkhuni, she taught the Dhamma and inspired and encouraged many women who had gone forth. I like her enlightenment poem in the Therigatha, too. The imagery is insightful and intuitive.”
16th Annual International Bhikkhuni Day
16th Annual International Bhikkhuni Day
September 26, 2026, Full Moon of September
Celebrating the 2610th Anniversary of the Founding of the Bhikkhuni Sangha
Theme: INSPIRING Bhikkhuni Arahants
The full moon of September is recalled as the ordination day of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī Therī & the Courageous 500 Founding Mothers of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, the first Buddhist bhikkhunis. The 1st Annual International Bhikkhunī Day (IBD) happened on September 17, 2011. Each year since then, we have paid respects to the Bhikkhuni Sangha and acknowledged its essential role in preserving the Dhamma.
This year we share the reflections of present-day bhikkhunis and the ancient arahant bhikkhunis who have inspired them on their path.
To organize an event International Bhikkhunī Day event in your community, click here for some tools you can use to create an informative and inspiring celebration.
Below is a list of a few videos and talks about inspiring arahant bhikkhuni disciples of the Buddha.
We invite you to join this year’s International Bhikkhuni Day celebration of the worldwide Bhikkhuni Sangha!
(You can also check out our archives of all past IBDs.)
Alliance for Bhikkhunis asked contemporary bhikkhunis, “Which arahant bhikkhuni has inspired you in your practice?”
“Mahapajapati Gotami has always been a great inspiration to me. Besides her courage, determination and spiritual powers, her leadership and organizational skills have deeply impressed me. She has obviously used all of her personal talents and familial assets—including the educational opportunities of being born into the leadership strata of her clan—in order to support women who felt called to practice the teachings of the Buddha in the same way as he did, as a monastic. Her strength in advancing the building of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, as well as her own practice, is amazing to me, especially considering the societal obstacles for women in Iron Age India. Mahapajapati Gotami is a prime example of perseverance in the ‘midst of it all’, doing what was possible at the time and not giving up because the situation looked hopeless and extremely challenging. Today’s Bhikkhuni Sangha stands on this foundation, built by Mahapajapati Gotami and her contemporaries, over 2,500 years ago. And there is indeed still a lot of work left to be done, in particular in the Theravada and Vajrayana schools. The intersecting issues of patriarchy and impending global climate collapse make the full acceptance of monastic women into the Sangha more essential and vitalizing than ever before. We must do what we can to outgrow immature attitudes of taking natural support systems – including women – for granted, by merely skimming the surface of the profound Dharma that planet Earth so convincingly demonstrates.”
“Patachara experienced unbearable loss and heartbreak. As a young woman, she followed her heart and not the rules of society. While she married the man she loved, they struggled as a family because of poverty and his fear of retribution from her family. In one night and day, she lost her new baby and little child, her husband, her parents, and the house she was raised in—all of it gone. She lost everything in the world, then she found the Dhamma and understood it deeply. As an awakened bhikkhuni, she taught the Dhamma and inspired and encouraged many women who had gone forth. I like her enlightenment poem in the Therigatha, too. The imagery is insightful and intuitive.”