Supporting the International Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha
Welcome to the Alliance for Bhikkhunis! As a nonprofit, lay organization, our mission is to support fully ordained Theravada Buddhist women (bhikkhunis). We invite you to join us!
Mission
Founded in 2007, the Alliance for Bhikkhunis is a US-based 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization committed to supporting ordained Theravada Buddhist women. Our focus is to support and protect the development of the international Bhikkhuni Sangha through education, sustainable economic empowerment, provisioning of health care, and organizing and mobilizing for a gender-balanced approach to Theravada monasticism. What …
Learn MoreBhikkhuni Projects Needing Support
Did you know? Because of the Vinaya (code of monastic disciplinary rules), bhikkhunis cannot handle money or directly ask lay practitioners for donations, even to address their most basic needs. Instead, lay people can invite bhikkhunis to make a request for support (Pavarana). Alliance for Bhikkhunis extends this invitation to bhikkhunis worldwide, and in response …
Learn MoreThe Practice of Dana
The Practice of Dana “The practice of giving is universally recognized as one of the most basic human virtues, a quality that testifies to the depth of one’s humanity and one’s capacity for self-transcendence. In the teaching of the Buddha, too, the practice of giving claims a place of special eminence, one which singles it …
Learn MoreAbout Us
As our mission is to encourage the growth of the International Bhikkhuni Sangha, our web presence not only facilitates bhikkhunis to apply for and receive financial support, but is also a venue for sharing their wisdom and their unique contribution of leadership in the Theravada Sangha.
Some of the features on our site include a library where you will find a large selection of articles by and about bhikkhunis, our projects page which highlights current bhikkhuni needs, and a directory of bhikkhuni monasteries and centers worldwide.
If you have any questions on the bhikkhuni sangha, feel free to email us at info@bhikkhuni.net
Photo Credits:
slide 1: Photo by Chase O’Flynn and Dominic McCarty. Ordination on Dec 3, 2017 at Dhammadharini.
slide 2: Bhikkhunis Hands Together – from Bhikkhuni Dhammakamala in Thailand Wat Thippayasathandhamma Koh Yoh, Songkhla
slide 3: Photo: Sampath Bandara. Photo is of the Upasampada for Ayya Santacari, Ayya Dhammavati and Ayya Vajira, on September 4th, 2016.
“New Documentary”: Photo by Małgorzata Dobrowolska, www.bhikkhuni-film.com.
New & Recent
Joining the Bhikkhuni Sangha
Ayya Suvijjana Describes her Life on the Path
“In 1998 I was introduced to vipassana at Santa Cruz Insight. Soon after, I visited Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Northern California, and in 2002 I moved to Ukiah to be closer to the monastery. I was drawn to the monastic lifestyle that I saw. Reading the suttas, I became inspired to gain a deep understanding of the Buddha’s teaching. I wanted to dedicate my life fully to the Path. Being a woman in her early 50’s made it difficult for me to find acceptance as a candidate for monastic life. At the places I sought ordination, I did not see the same opportunities that men had. The options for women were few, and they were cultural adaptations inconsistent with the full monastic form.” Click here to read more…
New & Recent
Growing the Bhikkhuni Sangha
Venerable Silananda Recounts her Journey to ordination
On November 21, 2025, in Port Townsend, Washington, USA, dalhikamma (re-ordination ceremony in the Theravada tradition) was conferred upon Venerable Silananda Bhikkhuni (formerly Ven. Thubten Kunga Bhikshuni). A total of eight bhikkhunis and six bhikkhus were present to welcome Ven. Silananda into the Theravada tradition. She is now a member of the Parayana Vihara bhikkhuni community in Port Townsend, under the leadership of Ayya Anandabodhi. Her name, Silananda, means “Blissful in Virtue.” Click here to read her story about the path that led her to this occasion.
New & Recent
What Are We Really Building Here?
Volunteers Build a Kuti—And Community—at California’s Karuna Buddhist Vihara
Sarah Conover of the Clear Mountain Community near Seattle, Washington, shares her inspiring account of a weeklong volunteer effort to help Bhikkhunis Santussika and Cittananda build more than just a new kuti. She writes, “What these two nuns have pioneered on their own is remarkable, and you can be sure that what we’re building together with them is much greater than an empty hut.” Click here to read more.
New & Recent
Interview with Ayya Soma
Ayyā Soma is cofounder, with Bhante (Ayya) Suddhāso, of Empty Cloud Monastery in New Jersey (USA). Ayyā Soma grew up in Italy and moved to New York for her career. While she had encountered the Buddha’s teachings previously, meeting Bhante Suddhāso became a turning point. As a lay woman, she helped start Buddhist Insights in New York City and eventually followed her heart to ordain as a monastic. In recent years, family circumstances took her back to Italy part-time, where she discovered a hunger for the Dharma and the need for a monastery there, too. Ayyā Soma and others are now working to meet a June 2024 deadline to purchase an ancient forested property in southern Italy to create Empty Cloud Italia monastery.
AfB president Wren Withers interviewed Ayyā Soma in Spring 2024.
Alliance for Bhikkhunis (AfB): What initially brought you to New York City?
Ayyā Soma: I used to work in fashion and had lived in Milan and London. New York was a place I hadn’t yet been on the “fashion path,” so I moved there about 15 years ago. Back then I had already been introduced to the teachings of the Buddha, but I was still a “greed” type. I remember thinking, “Yes, there is suffering, but there are lots of good things. I’m sure I’ll be happy if I accomplish A-B-C…” Yet after a whole alphabet of accomplishments, I was still not satisfied, not fully happy. […]