Jayantā Shirley Johannesen interviews Ayya Medhanandi, founder of Sati Saraniya Hermitage in Canada JAYANTĀ: Ayya, I first met you when I visited Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England back in the 1990’s when you were a siladhara, one of the 10-precept nuns in the Thai Forest Sangha. Since then, we have seen dramatic changes for nuns internationally, and …
Posted: September 4, 2013 by Alliance Bhikkhunis
Women at the Forefront
Jayantā Shirley Johannesen interviews Ayya Medhanandi, founder of Sati Saraniya Hermitage in Canada JAYANTĀ: Ayya, I first met you when I visited Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England back in the 1990’s when you were a siladhara, one of the 10-precept nuns in the Thai Forest Sangha. Since then, we have seen dramatic changes for nuns internationally, and …
Posted: July 14, 2013 by Alliance Bhikkhunis
Ordained Buddhist Women in Britain
When I envisaged studying for a PhD, I always imagined myself going somewhere warm and sunny. I did not picture myself at 5am on a cold, rainy November morning driving alone on one of the largest motorways in Britain trying to find a Buddhist monastery in the dark. Yet after a chance meeting with a …
Posted: August 10, 2012 by Alliance Bhikkhunis
Dear Ayye: Questions for Bhikkhunis
Venerable Ayya Tathaaloka Explores the Question: Is Buddhism Patriarchal? There can be many ways to answer a single question. Some answers are questions themselves. I would ask, “If a religion or philosophy, a teaching or way of life is founded by a man, does that mean it is patriarchal?” My thought would be no. Another …