1st Malaysian Theravāda Bhikkhunī Sīmā established at Kwasa Damansara
The 1st Theravāda Bhikkhunī Sīmā for the 1st Malaysian Theravāda Bhikkhunī Nunnery and Dhamma Training Centre was successfully completed on the uposatha full moon according to the Buddhist Vinaya, which corresponded to 23 April 2024.
A sīmā is, simply put, a consecrated boundary of effectively any terrain and size where essential legal acts (kamma) according to the Vinaya, including ordination of the monastic community (sangha), can take place. Establishing a sīmā is a critical prelude for any upcoming monastery, and the establishment of this Bhikkhunī Sīmā at Damansara means that Malaysia’s first bhikkhuni center in modern times can proceed legitimately.
As Ariya Vihara Buddhist Society, the organizer of the sīmā establishment, explained:
With wonderful guidance and superb support from the Fourfold Assembly, the bhikkhu Saṅgha and bhikkhunī Saṅgha, and great effort from Ariya Vihara’s Bhikkhunī Sīmā Consecration Committee and devoted and committed upasika*(s) and* upasaka*(s), the Ariya Vihara Bhikkhunī Sīmā Consecration was established fruitfully to everyone’s great joy. Significantly, this means that the* bhikkhunī upasampada (higher ordination) can be conducted in Malaysia once the building is ready.
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