In conjunction with the Mettarama Vision Day and to celebrate the Mettarama Monastery project, the Metta Centre is holding this informative series on the bhikkhuni revival, which I will be presenting in conjunction with the incredible Ayya Dhammananda bhikkhuni of Thailand.
I can’t really express how happy I am (completely stoked, actually) to see this happening. 25 years after the fact, as a result of research for my biography of bhikkhuni activist Ranjani de Silva, Walking in the Sunshine of the Bhikkhunis (publication upcoming), I am looking forward to finally being able to share the accurate story of how ten Sri Lankan Theravada nuns received bhikkhuni ordination in 1996, setting in motion the Theravada bhikkhuni revival. This is on the basis of extensive oral interviews and unpublished archival material (together with Ayya Tathaloka, I probably have the world’s most comprehensive archive on 1996 outside of Korea). About three years of research and international collaboration with senior bhikkhunis has gone into the book, which I can now share with you…it was very challenging, but also very much a labour of love!
Ayya Dhammananda has literally written over 100 books on topics including women in Buddhism & women in Thai Buddhism, she has been at the coalface for bhikkhunis in Asia for nearly 20 years. And she revived the Thai bhikkhuni lineage (how is that for cool?)
I’ll be presenting on key milestones in the revival on August 18 AU EST 7pm-8:30pm with a special focus on 1996 & 1998 ordinations, Ayya Dhammananda will be presenting on her experiences of reviving the Thai bhikkhuni lineage on August 25 AU EST 7pm-8:30pm. I would love to see many of you there, see link below!
