Yesterday afternoon, Ayya Gunasari, the first Burmese Bhikkhuni, passed away in Mahapajapati Monastery near Los Angeles. She had been quite ill for some years, living in the monastery with a daily carer.
Her strength and resilience has been a true inspiration for many people. She had an enormous love of the Dhamma and of studying; her huge collection of rare Dhamma books was a true treasure-trove of information that she would share with anyone who came to visit.
I’ve been very fortunate to live with her for a year in total and am happy that I have been able to say goodbye to her a little over a year ago. I thank my higher ordination to this extraordinary Bhikkhuni.
On October 13, 2002 , Dr. Khin Swe Win, M.D., a retired medical physician in California , USA , became Samaneri Gunasari. She studied Buddhism from a young age, and aspired to become a Bhikkhuni in this life time. Samaneri Gunasari ordained at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara in Los Angeles , California . She later went to Sri Lanka to study Pali literature and the Pali Canon.
On February 28, 2003 in Sri Lanka , Samaneri Gunasari received higher ordination to the Bhikkhuni Sangha order, along with another Myanmar Samaneri Daw Saccavadi. Among Myanmar women, this was an unprecedented event. The Bhikkhuni Sangha had been defunct for the past 1,000 years in Myanmar , and the opportunity for women to received Bhikkhuni ordination has been forbidden in Myanmar for that same period.
Living in the land of the free in the USA , she decided to fulfill her aspiration of becoming a Bhikkhuni. Also, she is happy to set an example for future generations of women in Myanmar and in countries where Theravada Buddhism is predominant. Bhikkhuni Gunasari finds ordination to be the right path for her to follow as it was clearly established by the Buddha’s foster mother Maha Pajapati Gotami, the leader of the Buddhist Bhikkhunis at the time of the Buddha in the 6th century B.C.
Guess it’s something I inherited from my dad!