In 2003, Ayya Gunasari was ordained as a bhikkhuni in Sri Lanka. Following her full ordination, she returned to the United States to live. She stayed in various dhamma centers and in a supporter’s garage. It took years for her teacher, Sayadaw U Pandita, to recognize her as a bhikkhuni, but eventually he did. In 2006, she was named an Outstanding Woman in Buddhism at the United Nations in Bangkok. In 2007, she was a speaker at the First Global Congress of Buddhist Women in Hamburg, Germany. Since 2007, after being invited by Therese Duchesne to be the abbess at Mahapajapati Monastery, Ayya Gunasari has devoted herself to providing a place for women to become bhikkhunis and to practice the path set forth by the Buddha.
Although Ayya Gunasari never intended to be an abbess, she has become one because she wants things to be easier for other women monastics than they were for her. When she first ordained, her idea was to become a recluse because she had become disenchanted with life, but she discovered that being a bhikkhuni is not only about meditating. She says:
“Although I like freedom and solitude, I also like the restraints of being part of a community. It inspires me when we all get along as a Sangha, show concern for each other, and go through challenges together. Also, I enjoy giving to others in the Sangha, including those outside my immediate community. Although we may have personality differences, we belong to each other. We are sisters; we are one. The whole thing is Sangha. It is not complete on our own.”
Many congratulations, Ayya! Do you currently know any of the details? At what monastery in LA and at what time the ceremony will take place? With metta.
Lovely website. I could not however find the address, except on one page found that it is in los angeles. Perhaps this is deliberate however I thought you should be aware.
@vimalanyani: Just to check, is the ordination ceremony open to the public; if we want to witness the ceremony can we just show up? Wishing you the best on your journey down the path! May you realize the supreme goal of the holy life for which you rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing it for yourself right in the here-&-now!
As far as I know, the ceremony will start around 9 am and will go on until 2 pm, but there will be lunch provided in between too.
Yes, everybody who lives near there is very welcome to just walk in and see the ceremony. Of course you will not be allowed inside the actual sima (boundary) for the ceremony but you will be able to see a large part of it. There are a couple of D&D people coming already!
I think a live broadcast might be a little bit over the top @Mat But it’s a nice idea.
You are of course very very welcome! You’d be happy to meet a few of our D&D friends in real life too!
Sure, if you want to sit there holding up your smartphone from 9 am - 2 pm! Hope you have a good battery and a good cell-phone package that does not charge you too much for doing all this
We have received some PMs and it seems that there is some confusion about the live-streaming. So I just wanted to clarify that it was a joke and there is not going to be a live-stream.
We will share some photos afterwards so you can all still see what it was like!
Sorry Vann, but a samaneri ordination is very different from a bhikkhuni ordination. People have raised vinaya concerns, and some participants would be very uncomfortable if it was recorded.
So photos will have to do.
Do you currently know any of the details? At what monastery in LA and at what time the ceremony will take place? With metta.
Maybe I’ll hop (
) over.
!