For lay people considering ordination (in any Buddhist tradition):
1-week Seminar: Exploring Monastic Life
At Watermoon Chan Monastery, Germany.
July 13th-20th, 2025.
Arrival: July 13th, 4.30pm.
Departure: July 20th, 2pm.
You’re thinking about ordaining as a Buddhist monk or nun, but don’t know where to start? You have questions and don’t know who to ask? You can’t really imagine what life would be like in a monastery?
Watermoon monastery is offering a one-week program for those interested in ordination to experience monastic life in a Western forest monastic setting. You’ll follow the monastic routines and daily schedule, and live, meditate, and work alongside the monastic community and fellow like-minded participants. The program includes talks and workshops about developing the monastic spirit, embarking on a monastic path & the process towards ordination, and the basics of the monastic code. Bhikkhunis / bhikshunis of all three Buddhist traditions will be sharing about their life and their experiences in different monasteries around the globe. There will also be ample opportunity to discuss your aspirations and ask questions. The event is co-lead by Shifu Simplicity, a Mahayana bhikshuni and abbess of Watermoon monastery, and Ayya Vimalanyani, a Theravada bhikkhuni and resident at Watermoon. Tibetan Bhikshuni Ven. Thubten Jampa will join us as a guest speaker.
Requirements for participation
- You’ve taken the 3 refuges and 5 precepts with a reputable monastic, and keep them in your daily life.
- You have a daily meditation practice.
- You’re thinking about becoming a monk or nun, and would like to know more.
This event is not suitable for beginners and non-Buddhists.
Vegetarian meals. * Shared rooms. * 30 min walk from train station Kerkwitz.
By donation.
Your donation keeps the monastery going and supports the life and practice of our monastic community. Watermoon Chan Monastery is run entirely by donations.
If you want to participate, send us an email at info@kloster-wassermond.de and tell us a little about you and your practice. Please include your age, if you meet the above requirements, and the tradition you feel closest to.
About the teachers:
Shifu Simplicity began her monastic path in 1998 in Plum Village, France, under Thich Nhat Hanh, where she spent 6 years and took higher ordination in 2001. In 2004, she moved to Taiwan and joined the monastic community at Chung Tai Monastery to train under Master Wei Chueh. The next year, she received triple platform ordination and took her bodhisattva vows. After 14 years in Taiwan as the only foreign nun among thousands of Chinese monastics, she returned to Germany to bring Chan Buddhism to the west. In 2018, she opened the Miao Fa Centre in Berlin, and in 2021, she converted an abandoned holiday camp in the forest into Watermoon Chan Monastery.
Ayya Vimalanyani entered monastic life in 2014 in Malaysia, and took higher ordination in 2018 in the US. She spent many years as a wandering nun, living in communities in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the US. Since 2021, she’s back in Germany and takes care of Watermoon Chan Monastery. Her practice focuses on the Early Buddhist Texts, with Bhante Sujato and Ajahn Brahmali as her main teachers. She translates ancient Bhikkhuni Vinayas from Chinese into English, and does comparative studies with the vinayas in Indian languages to better understand the life of the bhikkhunis in the Buddha’s time.
Guest Speaker
Gelongma Thubten Jampa joined the community in Sravasti Abbey, USA, in 2011, and entered training as an Anagarika. In January 2013, she received both the novice and training ordinations (sramanerika and siksamana) and in March 2016 she received higher ordination in Taiwan at Miao Fa Chan Monastery. She trained under Ven. Thubten Choedroen in Sravasti Abbey for more than 10 years, before returning to Germany in 2022. She is currently enrolled at the Dharma College of the Tibetan Center in Hamburg, and offers regular classes and retreats at the Buddhist Society Hamburg and other Buddhist centers.