Seeking contemporary works written by bhikkhunīs

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Does anyone know of any books/essays etc, even transcribed dhamma talks, academic or not-so-academic, that have been written by bhikkhunīs? I’ve found works about bhikkhunīs, plenty of biographies, but no heavier works like those published by the male monastic community.

In my search to read works written by bhikkhunīs I’ve stumbled upon this post from a few years ago: How to Read the Suttas - #33 by Konin but the links aren’t working. Ven. @Konin I’d love to read your blog posts, or any other works you have published. Same to any other bhikkhunīs who happen to read this.

If you have links to any of your own personal works or the works of other female monastics, I (and hopefully the whole community) would greatly appreciate it :pray:

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Ayya @Charlotteannun has written some things, for example this essay. Perhaps she can share more with us? :pray:

Of course, Ayya Khema is famous for her many teachings, such as Being Nobody, Going Nowhere.

On the more academic side, Bhikkhuni @dhammadinna has published many papers and edited many volumes as part of her work on the Agama Research Group

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Brilliant! Thanks to all who have responded so quickly, and special thanks to those who have created the fabulous works :blush:

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On this forum you find several essay by Ven. @Vimala Bhikkhuni, like for example “Through the Yellow Gate”, and others.

Also note their work for Buddhanexus. (Find more in the Meta/Updates category.)

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Hi Liana, what a lovely request! As you may know, the non-profit group Alliance for Bhikkhunis is the only group supporting bhikkhunis in general (rather than being tied to a particular person or monastery). They’ve had a lot to do with the survival of many of us. Their website is a treasure trove of bhikkhuni writings, scattered around the various website page categories. https://www.bhikkhuni.net/

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Teachings and writings from the Dhammadharini bhikkhuni community are available here: https://www.dhammadharini.net/teachings

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It may already be obvious to you, but just in case, there are volumes of writings by bhikkhunis posted on this Discuss & Discover site. You can try searching individual names, or search for topics related to bhikkhunis. (If uncertain whether a poster is ordained or not you can probably find out from their bio.)

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Thanks to all for your input :pray:

I’m sure your suggestions will offer much inspiration for my upcoming dhamma travel around Australia these next few months. I have already loaded up my e-reader :slight_smile:

I look forward to seeing what other goodies the community comes out with!

May you be happy, safe and well

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Here are links to the academia.edu pages of a few bhikkhunis.

Dhammānandā Therī
(this is the Vietnamese Dhammānandā, not the Thai one).

Bhikshuni Trinlae

Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā

Tathālokā Bhikkhunī

Bhikṣuṇī Nguyen Linh

And one for Petra Kieffer-Pülz, who isn’t a bhikkhunī but has published prolifically on bhikkhunī Vinaya-related topics.

And lastly one for Reiko Ohnuma. She’s also not a bhikkhunī but some of her papers are quite delightful, particularly…

Bad Nun: Thullanandā in Pāli Canonical and Commentarial Sources

and The Heretical, Heterodox Howl: Jackals in Pāli Buddhist Literature

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This book is a transcription of talks by Buddhist nun Sayalay Dipankara… She’s been so inspiring to me: https://www.dhammatalks.net/Books14/Sayalay-Dipankara_The-Happiness-of-a-Beautiful-Mind.pdf

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Hello Liana,

I’m happy to hear that you are interested in the teachings of the Theravada bhikkhunis, as it’s been my experience that they have much wisdom to share.

My teachings are available on my community’s website dassanaya.org. There are pages for audio and video Dharma talks, in English and Spanish, and there is a page for links to articles and a free distribution book that was published last year. It’s called “Gifts Greater Than the Oceans: Benefits of the Buddhist Practice of Giving.” There’s another book in the works too, but it’s going to take me a while. LOL I also have a page on dharmaseed.net where you can also find audio recordings of teachings by many of the bhikkhunis.

Wishing you a fruitful Path,

Konin aka Ayya Dhammadipa

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Perhaps this might be the correct dharmaseed link?
https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/631/

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Yes, Jeane, that’s right. Thanks for the correction.

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My bhikkhuni teacher asked me to write this biography of Ranjani de Silva:

(The improved second edition is available at link).

https://mettarama.org/ranjani-de-silva-bio/

Which was later featured on Australian national radio for the 25th anniversary of the 1996 ordinations:

Not sure if it counts as a “heavier” work, but it was, in fact, heavy work to finish it.

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