Foremost Buddhist nuns in history (video)

Ayya Vimalanyani; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Lists of Foremost Nuns with Ayya Vimalanyani

(Buddhist Insights) Surviving Buddhist texts focus heavily on the male monastic community (bhikkhu sangha).

Men can do everything women can do.

This is because the female monastic community (bhikkhunī sangha) became defunct and, as early Buddhism was an oral tradition, many of the sutras, back stories, and histories (including hagiographies) were lost when there was no longer a nuns order to hear, memorize, and recite by chanting. The monks memorized what was said to them, not to the nuns, and preserved it to this day.

• [This is why all sutras seem to be spoken exclusively to monks (opening with "O, bhikkhus") when most of his talks were to lay people and nuns were present most of the time, and there must have been talks when the majority of the audience was composed of nuns.]

What do women need with enlightenment?

However, we still get glimpses of the lives of the early nuns. It must always be remembered that females in "Shakya Land" (Gandhara, Scythia, Sakaland, Kapilavatthu, proto-Afghanistan, Central Asia) held a much more equal position than those in neighboring proto-India, which was at that time many loosely affiliated kingdoms such as Magadha, Savatthi, and Bihar (not "countries" but janapadas, territories held by extended families).

These proud and fierce warrior princesses (not actually kshatriyas in the Vedic sense but labelled so by the Brahmins to fit them into the caste system the Buddha did so much to subvert, where nobles/royals were nevertheless superior to Brahmin priests/counselors) were strong, independent, and had every expectation of accessing every opportunity males had.

So they, of course, became nuns under the Buddha, who always intended to include females before considering his mission complete. 

This sasana (dispensation) would be incomplete without male and female monastics and lay followers. Many females made good on the offer and became fully enlightened.

The ancient Pali language texts preserve a list of 13 outstanding nuns, together with a few of their discourses and a collection of their enlightened psalms, hymns, and inspirational poems (Therīgāthā) like a similar collection for elder monks (Theragatha).

The texts in Chinese, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and other source languages preserve lists of up to 50 outstanding "elder" nuns (therīs, which does not refer to age but having at least ten years or Rains Retreats in the robe), and sutras not found in the Pali canon.

This material is supplemented in all Buddhist schools and traditions by later works, such as the biographies (apadānas) in the Minor Collection and the commentaries. In each session of the course, we’ll focus on one nun, and trace the development of her story, her life, and her teaching through the historical layers of texts.

Ten Precept Holders in Thailand (maechis)

Let’s explore how a common core diverges over time in the different Buddhist traditions and also how similar motifs play out in the lives of different therīs. By incorporating material from different source languages, we get a broader overview of the richness of the Buddhist tradition.

We can also see how regional differences and cultures have influenced the texts and shaped the roles of women. This will help us understand modern attitudes towards nuns, female practitioners, and women in general in Buddhist societies.

Greatest nun: Khema, Upa, Bimba, Pajapati?

Also included is material from Ayya Vimalanyani’s new translation of the Chinese Bhikkhuni Vinayas, as the Monastic Disciplinary Code (vinaya) on the one hand seems to have had a great influence on the preservation and interpretation of sutra texts. On the other hand, it often seems to be in striking contradiction to the actual practices described in sutras, biographies, and commentaries.

Monastic rules play a key role in the (re-)establishment of the Theravada and Mulasarvastivada female monastic communities. They also shape the expectations placed on nuns from the outside, which are often experienced as discriminatory and restricting.

These tensions between the texts concerning rules and the descriptions of actual practices are worth exploring and understanding.

• Session 1: Introduction
• Session 2: The lists of foremost nuns
• Session 3: Mahā Pajāpatī (the first nun, the Buddha's mother)
• Session 4: Khemā (foremost in wisdom)
• Session 5: Uppalavaṇṇā (foremost in powers)
• Session 6: Excursion into the Bhikkhunī Vinaya
• Session 7: Paṭācārā (and Somā)
• Session 8: The ascetic nuns (Kisāgotamī and others)
• Session 9: Bhaddā Kuṇḍalakesā
• Session 10: Bhaddā Kapilanī
• Session 11: Yasodharā [the Buddha's wife, a famous enlightened nun minimized in history by being given many names, e.g., Bimbadevi, Rahulamata, Bhaddha Kaccana]
• Session 12: Thullanandā