What is Bhikkhuni?
A bhikkhuni (Pali: bhikkhunī; Sanskrit: bhikṣuṇī) is a fully ordained Buddhist nun who lives by the Vinaya, a set of monastic rules and ethical precepts. The total codes of conduct for nuns amounts to either 311 (Theravada school), 348 (Dharmaguptaka school), or 364 (Mulasarvastivada school)—more than the 227 rules for fully ordained monks (bhikkhus). Bhikkhunis represent the female counterpart to the male monastic order and form one quarter of the traditional Buddhist fourfold assembly, alongside monks, laymen, and laywomen.
According to the Buddhist Canon, women are as capable of reaching enlightenment as men. The establishment of the bhikkhuni order was historically significant as one of the first formal monastic orders for women in any major religion.
Origins & Lineage
Around 500 BCE, Maha Pajapati Gotami with five hundred women formed the bhikkhuni order with permission from the Buddha, one of the first monastic orders for women. The order was founded when the Buddha ordained his foster-mother, Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, and for centuries it flourished alongside the monks’. According to traditional accounts, the Buddha’s attendant Ananda advocated for women’s ordination, though this remains debated by scholars given chronological inconsistencies in the texts.
In the 200s BCE, Ven. bhikkhuni Sanghamitta, daughter of King Ashoka, went to Sri Lanka with a sapling from the original Bodhi Tree and spread Buddhism and the bhikkhuni order there. The lineage spread throughout South and Southeast Asia, transmitted to China, Korea, and Vietnam.
The tradition flourished for centuries throughout South and Southeast Asia, but appears to have lapsed in the Theravada tradition of Sri Lanka in the 11th century CE. It apparently survived in Burma to about the 13th century, but died out there too. The bhikkhunī lineage lapsed around the 11th century in Sri Lanka amid the invasions and upheavals that ended the great monastery culture of Anuradhapura.
In the East Asian tradition (China, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam), the bhikkhuni lineage survived continuously. Chinese Buddhist nuns today trace their ordination back through an unbroken chain to the original order.
How It’s Practiced
The traditional appearance of Theravada bhikkhunīs is nearly identical to that of male monks, including a shaved head, shaved eyebrows and saffron robes. Like monks, bhikkhunis observe celibacy, renounce worldly possessions, rely on alms for daily sustenance, and devote themselves to study, meditation, and teaching the Dharma.
The ordination process follows multiple stages. Beginning as an upāsikā, then embracing the homeless life as an anāgārikā, and progressing through two and a half years as a sāmaṇerī (novice nun), aspirants undergo extensive training in monastic discipline and Buddhist texts before receiving full ordination. With full ordination comes the responsibility to keep all the rules of the vinaya and to live skillfully by the Dhamma and to strive for liberation. This is the last stage of ordination and the nun is now a member of the Sangha.
Traditionally, full ordination requires a “dual ordination” ceremony: a nun should not receive full ordination unless a retinue of both monks and nuns is available to grant her permission and officiate. This requirement became a central obstacle to restoring the lineage where it had died out.
Bhikkhuni Today
In 1996, through the efforts of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women, the Theravada bhikkhunī order was revived when 11 Sri Lankan women received full ordination in Sarnath, India, with assistance from monks and nuns of the Jogye Order of Korean Seon. The lineage was revived from the late 1990s using the surviving full-ordination lineage preserved in the East-Asian Mahāyāna tradition, and there are now thousands of bhikkhunīs, especially in Sri Lanka.
In 2003, Venerable Dhammananda was the first Thai woman to receive full ordination in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Over twenty years have passed since Venerable Dhammananda’s ordination and there are now 270 ordained women in Thailand. The official lineage of Tibetan Buddhist bhikkhunīs recommenced on 23 June 2022 in Bhutan when 144 nuns, most of them Bhutanese, were fully ordained.
Several monastic establishments, notably in Thailand and Myanmar, still do not officially recognise the revived order, so a woman’s ability to be fully ordained—and to have that ordination accepted—depends heavily on where she is. The leadership of the Theravada bhikkhu Sangha in Burma and Thailand deem fully ordained bhikkhunīs as impossible.
Women seeking ordination today typically travel to Sri Lanka, Taiwan, or other countries where ordinations are performed. Organizations like the Alliance for Bhikkhunis and Sakyadhita provide support networks, resources, and guidance. Small nunneries and practice centers have emerged in North America, Australia, and Europe.
Common Misconceptions
The bhikkhuni order is not “Mahayana” versus “Theravada.” The ordination lineages are not innately “Mahayana” or “Theravada”—they all stem from early Buddhist vinaya traditions. The Mahayana schools mostly follow the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, which is one of the Theravada sects. The surviving East Asian lineage derives from the same early Buddhist tradition that produced Theravada Buddhism.
The controversial “Eight Garudhammas”—rules mandating nuns’ subordination to monks—are widely questioned by scholars. The historical authorship of the controversial Eight Garudhammas cannot be traced to the Buddha. Written by others at a later date, it mandated the bhikkhunī order to be subordinate to and reliant upon the bhikkhu (monk) order.
Bhikkhunis are not the same as mae chis (Thailand), thilashins (Myanmar), or dasa sil matas (Sri Lanka)—these are women who observe ten precepts but are not fully ordained and hold lower formal status within Buddhist institutions.
How to Begin
Those interested in the bhikkhuni path should first study the monastic code (Vinaya) and early Buddhist texts, particularly the Therigatha (poems by early Buddhist nuns). Visiting established bhikkhuni monasteries—such as Ariya Vihara, Dhammadharini in California, or monasteries in Sri Lanka—provides direct exposure to monastic life.
Prospective ordinands typically spend extended periods (months to years) as guests or lay residents before committing to ordination. Organizations like Sakyadhita host conferences and provide connections to teachers and communities. The scholar Bhikkhu Anālayo’s academic work on bhikkhuni ordination offers rigorous historical context. Reading accounts by contemporary bhikkhunis like Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, Ayya Tathaaloka, and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo illuminates the lived experience of reviving this ancient lineage in modern times.