ABOUT US:
The Committee
for Bhiksuni Ordination
in the Tibetan Tradition (CBO)
The Committee of Western
Bhikshunis was formed in the autumn of 2005,
after His Holiness the Dalai Lama encouraged
Western bhikṣuṇīs to
become more involved in helping to establish
bhikṣuṇī ordination in the
Tibetan tradition. As Tibetan Buddhism has
become well-known in the Western world since
the 1970s, Western Buddhist women have noted
that although the Buddha introduced full
ordination for women, it is not available in
either the Theravāda or the Tibetan
tradition of Buddhism, which includes Tibet,
and also countries such as Thailand, Cambodia,
Laos, Burma, and Sri Lanka.
>READ MORE
NEWS: NOVEMBER, 2025
Around 270 Nuns Ordained at Tshalumaphey Global Peace Prayer Festival, Bhutan
Bhutan had its second Bhikkhuni, or Gelongma, ordination ceremony, marking another major moment for Buddhist nuns across the Himalayan region who have waited decades for access to full monastic ordination as the final programme of The Global Peace Prayer festivals. The Bhutan Nuns Foundation (BNF), in partnership with Bhutan's Central Monastic Body, was conducting the five-day ceremony from November 15 to 19 at the BNF Training and Resource Centre in Tshalumaphey, Thimphu. Bhutan's Je Khenpo is conferring the ordination.
https://teahouse.buddhistdoor.net/gelongma-ordination-around-270-nuns-to-be-ordained-at-tshalumaphey/
Bhutan begins second historic Bhikkhuni Ordination, over 260 nuns take part
www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/bhutan-begins-second-historic-bhikkhuni-ordination-over-260-nuns-take-part
Bhutan Amplifies Call For Global Peace At Prayer Festival.
www.ndtv.com/world-news/global-peace-prayer-festival-bhutan-amplifies-call-for-global-peace-at-prayer-festival
VIDEOS
Celeberating Women in Dharma: In Conversation with Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
www.facebook.com
His Holiness the Je Khenpo commenced conferring Gelongma ordination on nearly 270 nuns from 14 countries.
www.facebook.com
Nuns from Bhutan and abroad walk Thimphu streets for alms
www.youtube.com
Global Peace Prayer Festival 2025 | Grand Prayer for World Peace from Bhutan - Day 5
www.youtube.com
NEWS: FEBRUARY, 2025
BBC Podcast: Heart and Soul - Becoming a Buddhist Bhikshuni in Bhutan
In 2022 the kingdom of Bhutan ordained 144 women in an unprecedented ceremony. Among them was Emma Slade, also known as Lopen Ani Pema Deki, from Kent in the UK. She was the only Western woman to take part. Emma's faith has been a part of her life since she was held at gunpoint and robbed in Indonesia in 1997. She studied in Bhutan and set up a charity that supports children with special needs in the country. She talks to Julia Paul about life as a bhikshuni in the UK and Bhutan, her memories of taking part in the historic mass ordination and what it means for Buddhist nuns in Bhutan and other countries.
Listen to the Pocast: www.bbc.com/audio/play/p0ktk2c
NEWS: JUNE, 2022
Buddhist leader in Bhutan fully ordains 144 women, resuming ancient tradition
On Tuesday (June 21), the Je Khenpo, the senior Buddhist authority in Bhutan, began ordaining a group of 144 women as bhikshunis, or female monks, at the Ramthangkha monastery in the tiny Himalayan country.
The ceremony "is of historical importance for all women in Buddhism and brings Tibetan Buddhism into the 21st century," said Bhikshuni Jampa Tsedroen, a German Tibetan author. "For these nuns, it is a major opportunity to demonstrate their abilities to contribute to Buddhism.""
Read more:
- Article by Damcho Diana Finnegan and Dr. Carola Roloff (Bhiksuni Jampa Tsedroen)
- Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo shares a her experience of the historic Bhikshuni Ordination (Facebook video)
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- Dr. Tashi Zangmo, the executive director of the Bhutan Nuns Foundation: The Blessing of Bhikshuni Ordination in Bhutan
- Bhutan Nuns Foundation/
- religionnews.com/2022/06/21/buddhist-leader-in-bhutan-fully-ordains-144-women-resuming-ancient-tradition/
NEWS: NOVEMBER, 2021
New book by Professor Carola Roloff: The Buddhist Nun´s Ordination in the Tibetan Canon
The edition introduces the Tibetan texts and their English translations of two important chapters in the Tibetan Mulasarvastivadavinaya. Based on the presented materials, the author discusses ways in which the nuns ordination in the Tibetan tradition - from which full ordination for women has been absent for centuries - may be legitimately reinstated. This is a concern Carola Roloff has been supporting for more than two decades. Her edition and exegesis of the Tibetan texts and their Sanskrit parallels constitute a solid foundation for discussing why the Mulasarvastivada Bhiksuni lineage should be re-established and how concrete steps in that direction may look like.
Possibilities of the Revival of the Mulasarvastivada Bhiksuni Lineage
Open access ebook:
www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/4-publikationen/hamburg-buddhist-studies/15-roloff.pdf
Print version:
HAMBURG BUDDHIST STUDIES 15
375 Pages
ISSN 2190-6769
ISBN 978-3-89733-526-4
For Details see www.projektverlag.de/The-Buddhist-Nuns-Ordination-in-the-Tibetan-Canon
NEWS: February 8, 2018
Sravasti Abbey Hosts ‘Living Vinaya in the West’
By Ven. Thubten Chonyi and Ven. Thubten Chodron
Download the report (PDF, 94KB)
more info
NEWS: H. H.
the Dalai Lama's Statement of His Continued
Support for the Revival of the Mulasarvastivada
Bhiksuni Tradition delivered
during his Address to the Global Buddhist
Congregation 2011>VIEW VIDEO
