Buddhist Nuns

Buddhist Nuns by Mohan Wijayaratna. The Community of Buddhist Nuns is one of the oldest women’s organizations in human history. In this book Dr. Wijayaratna explains how this community was started by the Buddha in the 5th century BCE, and how it developed gradually. To show the motivation and the way of life of these ordained women, the author uses the oldest texts of the Pali canon. Several chapters of this book discuss the position of Buddhist nuns in the field of the three famous monastic themes: poverty, chastity and obedience. This book describes in detail the structure of the organization of their Community, their day-to-day practices, and the virtues and mental discipline through which they strove to attain the sublime goal, Nibbana.

Mohan Wijayaratna is a Sri Lankan born anthropologist and translator living in France is well known among the francophone readers for his many works on various aspects of Buddhism as well as for his translations from the Pali Canon, including the complete Digha and Majjhima Nikaya.