Tathālokā Therī

October 26, 2024

Kathina message from Ayyā Tathālokā on the occasion of completing Dhammadharini's 20th Vassa

Namo Buddhāya, Namo Dhammāya, Namo Sanghāya

Warm greetings dear Venerable International Bhikkhunī Sangha, dear cherished long-time and new Dhamma friends, dear supporters and benefactors of our Dhammadharini Bhikkhuni Sangha. 

First I would like to express my hearty and heart-felt "Anumodana!"  It is nothing short of a kind of miracle that we are gathered to be celebrating this International Bhikkhuni Sangha Kathina just having completed Dhammadharini's 20th Vassa. 

Shortly after my entering into monastic life nearly 37 years ago, I was greatly inspired and encouraged to hear of the one German-American Bhikkhunī teacher who i knew to exist at that time: our late venerable Ayyā Khemā. 

Traveling to India with visions of the ancient greats of the Bhikkhu-Bhikkhuni Sangha in my mind's eye and echoing in the voice of my heart from reading Pāli-text Society books, I was bereft to find not a single Buddhist bhikkhuni, even while there were communities of orange-robed women renunciates of other Indian spiritual traditions. 

But there were powerful rumors of some, from the recent First Sakyadhita International Buddhist Women's Teachers Conference in Bodhgaya, the site of the Buddha's awakening. And among the leaders of Bhikkhu Sangha in India, there was a powerfully inspiring and truly courageous renaissance movement afoot...as you see, the Bhikkhu Sangha had also been almost entirely eradicated in its home country, and was just beginning a tentative comeback, with international collaboration and support. It was in this spirit of international collaboration and support, with the call to reconnect with the ancient Bhikkhuni Sanghas and bring them back to their homelands in South Asia, that i set out on a quest to find them. And i did; and made the determination, not only to ordain with them, but to learn from the ground up, to take not only the ordination, but the training.

Fast-forwarding ten years, and a day i never thought would be possible came to be, nearly 27 years ago, just after Ayya Khema's death: the possibility to receive the Bhikkhuni higher ordination via the Pali-text tradition from the Theravada Bhikkhu Sangha of Sri Lanka and Thailand, after 5 years of traditional training and preparation with the ancient bhikkhuni lineages. But the training had just begun.

It was not until 7 years later after my Bhikkhuni Ordination, much of that time focused on my own Sangha training, Dhamma and Vinaya study, and meditation training–when while on a return visit to my home country of the United States here in the San Francisco Bay–that calls began to come with increasing urgency from all directions, from my senior Theravada Bhikkhu Sangha teachers and leaders, and from my local Dhamma friends, and local fellow women retreatants, to found a vihāra for Theravāda bhikkhunīs. Dhammadharini was born, the first dedicated place for Theravāda Bhikkhunīs in the western United States.

We entered "second Vassa" (meaning the second of the two annual Vassa entry dates) at a newly rented vihāra on a short-term lease at the south end of the Niles Historic District in Fremont. It was risky: we began with only 20 founding supporters, with only the first and last month's rent donated for the Vassa. 

At that time, the local Theravada Buddhist culture was of supporting the Bhikkhu Sangha, but not much if at all supporting Theravada nuns, except when tagged on to the Bhikkhu Sangha. It was 2005. This was new for people!

Ayyā Sucintā (now-Mahātherī, from Germany) came to join me. And women aspirants quickly began to come visit our tiny little rented vihāra by the train tracks. Every day we went out for pindapata in Oldtown Niles -- not just ceremoniously! -- but really for our food!

Slowly, word spread, and more and more people began to offer support, day by day.  I want to deeply, deeply appreciate all our early supporters. Together with those 20 and slowly increasing numbers of supportive friends. And the founding president and founding board members of the then-new Dhammadharini Support Foundation, the first non-profit "Church" in the United States specifically for stewarding the presence and teaching-in-residence of Bhikkhunis, and for supporting those who aspired to train and ordain in this way.  I would like to thank all those who contributed during that first Vassa, back in 2005. 

It was an enormous surprise when, in our first years, we counted how many monastic life aspirants contacted us, and even in the beginning, they equaled between 50-100 per year. Wow!  

But what we had to offer them at that time was very little–a tiny half of a rented duplex next to a diesel train junction, with only two little bedrooms, leaving aside the master bedroom as our meditation hall. The first vassa, i slept in the meditation hall closet. 

At the end of Vassa, several Buddhist friends cried when they had the opportunity, for the first time in their lives, to offer the saffron patchwork robes that they could walk in to a temple and offer any day to the male monks... for the first time in their lives, directly with their own hands, to a bhikkhu-ni.

That December, we took off with our little bonsai Bodhi tree and a framed painting of Sanghamitta Theri, traveling to Buddhist groups all around the Bay Area to introduce them to us, our ancient bhikkhunis' heritage, and our vision. 

Many of them had never even heard of Bhikkhunis before, nor seen such an image. They didn't know an ancient great bhikkhuni arhat theri like Sanghamitta had traveled abroad from India to Sri Lankan and ordained many women there, who also became arahats, in a more than thousand year long great lineage. All that was shrouded in darkness.

At that time, such images were rare. Such stories were rare. Not like these days, where you can find so many of them. And where, now, today, printed copies of a Bhikkhuni Sangha Calendar, collecting such dates, is being offered for the very first time, here, 20 years later.

20 years later, what we have to offer has grown enormously.  In Dhammadharini's 5th Vassa, we offered and supported the First Bhikkhuni Sanghika Vassa; meaning having a full sangha of Bhikkhunis gathered in co-residence together for the Vassa, in North America. That same year, during the 2010 Vassa, Dhammadharini offered the first All-Theravada Pali-text-canon-based Dual Bhikkhuni Ordination ever in North America.

Jump forward to fourteen years later–this Vassa–Dhammadharini had two bhikkhuni therīs at two locations teaching Dhamma to the public, and teaching Bhikkhuni Vinaya to five new bhikkhunis in residence, at our Dhammadharini monastery here in the San Francisco North Bay, and at our Aranya Bodhi forest hermitage on the Sonoma Coast.

Although there are now many small bhikkhuni places scattered around North America, here at Dhammadharini was the only place in the contiguous United States with a Bhikkhuni Sangha in residence.

This is noteworthy.

We have had our share of challenges. And we still do! And, I would like to celebrate our unprecedented perseverance through these challenges, here as we strive to put down the roots of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, here in my own home soil, my own home country of the United States. And in the context of the International Bhikkhuni Sangha.

I am deeply proud and humbled, with much muditā, in 2021, to have been able to support–here in California at our Aranya Bodhi forest hermitage–the coming into being of the German Bhikkhuni Sangha and of the UK Bhikkhuni Sangha.

And in 2023, to host the newly reconstituted international Cambodian Bhikkhuni Sangha, constituted of Khmer-American, Khmer-Canadian, and Khmer-German bhikkhunis.

Our Venerable Bhikkhuni Dhammanusari, sitting among our bhikkhuni sangha here today was and is one of them.

And this year, in 2024, even as my health has failed, I have such enormous muditā to see the first Indian Bhikkhunis come out to teach and to study in North America, Ven Ayya Sakya Dhammadinna teaching widely in Canada, and Ven Bhikkhuni Vandana studying Bhikkhuni Vinaya here with us at Aranya Bodhi.  To me, this is coming back full circle again, to be able to support the restitution of the ancient great Bhikkhuni Sangha in its homeland.

I want to deeply appreciate my Dhammadharini co-teacher, our vice-abbess, Ayya Sobhana Theri, this year's recipient of the Bhikkhuni Sangha's gift of the Kathina robe.

Not only did she build the Sangha Hall kuti from which i am typing and sending this message live right now on our Kathina Day, together with all the kutis here in our forest hermitage. And our “as-Covid-safe-as-possible” Dhammadharini Monastery garden sala pavilion in which this message is being voiced; she has faithfully offered the vast majority of our Dhammadharini public Dhamma teachings since emerging from her long retreat two years ago. I rejoice in all the great goodness and blessings that have come from this.

And from all those who have aspired, all those who have supported, all those who have gathered, from near and far. Every object my eyes fall on, from this keyboard, to the  Sangha Hall kuti windows, to the flask of tea--all are the faithful gifts of someone, often someone i know personally. So many good hearts, so much kindness and generosity. Such great effort.

I wish that, with all these blessings, we may grow in Right Effort. For where there is consistent Right Effort, with Right Mindfulness and Right View, the Dhamma wheel turns.

I wish that we see the fruition of our intentions for our "From Aspiration to Cremation” Initiative that our bhikkhunis may be able to be born in the Dhamma and enter Parinibbana in the Dhamma here.

I wish that with the re-arising and revival of the upasampadā of "higher ordination" as Bhikkhunis, that we see likewise the re-arising and revival of the upasampadā of the "higher attainments" as Bhikkhunis; from steam entry, through to Arahanta. To the reappearance of Bhikkhuni Arahant Theris in our world.

Now this would be a great offering. 

And why not?  

In the Theravada traditions, many believe they have seen arahant bhikkhus in the 20th and 21st century. Let us work to support this for Bhikkhunis. Then truly the "Fourfold Noble Sangha" will come to exist again in the Theravāda.

May we all do whatever we can to support the arising of this incomparable merit in this world.

Through our very grounded Right Effort. Right Mindfulness, Right View. Through doing our own Path work, and through supporting one another and the Sangha, the noble Sangha, to do this, as best we can, with all of our mindfulness and strength. 

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu Anumodama!

Many blessings to Kathina cloth donor Susie Kliks and her family on this Kathina Civara Dana offering day.

Many blessings to all our Dhammadharini Support Foundation and all our supporters!

Many blessings to all our Bhikkhunis and to all who aspire!

May we grow in this Noble Path of Practice, for the Right Ending of All Suffering!

- respectfully offered by Bhikkhuni Tathaloka Mahatheri with loving kindness

on this Dhammadharini International Bhikkhuni Sangha Kathina Day 26 Oct 2024

Mettāvihārī yo bhikkhū,  pasanno buddhasāsane |

Adhigacche padaṁ santaṁ,  saṅkhār'ūpasamaṁ sukhaṁ ||

That Bhikkhu/nī, that devout practitioner, dwelling in loving kindness,

inspired, gladdened and tranquilized in the Buddha's Dispensation,

is bound for the highest State of Peace,

the Tranquil, the Unconditioned, the Blissful. 

- the Buddha, Dhammapāda verse 368