Dhammananda Bhikkhuni
Visiting Teacher
Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni is the first fully ordained Theravadin nun in Thailand. As a lay person and a monastic, she has worked tirelessly for more than forty years to establish the Theravada bhikkhuni lineage in Thailand so that women may become fully ordained. Last year, the BBC named her to its list of 100 most influential and important women in the world for her pioneering role in reviving the Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha in Thailand and Asia.
Formerly known as Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, she was a professor of Buddhist studies at Thammasat University for three decades. She received her Master’s Degree in Canada and her PhD in India. She has authored more than 100 books including several written in English. As Abbess of Songdhammakalyani Temple, an all-female monastery founded by her mother more than sixty years ago, she devotes her time to educating and training younger women.
