I celebrate six years since Bhikkhunī ordination, Upasampadā, today. This anniversary finds me in South Korea with its rich heritage of Buddhist teaching and practice.
I arrived in South Korea on November 22nd and Ayya Sucitta met me at the airport. We stayed about five days at Maha Vihara, a Sri Lankan temple.
To me, it seemed the ideal place to honor the heritage of the Theravāda Bhikkhunīs in today’s world as it struck me that Sri Lankan Bhikkhus and Korean Bhikkhunīs held the gifts of the Buddha for us over these many years.
In part, it was the Korean Bhikkhunīs who kept a living culture of bhikkhunī training alive in the world, and it was largely the Sri Lankan Bhikkhus who made it possible for Theravāda Bhikkhunīs to regain Paḷī Text ordination.
It was a joy to pay respects to both this month.
Ayya Sucitta showed one of the Sri Lankan Bhantes and I around the Bhikkunī University where she trained. We toured the site with one of the graduate students there.
My preceptor, Ayya Tathālokā trained at another of Korea’s Bhikkhunī Universities and we will have a chance to visit there later in the month.
Here is a picture from my ordination six years ago with Ayya Tathālokā as preceptor.
Bhante Dhammakitti took us to a modern Buddhist University in Seoul where he teaches lay students.
We toured Seoul with an American Korean Buddhist chaplain and his wife, seeing an ancient palace, the Jogye Order headquarters, and streets of food venders where many people enjoyed Korean foods.
We also enjoyed Korean food with University students when they visited to learn and practice at the temple. There is a restaurant near Maha Vihara that the bhikkhus often go to for the daily alms meal.
Six years ago Ayya Sucitta flew around the world to be at my higher ordination.
It is a joy to practice in Korea with her this month, including on the ordination anniversary.
