The construction of the foundation story of the Bhikkhuni order

Dhamma Talk by Ven. Vimala
Organized by PEBS
25th Jan 2026 at 9.30am CET

After the death of the Buddha, the Sangha found itself without a leader while dependent for their livelihood on the laity. The perceived opinions of the laity became increasingly important, as well as a greater influence from other religious groups. At this time, a large portion of the Vinaya was constructed, which had major negative implications for the Bhikkhuni order.To uncover the hidden truths behind the foundation story of the Bhikkhunis, Bhikkhu Analayo conducted a comparative study of the seven main versions of this story to find out how the story was constructed after the Buddha passed away. In doing so, the influence of ascetic and Brahminical values among the Buddhist monastic community became evident, whereby male monastics increasingly perceived their female brethren as a threat and a public problem. The texts were carefully redacted, showing more negative attitudes towards Bhikkhunis. Injunctions on how to carry out communal transactions and protect nuns, in a world hostile to independent women, became gurudharmas for the whole life, thereby serving to subdue and control nuns.

This process still has a considerable impact on the Buddhist traditions today. It is therefore important that we study the history of the texts carefully to learn to understand how we can practice in a way that is consistent with the Buddha’s teachings.

Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86050497338?pwd=6IlqHVevX6Nv8bmAe96f4jLWWMhp6S.1
A waiting room will be active — no password is required.

Please install the Zoom application in advance: https://zoom.us/
The meeting is free of charge and will be translated into Polish.
If possible, we kindly ask participants to turn on their cameras (to support a sense of community) and to keep microphones muted during the session.

You can download the book by Bhante Analayo from the Numata Centre website.

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