Bhikkhuni Siri Sumedha

Sri Lanka

Bhikkhuni Siri Sumedha of Sri Lanka, a Buddhist master of more than three decades, is serenely reserved and a mountain of spiritual strength not only for herself, but also for her community, her country of Sri Lanka and for women in Theravada Buddhism. She is one of the key change agents in re-establishing the Bhikkhuni Order for her country. With more than 30 years in the robes as a Dasa Sila Mata, she knows deeply the nature of mind, and from that quiet, centered space she helped create a social movement which changed the course of Buddhist history.

She traveled to India and received higher ordination as a Bhikkhuni in 1998 and carried the seed of enlightenment, liberation and higher ordination for women in southeast Asia in Sri Lanka and now to Thailand. She is the Secretary of the Board of the Bhikkhuni Order in Sri Lanka and the Head Teacher at the Sri Lankan Bhikkhuni Training Center. She is a preceptor Bhikkhuni which means that she is empowered to ordain other women. Siri Sumedha Bhikkhuni runs a Dhamma school and nunnery and serves as the President of the Bhikkhuni Organization for Matale District, Sri Lanka.