Sister Jotika Hermsen

Netherland

Sister Jotika Hermsen of the Netherlands shares the Dhamma of love, joy, compassion and hope on TV, radio and at her temple in Amsterdam. A Christian nun of 25 years and professor of Women's Studies, Sister Jotika ordained as a Buddhist Samaneri after meeting Bhikkhu Mettavihari.

Sister Jotika travels regularly to Myanmar and is a recognized meditation master. She is also the Abbess of Amsterdam's Buddha Vihara Temple, a position which she has enjoyed for the past 12 years. Her efforts to propagate Buddhism in the Netherlands are well recognized by the Dutch Buddhist community, and she is a real, pioneering, Theravada-Buddhist nun: wise, insightful and spry for a woman in her 70s.

Sister Jotika Hermsen is dearly beloved as her follower writes, “I hardly ever met an important woman, who is so humble, kind, with a soft gentle voice and endless patience with all the people who have come and still come to consult her.”

Amidst the allures of city life in Amsterdam, Sister Jotika offers Buddhist meditation and wise counsel particularly for women of high position in society. Her commitment to women is long-standing.

Sister Jotika is currently training Dutch vipassana meditation teachers.