Most Venerable Bhikkhuni Dhammawati Guruma

Nepal

Most Venerable Bhikkhuni Dhammawati Guruma

Nepal

The Most Venerable Bhikkhuni Dhammawati Guruma was born in 1934 as Ganesh Kumari Shakya. And, with such a surname, she transformed Buddhism in Nepal for women.

At the age of 14 she journeyed across Nepal, northern India of Assam, Bangladesh, India again and into Myanmar through the jungles to study Buddhism. She studied for 13 years, became friends with Aung San Suu Kyi, and returned with Theravada Buddhist academic honors to Nepal. In 1963, a Burmese monk wrote a book about her adventure, which has traversed several languages to date. She is notably respected in Nepal and worldwide for her pioneering efforts.

She created a revolution by building the first women's temple (Dharmakirti Vihara in Kathmandu), and setting it up as a dynamic learning center rather than emphasizing rituals and prayers. She inspired young women to become nuns and sent them abroad to study in Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Taiwan, and helped them to establish a network of 6 temples for nuns upon their return. She empowered adult Nepalese women to become literate. She published more than 300 booklets in different languages, a monthly magazine which began in 1972 and continues to today, and wrote or translated more than 50 books. During the Covid lockdown, she initiated online Dhamma teachings by young nuns.

In 1988 in Los Angeles, she took Bhikkhuni ordination, thus uplifting the role and status of Buddhist women in Nepal, as its first Bhikkhuni.