Thanissara

Thanissara (Mary Weinberg) was one of the first women to be ordained in the West as a nun in Ajahn Chah’s Forest tradition, initially as a mae chee (eight-precept nun), then as a nun in the siladhara order, based on the ten-precept ordination. She left the order after twelve years. She is director of Dharmagiri Hermitage and Outreach in South Africa, and a facilitator for the community dharma leader program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California.

Recent Articles

Dismantling the Master’s House

Thanissara presents an honest discussion of internalized racism and how seeing it clearly transforms sanghas.

Nuns Ordination Theravada Buddhism Ajahn Brahm

The Time Has Come

The “eight heavy rules” institutionalize women’s second-class status in Buddhist monasteries, and in most lineages women are denied full ordination.