bhikshuni

noun

bhik·​shuni ˈbik-ˌshə-nē 

plural bhikshunis

: a woman belonging to a Hindu or Buddhist monastic order : a Hindu or Buddhist nun

Other precepts, such as the one requiring bhikshunis to receive instructions from a bhikshu twice a month (but not vice versa), clearly reflect gender inequalities in Indian society at that time.

—Bhikshuni Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Blossoms of the Dharma: Living as a Buddhist Nun, 1999

The number of vows varies among different Buddhist lineages, and within each lineage, the bhikshus and bhikshunis have different numbers of vows.

—Thubten Chodron, Taming The Mind, 2004

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Sanskrit bhikṣuṇī, feminine derivative of bhikṣu bhikshu

First Known Use

1831, in the meaning defined above

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