Bhikshuni

The term bhikshuni, (Skt. bhikṣuṇī; Tib. དགེ་སློང་མ།, Wyl. dge slong ma) often translated as'nun', refers to the highest among the eight types of pratimoksha vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣhu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhiksha) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya, a bhikshuni follows 364 rules and a bhikshu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.

For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of, Mahaprajapati, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahaprajapati is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.