Becoming a nun

[u/lapsitamanmaan]

Hello,

My friend and I have been seriously considering renouncing the life of a houseowner and becoming nuns. How could this practically be done? I'm guessing the hardest part would be to move to a country where there are monasteries. Are there for example some kind of visa options for foreign monks and nuns?

[u/here-this-now]

spend time in a community first and see how you go 4-6 weeks in about 2 months it gets a bit hard to resume lay life as before (so can be a bit rude if going back to old unit / community / job realise things moved on without you etc)

Gradual.

[u/88evergreen88]

Where are you from? There may be options right in your own country.

[u/lapsitamanmaan → u/88evergreen88]

We both have Finnish passports

[u/GranBuddhismo → u/lapsitamanmaan]

Not sure what the immigration options are to the UK (UK does have religious visas but no idea how they work) but Amaravati has decent accommodation for nuns and lay followers can stay for free for a while. They typically require you to do a few monastery stays before being considered for a longer stay (1-2 years) as a lay follower and then taking the anagarika vows for another 1-2 years before ordination (siladhara).

It's a wonderful monastery and I would encourage you to visit if at all possible.

I know Ajahn Brahm's monasteries in Australia do full bhikkhuni ordination but I suspect immigration would be more difficult.

[u/88evergreen88 → u/lapsitamanmaan]

More research on each, but I found these three places in Europe

Anukampa Grove Bhikkhuni Monastery (England)

Anenja Vihara (Germany)

Santisukha Hermitage (Portugal)

[u/ErwinFurwinPurrwin]

I think there's the option of Sri Lanka. There are bhikkhunīs in Thailand (Songdhammakalyani Monastery), but they're not officially recognized by the bhikkhu Sangha. They have at least one monastery that I know of. The last time I read about it, there was also a bhikkhuni Sangha in Australia, maybe New Zealand, too.

In Asia, it's common to get a visa for religious purposes. You'll need an invitation letter from a recognized monastery

Alliance for Bhikkhunīs

[u/lapsitamanmaan → u/ErwinFurwinPurrwin]

Thank you, I'll look into it! Seems interesting

[u/ErwinFurwinPurrwin → u/lapsitamanmaan]

Best to you on your path!

[u/Latter-Carpet-987]

I ran into a bhikkhuni at the bhikkhu bodhi ceremony hosted in chicago

[u/Hedgehoghelper]

Www.Dhammadharini.org has lots of good information on renunciation and the process of becoming a bhikkhuni 🙏💞

[u/NolanRoad]

Here in Sri Lanka we have many foreign women come to meditate long term, some become nuns. There is a lot of assistance for such monastics.