In recent years Buddhist nuns from Asia and the West have met together to become more active in improving their status in the female sangha. At "Life As A Western buddhist Nun," the 1996 conference in Dharamsala, His Holiness the Dalai lama supported this effort of Buddhist nuns to clarify their purpose in taking vows, widening their context, broadening community beyond their own abbeys, and supporting one another on their quest to achieve greater equality with men in liturgical matters, especially ordination. They received concentrated teachings on the bhikshuni precepts, discussed their lives and Dharma Practice, and compared traditions and precepts in different lineages.

This book gathers some of the presentations and teachings at this conference. Coming from many different countries and backgrounds, these women show ways they have found to embrace group practice in an era when most societies extol individualism. Their passion for earned wisdom should inspire lay practitioners and other nuns seeking the essence of Buddhist practice.