An international ordination of bhikkunis took place at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara, Los Angeles, CA, on October 10, under the aegis of Ven. Walpola Piyananda Nayaka Thera. Three ceremonies, involving a total of eight women who represented five different nations, were all held on the same day.
The first ceremony was for Canadian-born Brenda Batke-Hirschmann, who became an Anagarika by taking Eight Precepts. The second ceremony was for two American-born Anagarikas, Santussika and Dhammapali, who received ordination as Samaneris.
The third ceremony was for five Samaneris who took full Upasampada, or higher ordination, as Bhikkhunis. The new Bhikkhunis are Sri Lankan-born Lakshapathiye Samadhi; Uttamanyana, who was born in Myanmar; and Cariyapanna, Susila, and Sammasati, who were all born in Vietnam.
Ten bhikkhunis from across America oversaw the ordinations, and among those bhikkhunis, six nations were represented: America, Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Vietnam, and Korea.
You can see pictures of the ceremonies on the Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara’s website.
