When we ask ourselves what Buddhism is and how it could be defined, a large number of problems arise. Are you defined by your doctrines? Because of your practices? Because of your texts? Because of their secret teachings? Maybe because of the taking of refuge? But, if so, does taking refuge in all traditions entail the same thing? Obviously, this question can have many and varied answers. But to guide us, it is possible to start with certain institutions that originated around the Buddha himself. One of these distinguished institutions is monasticism. At least according to Theravada tradition, Buddhism without monks and nuns is impossible.
In the Theravada tradition, the monk is called Bhikkhu (Sans. Bhikṣu, pipe. “gelong”, chi. ) and the nun Bhikkhuni (Sans.Bhikṣuṇī, pipe. “gelongma”, Who. Bye). It literally means that person who lives on handouts”, as opposed to those who earn their living, for example, producing food on the farm, selling goods or services, or collecting the taxes of the former. The Buddha was a bhikkhu and so were many of his human disciples (monasticism is a privilege that the gods don't enjoy). But how do you become a bhikkhu? Is it a pure personal decision? Do you simply decide to take a radical turn in your life and “leave everything”? Historically, it seems so. That is to say, there were more monks besides Buddhists. Some of them went it alone and, obviously, they were monks because that's what they said they were. Who would argue against them? In India, the institution of itinerant ascetics dates back to time immemorial. They are part of the social landscape. Since they have no fixed residence, they go from one place to another and stop at parks outside urban centers, sanctuaries specially dedicated to hosting them temporarily, called Vihāras (later, ironically, the word will come to mean monastery, residence).
At the time of the Buddha, there were some famous teachers among these itinerant ascetics, and each of these teachers had their own community of disciples. All of these communities had some kind of ritual or initiatory formula to ordain a new member of the community. This meant that the bhikkhu, from then on, would be under the teacher's guardianship and would have the privilege of being able to continue to develop in the community.
Initially, the ordination was done in two stages. The first one is called Pabbajā, which is leaving home, giving up the life of home to live the life of the itinerant ascetic. This is what today corresponds to the novitiate. Formal or sometimes called “superior” resignation is the Upasampada, which literally means “admission” into the Sangha (the Community). In an ancient Buddhist book called Milinda Pañha, a king of Greek descent asks a monk: “How was a bhikkhu the Buddha ordained if there was no teacher before him? Who ordered him? ” The monk replies that the Buddha became a bhikkhu at the very moment of enlightenment under the tree of awakening.
At the time of the Buddha, as the texts tell us, ordinations were not as complicated as they are today: the Buddha simply told a person “come, bhikkhu” (Hey Bhikkhu). It's that simple! This simple and kind formula is reminiscent of one of the qualities of Dhamma, the teaching of the Buddha, which is described in Pali as Ehipassiko. This is an adjective made up of two verbs: Hey “come” and Pass “look”. The Dhamma invites to be examined and in the same way the Buddhist community invites practitioners to join it to see and test what the most refined practice of teaching is like, in the life of retreat and detachment that the condition of the bhikkhu or bhikkhunī implies.
There is no doubt, then, that the continuity of monastic teachers and disciples, starting with the Buddha, serves as a measure of the presence of Buddhism anywhere. And if this is so, it could be said that Theravada Buddhism had not arrived in Spain until June of this year. It took 2,500 years for the Theravada lineage to cover the nearly seven thousand kilometers from the Ganges basin to the humble Ebro basin. We should celebrate this event as a milestone and be pleased that Bhikkhunī Arindamā is the first representative of the Theravada monastic lineage in Spain. Your name, Arindamā, means the one that dominates enemies, or the one that overcomes obstacles. It couldn't be more appropriate, because if teacher Arindamā is characterized by something, it is her ability to overcome obstacles and setbacks.
Until the day of his ordination, Bhikkhunī Arindamā was Sāmaṇerī Arindamā. The word Samaneri means “novice”. As we said above, the oldest ordination procedure involves a few years of novitiate before higher ordination (it's like a trial period). From now on, she is the first Theravada nun ordained on Spanish soil and will be in charge of the two centers of the monastery, both the one for short retreats in Valderrobres and the one for the future place for long retreats in Calolio.
In Buddhistdoor in Spanish We've talked a few times about the Project of Arindamā and his Saraṇa Vihāra community.Although this community began in the Montseny, it is now established in the Matarraña region, in Teruel. The monastery has a center in the old town of Valderrobres where short meditation and daily practice retreats have been held for more than a year. Women who train to be bhikkhunis and long-term volunteers also live there. The center has been growing little by little thanks to the help of volunteers from all over the world, both practicing and monastic, and even curious people and sympathizers who passed by and were pleasantly surprised to see a Buddhist nun walking through the streets of the old town of Valderrobres.
The most important monastery project in the region is Saraṇa Vana (Refuge Forest), a center for training bhikkhunīs, suitable for long and short-term retreats, located in the town of Calolio. The project is currently approved, but the latest permissions are pending. If this project is successful, the long-term retreat center will be able to accommodate ten meditators, each with their own individual cabin, in a beautiful area of almond, pine and olive trees, near the Ports de Beceite Massif. An ideal place to find peace and to be able to live a life of retreat that does not consist only of a temporary escape from routine, but that becomes a routine and can lead to a permanent escape from suffering.
It was precisely in the bucolic grounds of Saraṇa Vana, still unbuilt, that on the morning of June 25, 2025, among olive groves and almond trees, Samaṇerī Arindamā was ordained as Bhikkhunī Arindamā. It is true that the ordination was not fully confirmed until July 8, when a ceremony was held with bhikkhus at the monastery of Muttodaya in Germany. But the ceremony between bhikkhunīs, the first in the history of our country, was held before a small group of friends and practitioners of Saraṇa Vihāra.
The ceremony began at approximately 8:30 in the morning. As can be seen in the photographs and video, the ceremony essentially consists of a dialogue. Tradition states that this ceremonial dialogue continues to take place in the Pali language, the Indian language spoken by the Buddha (or perhaps a very close dialect). For the ordination of a monk or nun, at least five monks or nuns are required respectively. In the dialogue, the teacher (Upajjhāya), in this case teacher Ayya Phalañāṇī, accompanied by four bhikkhunīs, exchanges questions and answers with Arindamā. Some of the questions may seem rather picturesque today, such as when the teacher asks the pupil if she is a hermaphrodite, if she has leprosy or tuberculosis. He even asks her if she's human! This indicates that the text that is still being used is from venerable antiquity, since these types of questions were relevant to Indian society in the 5th century BC. Curiously, there are also other questions that are very current, such as: “Are you a free woman?” or “Are you debt-free?” Ironically, archaic questions sometimes seem easier to answer.
In the dialogue, the disciple (Saddhiviharini “the one who lives [with her teacher]”) respectfully presents herself as a candidate and asks for “support” or “dependence” with Vinaya's legal formulas (Nissaya) to his preceptor. Although a hierarchical relationship is obviously established, “dependence” does not consist of a subordination of the pupil to its preceptor, but rather consists of being able to count on the support and model of the teacher for her first two years in monasticism. In one of the exchanges, the student and teacher promise to take care of each other. The term in Pali is Bhāra, which literally means “burden” or “weight”, and here it means “responsibility” or “commitment”. Well, like many other solemn commitments, that of spiritual life, perhaps with all the more reason, requires this type of procedure, the ceremonial necessary for the procedure to be legal and accepted by all parties. The teacher then offers her the only properties of Ayya Arindamā from now on: a bowl for alms, a set of three ochre clothes, a vest and a towel. (If you ever doubt what to give to a monk or nun, whatever tradition, give them ochre or saffron clothes. I'm sure they're right!).
The ceremony ended at about ten o'clock and the bhikkhunīs set out to go to the monastic lunch, as the last meal of the day is before noon. Those of us there got up from the cushions and greeted each other briefly. In total, we were about twenty or at most twenty-five people, including the regional press in Teruel. Before returning to the village, we stopped for a moment to examine the plans of the future meditation center, with its ten little cabins and its main room for meditation. It's easy to imagine a community of silent practitioners in a place of such beauty and tranquility. We wish Bhikkhunī Arindamā all the best in this new phase of his life. Those who wish to participate in the ordination of Ayya Arindamā still have the opportunity to join the official celebration on September 27, 2025, in person or remotely. It will take place at the House of Spirituality, in Barcelona (https://sakyadhitaspain.org/celebracion-historica-ordenacion-de-la-bhikkhuni-arindama/). The event is organized by Sakyadhita Spain and will be attended by Guelongma Lama Tsondru, Silvia Palau and Muntsa Castellà, as well as, obviously, Ayya Arindamā herself.
