My Venerable Elder Bhikkhuni Mentor.

Ayya Tathaaloka Bhikkhuni

Today, for Mother's Day, i would like to pay very special tribute to my venerable elder bhikkhuni mentor. She was born in South Korea, and her Buddhist name is "Myeong Seong" (명성 眀星) 스님 - which means "Bright Star" - the bright star the Buddha opened his eyes to see on the morning of his full awakening, his Maha Sambodhi.

I feel very fortunate to have had an elder bhikkhuni mentor and supporter in monastic life, as many of my fellow Theravada bhikkhunis have not had such an opportunity. There are many good things that are shared in Buddhist monastic life between different orders and traditions, even as there are also many uniquenesses to each monastery, teacher and tradition.

My venerable bhikkhuni mentor--or "Eun-sa Sunim" (은사/恩師 스님) in Korean language has a heart of great enormous love and dedication for the Sangha. She also has incredibly deep love and respect for the Dhamma, and also great dedication to teaching and sharing the Dhamma. She is a master teacher of three main traditions: the teachings of Early Buddhism/Sravakayana as passed down in the Agama Sutras (like the Pali Nikayas), the Madhyamaka Middle Way teachings of Nagarjuna, and the One Vehicle Avatamsaka teachings.

She also is a Vinaya Master and a National Bhikkhuni Preceptor. The photo in which she is wearing all saffron-color she has just become an ordination master, having becoming senior at a relatively young age. She is pictured here instructing in Vinaya. She is the same age as Loung Por Sumedho, both so not so young now. It is from her that i received my contemporary Dhamma name "Tathālokā," which in Korean translation is pronounced "Yeokwang" (비구니 여광(如光)스님).

The second outdoors photo was taken by me in front of her kuti, after she had retired from 25 years of service as abbess of Unmoonsa (Unmunsa, 운문사 雲門寺) Cloud Gate Monastery in the Leaping Tiger Mountain (호거산 虎距山) area of Southern Kyeongsang Province (경상북도 慶尙北道), in the ancient Shilla Kingdom area.

She greatly helped to renovate and restore this ancient Shilla Dynasty monastery formerly founded for the Shilla National Master, but nearly completely destroyed during the Korean War. Under her kind and dedicated care, not only was the ancient monastery restored, but greatly expanded. At its height, during my time there, it was the foremost Buddhist training monastery for women in the country, with around 270 novices and 30 bhikkhuni teachers, administrators and leaders.

At the time of the outdoors photo, although my compassionate Eunsa Sunim had retired as abbess, she was still rector of the Bhikkhuni Sangha College, head of the monastery's bhikkhuni council, and had very recently been elected as President of the Korean National Bhikkhuni Association (전국비구니회장 全國比丘尼會葬). Now, as nearly another 20 years have passed, she has retired from this as well, and is now president emeritus.

The last photo looks most recent. I choose it because she is teaching Dhamma here, and because of her awesome love and respect for the Dhamma and for teaching, as well as to show her over the several decades now that i've been blessed to know her.

I have unintentionally not been back to South Korea for more than ten years now. I hope to go one more time if i have a chance, while my Eunsa Sunim is still alive, just to express my great gratitude to her, as one of my Dhamma mothers. She gave so much care and support, i cannot imagine the monastic life without that care and support being a part of me.

I pray that now, with the revival of our Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha, the next generation will have women teachers and masters like her. The presence of such dedicated women masters truly makes the Sangha a refuge for the women who enter, and for all beings.