At my table: Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni

Thailand's "rebel monk" and change-maker – the country's first woman to be fully ordained

You’ve probably been asked before: “if you could sit around a table with five humans, alive or not, who would you invite?” At My Table, a series on extraordinary women, is a response to this question. You’ll find links to other At My Table essays at the end of this piece. Please look here for other travel-focussed stories.

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This image of Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni is a screenshot, taken from this video interview

Dear NE-One

When Mark and I were researching places to include in our Secret Bangkok book, I came across a quiet, little-known temple that is now one of my favourites in the city. It’s called Wat Thepthidaram Woraviharn (“Notable Temple of the Heavenly Angel”) and although from the outside it looks like so many other Buddhist temples across Thailand – grand, white pillared terraces, and yellow-tiled roofs that sweep up in graceful layers – it is in fact one of the most unusual in a country that is said to have more than 33,000 temples.

It was while researching Wat Thepthidaram that I came across an extraordinary woman, “the rebel monk” Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni… but to understand what makes her story so exceptional, you’ll need to take a walk with me through the temple, which is on a busy street that was once a quiet corner of old Bangkok. (To meditate “with” her, see link at the bottom of this page.)