SpokaneFāVS
The Sravasti Abbeycommunity in Newport is now home to five officialbhikshunis, or ordained nuns.
Ven. Chonyi and Ven. Jigme recently returned from Taiwan, where they participated in theInternational Triple Platform Full Ordination training and ceremony, making them the fourth and fifth bhikshunis at the abbey.
According to the monastic ethical code (the Vinaya), a community with four or more ordained nuns is authorized to hold special sangha activities. The abbey is now able to host abi-monthly confession and precept ceremony, known asposadha.
More photos of the sisters' trip can be seen on the abbey website.
Tracy Simmons is an award winning journalist specializing in religion reporting, digital entrepreneurship and social journalism. In her 15 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti.
Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas and Connecticut. Currently she serves as the executive director of SpokaneFAVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Wash. She is also a Scholarly Assistant Professor at Washington State University.
