Venerable Bhikkhuni Dr Dhammananda

Venerable Dr Dhammananda is the Abbess of Songdhammakalyani Monastery in Bangkok, a temple for Buddhist nuns. Venerable Dhammananda received her B.A. in Philosophy from Visva Bharati University, India, M.A. in Religion from McMaster University, Canada, and Ph.D. in Buddhism from Magadh University, India. She was a Professor of Philosophy at Thammasat University in Bangkok for 27 years. She has authored many books on contemporary issues in Asian Buddhism, many published before her ordination and are under her birth name, Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh.

She writes and speaks about issues generally thought to constitute "socially engaged Buddhism" such as Buddhism and nature or ecology or environmental issues, Buddhism and poverty, Feminism and Buddhism, prostitution (in Thailand), and Buddhism and education (lay and monastic). A keen environmentalist, she wrote A Cry for the Forest: Buddhist Perception of Nature. A new perspective for conservation education (Wildlife Fund Thailand, 1987) to highlight the importance of protecting the environment.