From Patna, the capital of Bihar state, crossing the long bridge over the vast Ganges River and traveling about fifty-five kilometers north brings pilgrims to the ancient soil of Vaishali, once the capital of the Licchavi republic during the lifetime of the Buddha. Along the tree-lined avenue leading to the World Peace Pagoda (Vishwa Shanti Stupa), directly opposite the ancient Buddha Relic Stupa and the Abhishek Pushkarini coronation tank, rises a traditional Vietnamese Buddhist nunnery with sweeping curved red roofs and a stately stupa known as Kieu Dam Di Temple (Vietnam Mahaprajapati Nunnery).
In this historic land that once witnessed the bleeding feet of the Buddha's foster mother Mahapajapati Gotami and five hundred Sakyan noblewomen after they walked hundreds of miles from Kapilavastu to Vaishali to request monastic ordination, this sanctuary built by Vietnamese nuns blooms like a lotus of gratitude more than twenty-five centuries later. Visiting in the morning, alongside the deep resonance of the temple bell and Vietnamese sutra chanting, pilgrims behold more than a thousand Indian children in neat uniforms sitting in quiet mindfulness meditation before beginning their lessons at the free school named after the Founding Matriarch of the Bhikkhuni Sangha.
IFounding Matriarch Mahapajapati Gotami and the birth of the Bhikkhuni Sangha
Kieu Dam Di Temple (officially registered as Vietnam Mahaprajapati Nunnery) is a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist nunnery. While enshrining Shakyamuni Buddha and Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in its main sanctuary according to classical Mahayana tradition, the distinct spiritual heart of this monastery is its veneration of the Great Matriarch Mahapajapati Gotami (rendered in Sino-Vietnamese as Đại Ái Đạo Kiều Đàm Di), the First Patriarch of the global Bhikkhuni Order of Buddhist nuns.
In the history of world religions, the Buddha's decision at Vaishali to admit women into the monastic order as fully ordained bhikkhunis marked a profound spiritual milestone for human dignity and spiritual equality. Against the backdrop of ancient Indian society, which bound women to lifelong domestic dependence, the Buddha's explicit affirmation to the Venerable Ananda that women who go forth into the homeless life under the Dharma are fully capable of realizing the four stages of awakening (Stream-enterer, Once-returner, Non-returner, and Arhat) on an equal footing with men opened the gate of liberation to half of humanity and completed the Fourfold Assembly (bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas, and upasikas).
According to the Vinaya Pitaka and the Madhyama Agama, Mahapajapati Gotami was the younger sister of Queen Maya and the devoted foster mother who nursed and raised Prince Siddhartha as her own son after Queen Maya passed away seven days after his birth. Following the death of King Suddhodana in Kapilavastu, Mahapajapati Gotami led five hundred Sakyan women in cutting off their hair, putting on saffron robes, and walking barefoot over two hundred and fifty kilometers across dusty roads from Kapilavastu to the Peaked-Roof Hall (Kutagarasala) in the Great Forest of Vaishali. Through the Venerable Ananda's threefold intercession recalling her maternal care for the infant prince, and upon Mahapajapati Gotami's acceptance of the Eight Garudhammas, the Buddha authorized the founding of the first Bhikkhuni Sangha on the soil of Vaishali.
The filial vow of Vietnamese Buddhist nuns toward their Founding Matriarch
When Abbess Thích Nữ Khiết Minh (abbess of Metal Liên Pagoda in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City) made a pilgrimage to India in late 2003, she observed that while Vaishali preserved the Ashoka Pillar, the Japanese Peace Pagoda, and several Theravada temples, there was not a single nunnery or stupa dedicated specifically to the memory of Mahapajapati Gotami. Out of deep gratitude to the Founding Matriarch whose perseverance opened the monastic path for millions of Buddhist nuns across history, Abbess Khiết Minh together with Vietnamese nuns and lay devotees vowed to build the first Vietnamese nunnery right in Vaishali.
Many travelers planning a Buddhist pilgrimage to India focus solely on the Four Great Pilgrimage Sites (Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, and Lumbini) and overlook the importance of Vaishali. In classical Buddhist tradition, Vaishali ranks among the Eight Great Sacred Sites: it is the birthplace of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, the place where monkeys offered honey to the Buddha, the site where the Buddha spent his final rains retreat and announced his approaching Parinirvana, and the venue of the historic Second Buddhist Council convened by seven hundred Arhats a century after the Buddha's passing.
IIBuilding the nunnery and the Mahaprajapati charity schools in ancient Vaishali
The creation of Kieu Dam Di Temple and its charitable school network in Vaishali unfolded over more than a decade and a half of sustained effort across rural Bihar.
When comparing Buddhist news reports and pilgrimage guides on the construction dates of the nunnery, readers encounter two complementary sets of dates corresponding to its two major phases. The first set records the founding of the nunnery itself: land acquisition in early 2004, the stone-laying ceremony on 20 October 2004, and the phase-one inauguration of the Main Hall, Three-Entrance Gate, and Avalokiteshvara Shrine on 15 March 2008. The second set highlights the construction and completion of the monumental Patriarchal Stupa of Mahapajapati and the Mahaprajapati Primary School from 2011 to 2013 (with the Stupa inauguration and school opening in October 2013) through 2017 (when the second school campus was established and total enrollment grew past one thousand to over two thousand pupils). The library records the complete timeline so both phases are clearly understood.
- Late 2003 - Early 2004Pilgrimage to Vaishali and purchase of the 8,000-square-meter plotDuring a pilgrimage to India, Abbess Thích Nữ Khiết Minh resolves to honor the Founding Matriarch of the Bhikkhuni Order and purchases roughly 7,000 to 8,000 square meters of land along the road to the World Peace Pagoda in Vaishali.
- 20 October 2004Foundation stone ceremony for Kieu Dam Di NunneryThe foundation stone is solemnly laid for the Vietnamese Mahaprajapati Nunnery in the presence of Vietnamese and international Buddhist monastics.
- 17 May 2005Groundbreaking for the Patriarchal Stupa of MahapajapatiA second stone-laying ceremony initiates the construction of the memorial stupa honoring Mahapajapati Gotami and the first five hundred bhikkhunis.
- 15 March 2008Phase-one inauguration of Kieu Dam Di TempleOn the 8th day of the 2nd lunar month (the traditional memorial day of Mahapajapati Gotami), the nunnery celebrates the grand inauguration of its Main Hall, Three-Entrance Gate, and Avalokiteshvara pavilion.
- 23 October 2013Dedication of the Mahaprajapati Stupa and opening of the Charity SchoolFollowing intensive construction across 2011 - 2013, the Patriarchal Stupa of Mahapajapati is formally dedicated, and the free Mahaprajapati Primary School opens its doors to underprivileged local children.
- 2017Expansion of the Mahaprajapati charitable school networkThe nunnery expands its free primary school facilities in Vaishali and establishes a second Mahaprajapati school campus in Bodh Gaya in 2017, educating thousands of impoverished Indian children.
The establishment of Kieu Dam Di Temple in Vaishali stands as a landmark for Vietnamese Buddhist nuns and the international Bhikkhuni community alike. For the first time in more than two millennia since the decline of ancient Vaishali, a dedicated stupa and monastic sanctuary bearing the name of Mahapajapati Gotami rose beside the ancient relic stupa and coronation tank, welcoming international conferences of Buddhist women and pilgrims from around the globe.
IIIVietnamese nunnery architecture, the Mahaprajapati Stupa, and the charity school
Occupying roughly eight thousand square meters along Vishwa Shanti Stupa Road, Kieu Dam Di Temple combines traditional Vietnamese temple architecture with classical Indian stupa design. Approaching from the road, visitors are greeted by a two-tiered Three-Entrance Gate crowned with curved red-tile roofs and inscribed with both Chùa Kiều Đàm Di and Vietnam Mahaprajapati Nunnery.
Inside, the compound is organized into three interconnected zones: the devotional sanctuary in the front, the Patriarchal Stupa of Mahapajapati in the center, and the nuns' quarters, pilgrim guesthouse, and multi-story Mahaprajapati Primary School along the side and rear.
The traditional Vietnamese gateway with upturned eaves opens onto a spacious forecourt where a pure white statue of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara stands upon a lotus pedestal in the middle of a reflecting pond.
The main sanctuary is arranged according to Vietnamese Mahayana liturgy, enshrining Shakyamuni Buddha alongside Bodhisattvas Manjushri and Samantabhadra, framed by intricately carved wooden panels and parallel verses brought from Vietnam.
Begun in 2005 and inaugurated in October 2013, this stately memorial stupa enshrines a dignified statue of the Founding Matriarch Mahapajapati Gotami surrounded by reliefs depicting the journey of the 500 Sakyan women to Vaishali.
A multi-story school building integrated into the nunnery grounds, providing free tuition, textbooks, and uniforms to more than one thousand impoverished children from the surrounding villages of Vaishali.
Monastic residences for the Vietnamese nuns who maintain the sanctuary and manage the school, paired with clean guest rooms and a Vietnamese vegetarian dining hall serving pilgrims traveling between Bodh Gaya and Kushinagar.
One of the most touching sights for visitors at Kieu Dam Di Temple is the morning assembly of its free primary school. Hundreds of local Indian children, dressed in neat uniforms provided by the nunnery, line up in the courtyard before the Patriarchal Stupa to practice mindful breathing and recite pledges of gratitude to parents and teachers before entering their classes in mathematics, English, Hindi, and computing.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
Buddhism does not teach geomantic fortune-telling, guiding practitioners instead to transform suffering into peace through ethical conduct, mindfulness, and wisdom. Even so, when the siting and layout of Kieu Dam Di Temple in ancient Vaishali are examined through the traditional landform methods of the Hall of Myriad Paths library, the location reveals an auspicious geographic structure.
Viewed across the macro-hydrology of Bihar state, ancient Vaishali and Kieu Dam Di Temple (at latitude 25.9922 degrees North and longitude 85.1149 degrees East) lie on the fertile alluvial plain of North Bihar, bordered to the west by the Gandak River descending from the Himalayas and to the south by the mighty Ganges River (Ganga), which meet opposite Patna. In classical water-course reading, the Vaishali plain sits securely within the deltaic embrace where the Gandak and the Ganges converge like two sheltering arms. This rich, level soil sustained the prosperous Licchavi republic of antiquity.
In terms of the inner bright hall (Bright Hall (Ming Tang)) and sacred waters, the Kieu Dam Di Temple plot sits right at the heart of the southern monument zone of Vaishali, directly adjacent to the ancient sacred coronation tank Abhishek Pushkarini and opposite the ancient Buddha Relic Stupa, just a few hundred meters northeast of the 38-meter-tall white dome of the World Peace Pagoda (Vishwa Shanti Stupa). In landform reading, the expansive water surface of the Abhishek Pushkarini tank acts as an outer bright hall (Bright Hall (Ming Tang)) that gathers qi and cools the surrounding air, while the rounded white dome of the nearby Peace Pagoda serves as an auspicious supporting mound. Within the compound, the Three-Entrance Gate welcomes the flow of pilgrims from the avenue, the lotus pond forecourt settles the inner qi, and the Patriarchal Stupa of Mahapajapati rises at the core as a nurturing anchor fitting for the Founding Matriarch of the Bhikkhuni Sangha.
VMemorial day of Mahapajapati Gotami, pilgrimages, and educational celebrations
The annual calendar at Kieu Dam Di Temple harmonizes the traditional memorial days of Vietnamese Buddhist nuns (reckoned by the lunar calendar), the Indian winter pilgrimage season (on the Gregorian calendar), and the school events of the Mahaprajapati Primary School.
| Date and calendar | Festival or observance | Meaning and practice |
|---|---|---|
| 8th day of the 2nd lunar month (Lunar calendar) | Grand Memorial Day of Founding Matriarch Mahapajapati Gotami | The principal annual feast of the nunnery (also marking its 2008 phase-one inauguration), gathering Buddhist nuns and lay devotees in Vaishali to offer incense, circumambulate the Patriarchal Stupa, and honor the founding of the Bhikkhuni Order. |
| 1st lunar month (Lunar calendar, Lunar New Year) | New Year Peace Assembly and Winter Charity Distribution | Chanting prayers for peace in the Lunar New Year and distributing warm clothes, blankets, and food to underprivileged students and rural families in Vaishali. |
| 15th day of the 4th and 7th lunar months (Lunar calendar) | Vesak Celebration and Vu Lan Filial Piety Assembly | Bathing the Baby Buddha rite and teachings on filial gratitude, recalling Mahapajapati Gotami's selfless maternal care in raising Prince Siddhartha. |
| October each year (Gregorian calendar) | Anniversary of the Patriarchal Stupa and Charity School Founding | Commemorating the October 2013 dedication of the Mahaprajapati Stupa and the opening of the Mahaprajapati Primary School, with scholarship awards for outstanding pupils. |
| October to March (Gregorian calendar) | Eight Great Sacred Sites Pilgrimage Season | Welcoming hundreds of Vietnamese Buddhist pilgrimage delegations traveling along the route from Bodh Gaya and Nalanda through Vaishali toward Kushinagar and Lumbini. |
Situated directly along the highway linking the sacred sites south of the Ganges (Bodh Gaya and Nalanda) with those to the north (Kushinagar and Lumbini), Kieu Dam Di Temple in Vaishali has become an essential stop for every Vietnamese pilgrimage group in India. Standing before the Patriarchal Stupa of Mahapajapati Gotami to reflect on the courage of the first Buddhist nuns leaves a lasting impression on monastics and laypeople alike.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Từ thủ phủ Patna của bang Bihar (cách khoảng 55 đến 60 km về phía nam)
- Getting there
- From Patna, the capital of Bihar state (about 55 to 60 km to the south), take a bus or taxi north across the Ganges River via the Mahatma Gandhi Setu or JP Setu bridge to Hajipur, then continue along the state highway to the ancient Vaishali monument zone and turn onto Vishwa Shanti Stupa Road to reach Kieu Dam Di Temple near the World Peace Pagoda.
- Coordinates
- 25.9922, 85.1149
Kieu Dam Di Temple is both a contemplative Buddhist nunnery and an active primary school attended by hundreds of children during the day. When visiting to pay respects, please dress modestly and remove shoes before entering the Main Hall and the Patriarchal Stupa. Please walk quietly near the classrooms during school hours. Pilgrimage delegations wishing to request vegetarian midday meals at the nunnery or donate school supplies to the pupils should contact the resident nuns in advance so arrangements can be made in an orderly manner.
Nearby places in the library
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?Quick Questions
Who founded Kieu Dam Di Temple in Vaishali and when was it built
Kieu Dam Di Temple (Vietnam Mahaprajapati Nunnery) was founded by Abbess Thích Nữ Khiết Minh (abbess of Metal Liên Pagoda in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City) together with Vietnamese Buddhist nuns and devotees. The foundation stone was laid on 20 October 2004, phase one was inaugurated on 15 March 2008, the Patriarchal Stupa and free school were inaugurated in October 2013, and the school network expanded further by 2017.
Why was this Vietnamese nunnery built specifically in ancient Vaishali
Ancient Vaishali is the historic site where Shakyamuni Buddha, upon the intercession of the Venerable Ananda, granted ordination to his foster mother Mahapajapati Gotami and 500 Sakyan women, establishing the very first Bhikkhuni Sangha (order of nuns) in Buddhist history.
Who is Mahapajapati Gotami (Kiều Đàm Di) in Buddhist history
Mahapajapati Gotami (known in Vietnamese as Đại Ái Đạo Kiều Đàm Di) was the younger sister of Queen Maya and the foster mother who raised Prince Siddhartha from the seventh day after his birth. After King Suddhodana died, she led 500 Sakyan women on foot to Vaishali to request ordination, becoming the Founding Matriarch of Buddhist nuns.
How does the Mahaprajapati charity school system operate
Between October 2013 and 2017, Abbess Thích Nữ Khiết Minh and the nunnery established and expanded the Mahaprajapati Primary School network in Vaishali and Bodh Gaya, providing free elementary education, textbooks, and uniforms to more than one thousand to two thousand underprivileged Indian children alongside daily mindfulness practice.
What ancient Buddhist monuments surround Kieu Dam Di Temple in Vaishali
Directly opposite and adjacent to Kieu Dam Di Temple are the ancient Buddha Relic Stupa, the Abhishek Pushkarini coronation tank, and the World Peace Pagoda (Vishwa Shanti Stupa). About 3 kilometers away at Kolhua lies the Great Forest (Kutagarasala) complex featuring the intact lion-crowned Ashoka Pillar and the Monkey Pond.