Ven Bhikkuni Kusuma, M.A., Ph.D, is a fully ordained Buddhist nun from Sri Lanka who has pioneered the re-establishment of the Theravada Female Buddhist Order in Sri Lanka. She is the first woman in Sri Lanka to don the robes of a Bhikkuni after a lapse for nearly 1,000 years. She holds a BA (1974), and a MA (1982) in Theravada Buddhism from Sri Jayawardenepura University,Colombo. Her first Ph.D Thesis was on "Nuns of Sri Lanka" and now published by Nandimala Buddhist Cultural Centre, Colombo. She received her Ph.D (1999) from the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka. Her doctoral dissertation on Bhikkuni Vinaya (rules of discipline for ordained Buddhist nuns) is regarded as a handbook for Buddhist nuns in Sri Lanka. She is a well known scholar and has participated in several international conferences. Now in her eighties, she continues to be active in bringing the higher ordination of Buddhism to women in Sri Lanka as well as abroad. Bhikkuni Kusuma lives in Sri Lanka in a meditation retreat, Ayya Khema International Buddhist Meditation Center , Olaboduwa, off Gonapala, Horana and she periodically travels overseas to teach meditation.