A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

The experimental music I am making now is on my Suno profile. Those pieces stay there, and are not added to this site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter B

Bhikkhuni

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A fully ordained Buddhist nun, part of the monastic community following the Vinaya rules adapted for women.

Detailed Definition
Bhikkhunis represent the feminine path of renunciation and spiritual authority in Buddhism. Though historically marginalized in some traditions, their presence in poetry signifies resilience, wisdom, and the universality of awakening. Contemporary and classical poets alike invoke bhikkhunis to challenge gender norms and affirm the depth of female spiritual realization.
Example
Example in poetry:
A feminist poem: “The bhikkhuni is the first woman to wear freedom as a robe”; A historical verse: “Mahapajapati’s feet bled—but her path bloomed lotuses”; A modern image: “She meditates in subway noise, turning clang to gong”; A contemplative note: “The bhikkhuni’s silence speaks louder than empires.”
Additional Notes
Bhikkhunis, ordained nuns, follow 311+ Vinaya rules and trace their lineage to the Buddha’s stepmother, Mahapajapati Gotami. Though the Theravada bhikkhuni order declined historically, revival movements exist today. In Mahayana regions (e.g., China, Korea), full ordination continues. Bhikkhuni voices appear in early texts like the Therigatha—poems of enlightened nuns expressing liberation from patriarchy. For literary and gender studies, these verses offer rare ancient female perspectives on renunciation, suffering, and joy, challenging assumptions about women’s roles in religious history.
Also Known As
Bhikshuni Buddhist Nun
Skip to main content