She helped to establish Wat Buddha-Dhamma, a forest monastery in the Theravada tradition, near Sydney, Australia, in 1978. In Colombo she set up the International Buddhist Women's Centre as a training centre for Sri Lankan nuns, and the Parappuduwa Nun's Island at Dodanduwa. She was the spiritual director of Buddha-Haus in Germany, established in 1989 under her auspices. In June 1997 "Metta Vihara", the first Buddhist forest monastery in Germany, was inaugurated by her, and the first ordinations in the German language took place there.
In 1987 she co-ordinated the first international conference of Buddhist nuns in the history of Buddhism, which resulted in the setting-up of Sakyadhita, a world-wide Buddhist women's organisation. H.H. the Dalai Lama was the keynote speaker at the conference. In May 1987, as an invited lecturer, she was the first ever Buddhist nun to address the United Nations in New York on the topic of Buddhism and World Peace.
Ayya Khema has written twenty-five book on meditation and the Buddha's teachings in English and German; her books have been translated into seven languages. In 1988, her book "Being Nobody, Going Nowhere" received the Christmas Humphreys Memorial Award. Ayya Khema ordained Ven. Sister Sangamitta from Switzerland (now practising in Thailand) Ven. Sister Dhammadina a graduate of Peradeniya University, Ven. Sister Vayama from Australia and Ven. Sister Uttpalvanna of Galle and her pupils in Sri Lanka. Ayya Khema drew her last breath on November 2, 1997 at Buddha Haus, Mittleberg Uttenbull in Germany after a brief illness.
According to Buddhist scriptures, the order of bhikkhunis was first created by the Buddha at the specific request of his foster-mother Mahapajapati Gotami, who became the first ordained bhikkhuni, relayed via his attendant Ananda (who also urged for the Buddha's acceptance of it). The bhikkhuni order spread to many countries. For a country or nation to be considered as truly Buddhist, the majority of the nation must be Buddhist and include at least a fourfold assembly of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas and, upasikas
According to Theravada tradition, the bhikkhuni order of nuns came to be five years after the bhikkhu order of monks. Buddhism is unique in that Buddha, as founder of a spiritual tradition, explicitly states in canonical literature that a woman is as capable of nirvana (enlightenment) as a man, and can fully attain all four stages of enlightenment in the Dhamma and Vinaya of the Buddha Sasana.There is no equivalent, in other traditions, of the Therigatha or Apadanas which record the high levels of spiritual attainment by women.
In a similar vein, major canonical Mahayana sutras such as the Lotus Sutra, chapter 12 , records 6000 bhikkhuni Arahants as receiving predictions of Bodhisatvahood and future Buddhahood by Sakyamuni Buddha. In Buddhism, women can openly aspire to and practice for the highest level of spiritual attainment.
Buddha was initially quite reluctant to ordain women into the Sangha. His stepmother and aunt, Mahaprajapati Gotami, made repeated requests on behalf of herself and five hundred other ladies of the court. These women had only known lives of comfort. Eventually, his attendant and half-brother Ananda (Mahaprajapati Gotami's son) relayed a final request, which was granted—but only on condition that the women accept eight garudhammas, or eight heavy rules. The Buddha is quoted by Thannisaro Bhikkhu as saying: Ananda, if Mahaprajapati Gotami accepts eight vows of respect, that will be her full ordination (upasampada).
Early Buddhism did not have monasteries and it was a requirement of the bhikkhus and early bhikkhunis to spend a lot of time in the forests alone, but due to the consequent assault of some of the bhikkhunis by outsiders recorded in the Vinaya-- Buddha eventually forbade women from wandering in forests away from society. Bhikkhunis eventually resided in more fixed residences near populated areas than the bhikkhus.
According to some modern Buddhist apologists, most of the rules (including the more controversial 8 Garudhammas) of the Bhikkhuni Vinaya are more for the protection of the bhikkhunis by association with the more senior Sangha of the male bhikkhus and thus the homage for protection and teaching the newer Bhikkhuni Sangha and not "sexual discrimination". Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh writes, "Nuns at the time of the Buddha had equal rights and an equal share in everything. In one case, eight robes were offered to both sanghas at a place where there was only one nun and four monks. The Buddha divided the robes in half, giving four to the nun and four to the monks, because the robes were for both sanghas and had to be divided equally however many were in each group. Because the nuns tended to receive fewer invitations to lay-people's homes, the Buddha had all offerings brought to the monastery and equally divided between the two sanghas. He protected the nuns and was fair to both parties. They are subordinate in the sense of being younger sisters and elder brothers, not in the sense of being masters and slaves." The Vinaya does not allow for any power-based relationship between the monks and nuns.
Rules for nuns in Buddhism:
- 1) A nun who has been ordained even for a hundred years must greet respectfully, rise up from her seat, salute with joined palms, do proper homage to a monk ordained but that day.
- clarification: The Vinaya recounts the story of six monks who lifted up their robes to show their thighs to the nuns. When the Buddha learned about this, he made an exception to that rule and told the nuns not to pay respect to these monks. A nun, then, does not have to bow to every monk, but only to a monk who is worthy of respect.
- Pajapati's later request: "I would ask one thing of the Blessed One, Ananda. It would be good if the Blessed One would allow making salutations, standing up in the presence of another, paying reverence and the proper performance of duties, to take place equally between both bhikkhus and bhikkhunis according to seniority."
- 2) A nun must not spend the rains in a residence where there are no monks.
- 3) Every half month a nun should desire two things from the Order of Monks : the asking as to the date of the Observance [ uposatha ] day, and the coming for the exhortation [ bhikkhunovada ].
- 4) After the rains a nun must 'invite' [ pavarana ] before both orders in respect of three matters, namely what was seen, what was heard, what was suspected.
- amended: However, practical considerations soon necessitated amendments to these and we see in the revised version of these conditions the sanction given to the bhikkhunis to perform these acts, in the first instance, by themselves.
- 5) A nun, offending against an important rule, must undergo manatta discipline for half a month before both orders.
- another translation: "(5) A bhikkhuni who has broken any of the vows of respect must undergo penance for half a month under both Sanghas... (by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
- 6) When, as a probationer, she has trained in the six rules [ cha dhamma ] for two years, she should seek higher ordination from both orders.
- note contradiction: One of the gurudhamma mentions sikkhamanas, probationary nuns who train for two years in preparation to become bhikkhunis. It says that after a probationary nun has trained with a bhikkhuni for two years, that bhikkhuni preceptor has the responsibility to fully ordain her. However, when the Buddha ordained Mahapajapati, there were no probationary nuns. He ordained her directly as a bhikkhuni. So how do we explain that within the eight important rules, one of them states that before becoming a bhikkhuni, a woman must be a probationary nun? Edit: That's easy, in order for there to be seniority verses probationary, one must first have seniority. So Mahapajapati was ordained in order to set up the probationary system, and allow women to learn under another woman, rather than the men who may refuse to teach them or subject them to, as stated above, sexual harassment and other forms of assault that were stated above. "
- 7) A monk must not be abused or reviled in any way by a nun.
- 8) From today, admonition of monks by nuns is forbidden.
- note Buddhist lay-women can: This is in contrast to the rules for Buddhist lay-women who can single-handedly accuse a bad monk:
- "Equality of bhikùni and bhikùu, men and women, can be inferred in
- several of the rules groupings. The penalties for offenses against those
- aniyata dharmas written only for bhikùus, for example, point up a landmark
- of female-male equality. Here, in a gesture of trust in women most
- unusual for the time, a trustworthy female lay follower can bring a charge
- against a bhikùu based only on her personal eyewitness testimony, in order
- to force an investigation of that bhikùus conduct. Additionally, equal abilities
- of men and women are presumed in the regulations for settlement of disciplinary
- matters in the seven Adhikaraõa–øamatha Dharmas, which are
- exactly the same, in both numbers and contents, for both the Bhikùu and the
- Bhikùni Sanghas."
Nuns were also given the right to select the monk who would be allowed to give counsel to the order of nuns (he had to be acceptable to all the nuns) and the selection criteria was quite stringent:
- There seems to be little doubt about his anxiety and his
- foresight regarding the safety and well-being of the female
- members of his Order.
- These eight qualities were: the teacher of nuns must be virtuous; second, have comprehensive knowledge of the Dhamma; third he must be well acquainted with the Vinaya, especially the rules for nuns; fourth, he must be a good speaker with a pleasant and fluent delivery, faultless in pronunciation, and intelligibly convey the meaning; fifth, he should be able to teach Dhamma to the nuns in an elevating, stimulating, and encouraging way; sixth, he must always be welcome to the nuns and liked by them—that is, they must be able to respect and esteem him not only when he praises them but especially when there is an occasion for reproach; seventh, he must never have committed sexual misconduct with a nun; eighth, he must have been a fully ordained Buddhist monk for at least 20 years (AN 8.52).
Some scholars argue that these 8 rules were added later since:
- 1) there is a discrepancy between the Pali bhikkhuni Vinaya
- 2) the fact that these same rules are treated only as a minor offense (requiring only confession as expiation) in the bhikkhuni Payantika Dharmas.
In Young Chung clarifies, "Hae-ju Chun, a bhikùni and assistant professor at Tongguk University in Seoul, Korea, argues that six of the Eight Rules (#1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8) belong to the Bhikùni Pàyantika Dharmas, as they are the same as or similar to rules found there. We may compare the differences in the punishment for any offense of the Eight Rules with that for an offense of the pàyantika dharmas. Violation of any of the Eight Rules means that women cannot be ordained. The Eight Rules must be observed throughout the bhikùuõãs lives. However, the pàyantika dharmas (#175, 145, 124 or 126, 141, 143, 142) require only confession, as there offenses of bhikunis are considered to be violations of minor rules. Based on the differences in the gravity of offenses between the Eight Rules and the pàyantika dharmas, she also asserts the probability that the Eight Rules might have been added later. The first of the Eight Rules does not appear in the Pàli Bhikùni Vinaya.
Most of these rules are also found in the Bhikkhuni Payantika Dharmas as minor rules since they only require confession:
- Theriya tradition, which at some stage, seems to have accommodated the idea that the Buddha conceded the abrogation of the minor rules
Other scholars argue that questioning canonical sources is a slippery slope. Buddha's main concern was about the rest of society, which was the main supporter of the Sangha, and how they would view the ordination of women—something quite revolutionary at the time. There were many men who even after the apparent success of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, were opposed to its formation[Vin.II.289]. However, we have Buddha himself admit that the social factors were foremost in his mind when making these rules:
- the Theriya tradition attempts to make out that in the organization of the Sasana social considerations, as much as moral and ethical values, loomed large in the mind of the Master. In the Cullavagga he is reported as saying: ` Not even the Titthiyas who propound imperfect doctrines sanction such homage of men towards women. How could the Tathagata do so?'
This agrees with the fact that rival sects such as the Jains also had the first rule according to the Svetambara rules.
Ian Astley argues that under the conditions of society where there is such great discrimination and threat to women, Buddha could not be blamed for the steps he took in trying to secure the Sangha from negative public opinion:
- In those days (and this still applies to much of present Indian society) a woman who had left the life of the household would otherwise have been regarded more or less as a harlot and subjected to the appropriate harassment. By being formally associated with the monks, the nuns were able to enjoy the benefits of leaving the household life without incurring immediate
- harm. Whilst it is one thing to abhor, as any civilized person must do, the attitudes and behavior towards women which underlie the necessity for such protection, it is surely misplaced to criticize the Buddha and his community for adopting this particular policy.
The socalled Eight rules of respect (which are vows) are still in force, they are part of the process of full ordination.
Becoming a Bhikkhuni
The progression to ordination as a Bhikkhuni is taken in four steps. A lay person may take the five upāsikā (Pali and Sanskrit; masculine:upāsaka; Tibetan dge snyan ma, pronounced genyenma, "approaching virtue") vows. The next step is to enter the pabbajja (Srt: pravrajya, Tib. rab byung pronounced rabjung), or monastic way of life, which includes wearing monk's or nun's robes. After that, one can become asamaneri (Pali; feminine: samanera; Skt. śrāmaṇera/śrāmaṇeri, Tib. dge tshul/dge tshul ma, pronounced getshül/getshülma), or novice monk/nun. The last and final step is to take all the vows of a bhikkhuni (Sanskrit: Bhikṣu/Bhikṣuṇī, Tib. dge long/dge long ma, pronouncedgelong/gelongma) a "fully ordained nun."
According to the vinaya, a bhikkhuni, unlike a bhikkhu, should not be accepted by the sangha to take these vows again in one life after "give them back". So she cannot be a buddhist nun again.
The Fourteen Precepts of Thich Nhat Hanh
In Buddhist Order of Interbeing established in 1964, there are fourteen precepts[24] to be observed by nuns and monks equally. They are written by Vietnamese monk and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, giving words to what he felt carried the deepest teachings of the Buddha and would be appropriate for our time.
In an interview, a Vietnamese nun named Chan Khong described Nhat Hanh's approach:
In Plum Village, the Eight Observations of Respect that nuns have to observe towards Buddhist monks are not observed, as Nhat Hanh claims they were invented only to help the stepmother of the Buddha, and that one need only keep Nhat Hanh's 14 precepts properly. That's all. But of course he doesn't despise the traditional precepts. And I can accept them just to give joy to the monks who practice in the traditional way. If I can give them joy, I will have a chance to share my insights about women with them, and then they will be unblocked in their understanding.
The traditional appearance of Theravadan bhikkhunis is nearly identical to that of male monks, including a shaved head, shaved eyebrows and saffron robes. In some countries, nuns wear dark chocolate robes or sometimes the same colour as monks. White or pink robes are worn by Theravadan nuns who are not fully ordained. These nuns are known as dasa sila mata in Sri Lanka,silashin in Myanmar (Burma) and siladharas (which originated at Amaravati Monastery, in the United Kingdom, and is spreading globally).
In the Theravada tradition, some scholars believe that the bhikkhuni lineage became extinct in the 11th to 13th centuries, and that no new bhikkhunis could be ordained since there were no bhikkhunis left to give ordination. For this reason, the leadership of the Theravada bhikkhu Sangha in Burma and Thailand deem fully ordained bhikkhunis as "untrue." Based on the spread of the bhikkhuni lineage to countries like China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and Sri Lanka, other scholars support ordination of Theravadan bhikkhunis.
Dr.Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, now known as Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, is a Thai scholar who took bhikkhuni ordination in Sri Lanka and returned to Thailand.
The first Theravadan bhikkhuni ordination in Australia was held in Perth, October 22, 2009, at Bodhinyana Monastery. Four nuns from Dhammasara Nun's Monastery, Venerable Ajahn Vayama (Abbess), and Venerables Nirodha, Seri and Hasapanna, were ordained as bhikkhunis by a dual sangha act of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, in full accordance with the Pali vinaya.
In Indochina Theravada tradition, many women who are not allowed to ordain continue as dedicated practitioners, following the spirit and often the letter of the bhikkhuni vows. They are considered mae jis, laywomen or “semi-ordained,” since they are not officially recognized by the Theravada Sangha. These women attempt to lead a life following the teachings of the Buddha. They observe 8–10 precepts, but do not follow exactly the same codes as ordained Buddhist monks. They receive popular recognition for their role. But they are not granted official endorsement or the educational support offered to men. They spend most of their time as temple maids and cooks for monks.
In July 2007 a meeting of Buddhist leaders and scholars of all traditions met at the International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha, in Hamburg, Germany to work toward a worldwide consensus on the re-establishment of bhikshuni ordination. 65 delegates, bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, Vinaya masters and elders from traditional Buddhist countries and Western-trained Buddhologists attended. The Summary Report from the Congress states that All delegates "were in unanimous agreement that Mulasarvastivada bhikshuni ordination should be re-established," and cites the Dalai Lama's full support of bhikkhuni ordination . The only transmission line of ordination that still exists is the Dharmaguptatransmission line, which allows the ordination of nuns in China, Taiwan, Korea and Vietnam.
The aim of the congress has been rated by the organizers of utmost importance for equality and liberation of Buddhist women (nuns). "The re-establishment of nuns’ ordination in Tibet via H. H. XIVth Dalai Lama and the international monks and nuns sanghas will lead to further equality and liberation of Buddhist women. This is a congress of historical significance which will give women the possibility to teach Buddha’s doctrines worldwide."
To help establish the Bhikshuni Sangha (community of fully-ordained nuns) where it does not currently exist has also been declared one of the objectives of Sakyadhita ,[33] as expressed at its founding meeting in 1987 in Bodhgaya, India.
In Part Four of Alexander Berzin's Summary Report: Day Three and Final Comments by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama it is said: "But Buddha gave the basic rights equally to both sangha groups. There is no point in discussing whether or not to revive the bhikshuni ordination; the question is merely how to do so properly within the context of the Vinaya."
The Eight Garudhammas belong to the context of the Vinaya. Bhikkhuni Kusuma writes: "In the Pali, the eight garudhammas appear in the tenth khandhaka of the Cullavagga." It is not said where they are to be found in actual ordination process for Bhikkhunis.
The text is not allowed to be studied before ordination. "The traditional custom is that one is only allowed to study the bhikshu or bhikshuni vows after having taken them.", Bhikshuni Prof. Dr. Karma Lekshe Tsomo stated during congress while talking about Gender Equality and Human Rights: "It would be helpful if Tibetan nuns could study the bhikshuni vows before the ordination is established. The traditional custom is that one is only allowed to study the bhikshu or bhikshuni vows after having taken them. it is important not only to re-establish the Mulasarvastivada bhikshuni ordination, but also for the new bhikshunis to ignore the eight gurudharmas that have regulated their lower status. These eight, after all, were formulated for the sole purpose of avoiding censure by the lay society. In the modern world, disallowing the re-establishment of the Mulasarvastivada bhikshuni ordination and honoring these eight risk that very censure."
According to Summary Report as well as according to the other texts available from the congress there has not been a discussion on how and which of the eight gurudharmas discriminate against buddhist nuns and how this can be changed in detail in the process of re-establishing the Mulasarvastivada bhikshuni ordination.
The former wife of Lord Buddha—Yasodharā, mother of his son Rahula, according to legend also became a nun and an arahant.
Poems
There is the quite famous Therigatha collection of poems call Verses of the Elder Nuns and a less known collection called Discourses of the Ancient Nuns.
The full ordination of Buddhist nuns (fully ordained Buddhist nuns are called Bhikkhunis) has always been practiced in East Asia. Also, recently full ordination of Buddhist nuns has begun again in Sri Lanka in 1998 after a lapse of 900 years.
However, the bhikkhuni ordination once existing in the countries where Theravada (the southern school of Buddhism) is most practiced died out around the 10th century. The lower novice ordination has also disappeared in these countries. Women who wish to live as nuns in those countries must do so by taking eight or ten precepts. Neither laywomen nor formally ordained, these women do not receive the recognition, education, financial support or status enjoyed by their male brethren. These "precept-holders" live in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Japan is a special case as, although it has neither the bhikkhuni nor novice ordinations, the precept-holding nuns who live there do enjoy a higher status and better education than their precept-holder sisters elsewhere, and can even become Zen priests.
In 1988 Ahkon Norbu Lhamo, an American woman formerly called Catharine Burroughs, became the first Western woman to be named a reincarnate lama. In 2010 the first Buddhist nunnery in North America (Vajra Dakini Nunnery in Vermont), offering novice ordination, was officially consecrated It is a Tibetan Buddhist nunnery that follows the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Buddhism. The abbot of this nunnery is Khenmo Drolma, an American woman, who is the first bhikkhuni in the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Buddhism, having been ordained in Taiwan in 2002.[17][18] She is also the first westerner, male or female, to be installed as a Buddhist abbot, having been installed as the abbot of the Vajra Dakini Nunnery in 2004.
The ordination of women in Buddhism is currently and historically practiced in some Buddhist regions, such as East Asia, and now once again in Sri Lanka, as well as newly beginning in some Western countries to which Buddhism has recently spread, such as America.
Ordained monastic community
The tradition of the ordained monastic community (sangha) began with the Buddha, who established an order of Bhikkhus (monks).According to the scriptures, later, after an initial reluctance, he also established an order of Bhikkhunis (nuns or women monks). However, according to the scriptural account, not only did the Buddha lay down more rules of discipline for the bhikkhunis (311 compared to the bhikkhu's 227 in the Theravada version), he also made it more difficult for them to be ordained, and made them subordinate to monks.
According to Peter Harvey "The Buddha's apparent hesitation on this matter is reminiscent of his hesitation on whether to teach at all", something he only does after persuasion from various devas. Since the special rules for female monastics were given by the founder of Buddhism they have been upheld to this day. Buddhists nowadays are still concerned with that fact, as shows an International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha held at the University of Hamburg, Germany, in 2007.
Historicity of the account
The historicity of this account has been questioned, sometimes to the extent of regarding nuns as a later invention. The stories, sayings and deeds of a substantial number of the preeminent Bhikkhuni disciples of the Buddha as well as numerous distinguished bhikkhunis of early Buddhism are recorded in many places in the Pali Canon, most notably in the Therigatha and Theri Apadana as well as the Anguttara Nikaya and Bhikkhuni Samyutta. Additionally the ancient bhikkhunis feature in the Sanskrit Avadana texts and the first Sri Lankan Buddhist historical chronicle, the Dipavamsa, itself speculated to be authored by the Sri Lankan Bhikkhuni Sangha.
Tradition in South and East Asia
The tradition flourished for centuries throughout South and East Asia, but appears to have lapsed in the Theravada tradition of Sri Lanka in the 11th century C.E.[6] It survived in Burma to about the 13th century, but died out there too.[7] Although it is commonly said to have never been introduced to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia or Tibet, there is substantial historical evidence to the contrary, especially in Thailand. However, theMahayana tradition, in China, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and Hong Kong, has retained the practice, where nuns are called 'Bhikṣuṇī' (theSanskrit equivalent of the Pali 'Bhikkhuni').
Recent developments
The International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha: Bhikshuni Vinaya and Ordination Lineages took place in Germany, onJuly 18–20, 2007.
Sri Lanka
There have been some attempts in recent years to revive the tradition of women in the sangha within Theravada Buddhism in Thailand, India and Sri Lanka, with many women ordained in Sri Lanka since 1996. Some of these were carried out with the assistance of nuns from the East Asian tradition; others were carried out by Theravada monks alone. Since 2005, many have been ordained by the head of the Dambulla chapter of the Siyam Nikaya in Sri Lanka.
Thailand
In 1928, the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, responding to the attempted ordination of two women, issued an edict that monks must not ordain women as samaneris (novices), sikkhamanas (probationers) or bhikkhunis. The two women were reportedly arrested and jailed briefly. In a more recent challenge to the Thai sangha's ban on women, Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, previously a professor of Buddhist philosophy known as Dr Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, was controversially ordained as first a novice and then a bhikkhuni in Sri Lanka in 2003 upon the revival of the full ordination of women there. Since then, the Thai Senate has reviewed and revoked the secular law banning women's full ordination in Buddhism as unconstitutional for being counter laws protecting freedom of religion. Currently, more than 20 further Thai women have followed in Dhammananda Bhikkhuni's footsteps, with temples, monasteries and meditations centers led by Thai bhikkhunis emerging in Samut Sakhon, Chiang Mai and Rayong. The stance of the Thai Sangha hierarchy has largely changed from one of denial of the existence of bhikkhunis to one of acceptance of bhikkhunis as of foreign (non-Thai) traditions. However Thailand's two main Theravada Buddhist orders, the Mahanikaya and Dhammayutika Nikaya, have yet to officially accept fully ordained women into their ranks. Despite substantial and growing support inside the religious hierarchy, sometimes fierce opposition to the ordination of women within the sangharemains.
In 2010 the first Buddhist nunnery in North America was established in Vermont. It is a Tibetan Buddhist nunnery called Vajra Dakini Nunnery, offering novice ordination . The abbot of this nunnery is an American woman named Khenmo Drolma who is the first "bhikkhunni," a fully ordained Buddhist nun, in the Drikung Kagyu tradition of Buddhism, having been ordained in Taiwan in 2002 . She is also the first westerner, male or female, to be installed as a Buddhist abbot, having been installed as abbot of Vajra Dakini Nunnery in 2004
Burma
The governing council of Burmese Buddhism has ruled that there can be no valid ordination of women in modern times, though some Burmese monks disagree.
Tibetan tradition
The Dalai Lama has authorized followers of the Tibetan tradition to be ordained as nuns in traditions that have such ordination.
According to Thubten Chodron, the current Dalai Lama has said on this issue:
- In 2005, the Dalai Lama repeatedly spoke about the bhikshuni ordination in public gatherings. In Dharamsala, he encouraged, "We need to bring this to a conclusion. We Tibetans alone can't decide this. Rather, it should be decided in collaboration with Buddhists from all over the world. Speaking in general terms, were the Buddha to come to this 21st century world, I feel that most likely, seeing the actual situation in the world now, he might change the rules somewhat...."
- Later, in Zurich during a 2005 conference of Tibetan Buddhist Centers, His Holiness said, "Now I think the time has come; we should start a working group or committee" to meet with monks from other Buddhist traditions. Looking at the German bhikshuni, Ven. Jampa Tsedroen, he instructed, "I prefer that Western Buddhist nuns carry out this work…Go to different places for further research and discuss with senior monks (from various Buddhist countries). I think, first, senior bhikshunis need to correct the monks' way of thinking.
- "This is the 21st century. Everywhere we are talking about equality….Basically Buddhism needs equality. There are some really minor things to remember as a Buddhist--a bhikshu always goes first, then a bhikshuni….The key thing is the restoration of the bhikshuni vow."
Alexander Berzin referred to the Dalai Lama having said on occasion of the 2007 Hamburg congress
| “ | Sometimes in religion there has been an emphasis on male importance. In Buddhism, however, the highest vows, namely the bhikshu and bhikshuni ones, are equal and entail the same rights. This is the case despite the fact that in some ritual areas, due to social custom, bhikshus go first. But Buddha gave the basic rights equally to both sangha groups. There is no point in discussing whether or not to revive the bhikshuni ordination; the question is merely how to do so properly within the context of the Vinaya. | ” |
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