Bhikkhunis - Restoration

[gavesako]

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, Education for Buddhist Nuns

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1577389

[Jason]

Great video. It made me miss Ajahn Prasert and Ayya Tathaaloka, who I haven't seen since I moved to Portland, OR.

[gavesako]

I heard about the group in Portland. Dont they also sometimes invite nuns to teach? Is it going to be a monks' monastery eventually (perhaps)? California seems to be the best place for nuns right now, it seems...

[Jason]

I heard about the group in Portland. Dont they also sometimes invite nuns to teach? Is it going to be a monks' monastery eventually (perhaps)? California seems to be the best place for nuns right now, it seems...

Yes, the Portland Friends of the Dhamma often hosts a variety of teachers in the Ajahn Chah/Ajahn Sumedho tradition, both monks and nuns (e.g., Ajahn Sundara was here from June 11th – 13th and Ajahn Jayasaro will be here June 23rd).

AFAIK, they were trying to get a monastery going, and they had a a couple of monks stay in at temporary residence for a few months last year, but I haven't heard anything about it recently.

[David N. Snyder]

Here is a bhikkhuni monastery in northern California that is just getting off the ground (might be the one you are referring to?):

http://awakening-forest-hermitage.blogspot.com/

[mikenz66]

Thanks. It will be interesting to read the transcript of the talks, if available next month.

The talk can be heard now at:
http://bswa.org/
http://www.bswa.org/modules/mydownloads ... 63&lid=843

Mike

[gavesako]

Why a Bhikkhuni Seminar? At BSWA? By Ajahn Vayama

"At Dhammasara we are currently 10 precept nuns, which means we are of the same status in the sangha as a novice monk. For official & formal transactions of the sangha, a novice monk or nun is not considered to be a full member of the sangha. When we started Dhammasara in 1998 it wasn't possible for nuns of the theravada tradition to take ordination beyond the status of novice. Since that time modern scholarship & a change in attitudes around gender issues has led to a successful movement to make higher ordination possible for nuns in the theravadan tradition. A higher ordained nun is called a bhikkhuni & has the equivalent status in the sangha to a bhikkhu - a full member of the sangha. A bhikkhuni keeps 311 rules - 304 rules relating to personal conduct & the remaining 7 rules relating to ways of settling disputes in the sangha.

At Dhammasara we have always kept a level of sila similar to that of a bhikkhuni but not as a result of formal ordination. Now we are interested in formalising our position within the sangha & this seminar is an opportunity for us to inform you of our aspirations & to answer any specific questions you may have about this.

We can explain to you why this is important to us personally as 10 precept nuns, and hopefully to you as members of the lay community. Ajahn Sujato will speak about it from the legalistic vinaya perspective, from the view of modern scholarship, and from the global perspective.

We hope this seminar gives you the opportunity to be well informed & to feel positive about being part of a process which we hope will establish bhikkhuni ordination in the Theravada tradition for women in Australia.

Through the quality of your generous ongoing material & spiritual support we are able to approach bhikkhuni ordination confident that we can successfully uphold the standard of sila that goes with it. Higher ordination would allow us to be full members of the sangha for the purpose of official & formal sangha transactions within the sangha of bhikkhunis, and in relation to the bhikkhus - the monks - and would empower us to be able to live according to the rules & traditions that were laid down specifically for women by Lord Buddha 2,600 years ago. We view the opportunity to take higher ordination as a very precious & positive move for both ourselves & for the whole of the Theravadan Buddhist community world-wide. But in order to evolve in this direction we need to know you as the lay community are happy to support this move."

[David N. Snyder]

Thanks. It will be interesting to read the transcript of the talks, if available next month.

The talk can be heard now at:
http://bswa.org/
http://www.bswa.org/modules/mydownloads ... 63&lid=843

[David N. Snyder]

Why a Bhikkhuni Seminar? At BSWA? By Ajahn Vayama

Through the quality of your generous ongoing material & spiritual support we are able to approach bhikkhuni ordination confident that we can successfully uphold the standard of sila that goes with it. Higher ordination would allow us to be full members of the sangha for the purpose of official & formal sangha transactions within the sangha of bhikkhunis, and in relation to the bhikkhus - the monks - and would empower us to be able to live according to the rules & traditions that were laid down specifically for women by Lord Buddha 2,600 years ago. We view the opportunity to take higher ordination as a very precious & positive move for both ourselves & for the whole of the Theravadan Buddhist community world-wide. But in order to evolve in this direction we need to know you as the lay community are happy to support this move."

[gavesako]

This article is a few years old and focuses specifically on the Thai society:


Old Pillar, New Possibilities:
What the Revival of the Bhikkhuni Sangha Contributes
to Thai Women and Society
By Nissara Horayangura
(Unpublished paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
M.A. degree in Southeast Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand)

http://bhikkhuni.net/new_page_6.htm

[mikenz66]

There are more talks from BSWA now available in addition to Ajahn Sujato's June 20 talk:
http://www.bswa.org/audio/podcast/DhammaTalks.rss.php

Bhikkhuni Ordination
Saturday, 20 June 2009 4:00 p.m.
Ajahn Sujato from Santi Forrest Monastery talks about Bhikkuni ordination, the full ordination of women in the Theravada tradition.

Bhikkhuni Seminar Part 1
Sunday, 21 June 2009 4:00 p.m.
Bhikkhuni Seminar held at Dhammaloka, facilitated by Ajahn's Sujato and Vayama.

Bhikkhuni Seminar Part 2
Sunday, 21 June 2009 4:00 p.m.
Bhikkhuni Seminar held at Dhammaloka, facilitated by Ajahn's Sujato and Vayama.

Metta
Mike