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The International Congress on
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
Women's Role in the
Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
: Bhikshuni
Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions rema ...
and Ordination Lineages was an historic event that took place July 18–20, 2007. It was a meeting of internationally recognized Buddhist scholars specializing in monastic discipline and history, as well as practitioners. It was expected to be the final discussion of a decades-long dialogue about re-establishing full bhikshuni ordination in
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
traditions. Papers and research based on Buddhist texts and contemporary practice traditions in China, Korea, Taiwan, Tibet, and South Asia were presented, between them the ''Abstract: The Eight Garudhammas''. The
fourteenth Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
attended the final day of the conference and conclusions. His letter of support is available to the public (see references below).http://www.congress-on-buddhist-women.org/index.php?id=24 Discussions, amongst both scholars and practitioners, at the first Congress were planned primarily about the
Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
tradition. Other Bhikkshuni lineages which could be restored were also expected to be on the agenda. The Congress was held at University of Hamburg, Germany, July 18–20, 2007, hosted by the University of Hamburg's Asia-Africa Institute. After statements from the many bhikkus and bhikkshunis present, the Dalai Lama announced that, while he supported the case, he needed to discuss the matter with senior lamas representing the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism to gain a consensus view. He added that from 2008 (or if possible 2007) nuns were to practice three monastic ceremonies, posadha,
vassa The ''Vassa'' ( pi, vassa-, script=Latn, sa, varṣa-, script=Latn, both "rain") is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners. Taking place during the wet season, Vassa lasts for three lunar months, usually from July ...
and
pavarana Pavarana ( sa, Pravāraṇā) is a Buddhist holy day celebrated on Aashvin full moon of the lunar month. It marks the end of the 3 lunar months of Vassa, sometimes called "Buddhist Lent." The day is marked in some Asian countries where Theravada Bu ...
, as preparation for the establishment of a Bhikkhuni Sangha in the near future. These, he declared, should be held in
Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...
and follow the
dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a pr ...
vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions rema ...
. A full statement was issued by the Dalai Lama detailing this. Bhikshuni and
Yogini A yogini (Sanskrit: योगिनी, IAST: ) is a female master practitioner of tantra and yoga, as well as a formal term of respect for female Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teachers in Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Greater Tibet. The ...
Tenzin Palmo Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (born 1943) is a bhikṣuṇī in the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. She is an author, teacher and founder of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, India. She is best known for being o ...
-a member of the Committee of Western Bhikshunis- belonging to
Drukpa Lineage The Drukpa Kagyu (), or simply Drukpa, sometimes called either Dugpa or " Red Hat sect" in older sources,
of the
Kagyu The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...
school in her statement ''A brief overview of the situation for nuns in the Tibetan Tradition'' elaborated that in spite of full Bhikshuni ordination monks had not to be afraid because according to vinaya they were going to keep their higher position. The six member 'Committee of Western Bhikshunis' is an organisation of senior Western nuns supported by two Advisors from
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(Ven. Bhiksuni Heng-ching Shih, Professor of Philosophy at Taiwan National University (Gelongma ordination 1975 in San Francisco) and Ven. Bhikshuni Wu-yin, Vinaya Master). It was formed in the autumn of 2005, after the Dalai Lama told Bhikshuni
Jampa Tsedroen Carola Roloff (born 1959 in Holzminden, West Germany) is a German Buddhist nun. Her monastic name is Bhiksuni Jampa Tsedroen. An active teacher, translator, author, and speaker, she is instrumental in campaigning for equal rights for Buddhist n ...
that the Western bhikshunis should be more involved in helping to establish the bhikshuni ordination in the Tibetan tradition. To help establish the Bhikshuni Sangha (community of fully ordained nuns) where it does not currently exist had already been declared in 1987 one of the objectives of Sakyadhita, as expressed at its founding meeting in 1987 in Bodhgaya, India.


The eight Garudhammas/Gurudharmas of the Bhikshuni Vinaya

The basic difference between Bhikshuni Vinaya and Bhikshu Vinaya (= discipline) are the eight rules of respect, known as
The Eight Garudhammas The Eight Garudhammas (Sanskrit: ,here "garu" or "guru" is used as an adjective, the wikilink points to the associated sanskrit noun.See The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary entry for "garu": https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali ...
. According to scripture and legend they have come from Buddha Shakyamuni himself. Buddha: Ananda, if
Mahapajapati Gotami Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī (Pali; Sanskrit: महाप्रजापती गौतमी, ''Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī'') or Pajapati was the foster-mother, step-mother and maternal aunt (mother's sister) of the Buddha. In Buddhist tradition, s ...
accepts eight vows of respect, that will be her full ordination (upasampada). "(1) A bhikkhuni who has been fully ordained even for more than a century must bow down, rise up from her seat, salute with hands palm-to-palm over her heart, and perform the duties of respect to a bhikkhu even if he has been fully ordained only a day. This rule is to be honored, respected, revered, venerated, never to be transgressed as long as she lives." "(2)A bhikkhuni must not spend the rains in a residence where there is no bhikkhu... "(3) Every half-month a bhikkhuni should request two things from the Bhikkhu Sangha: she should ask for the date of the uposatha day and come for an exhortation... "(4) At the end of the Rains-residence, a bhikkhuni should invite (criticism both from) the Bhikkhu Sangha and the Bhikkhuni Sangha on any of three grounds: what they have seen, what they have heard, what they have suspected... "(5) A bhikkhuni who has broken any of the vows of respect must undergo penance for half a month under both Sanghas... "(6) Only after a probationer has trained in the six precepts for two years should she request ordination from both Sanghas... "(7) A bhikkhu must not in any way be insulted or reviled by a bhikkhuni... "(8) From this day forward, the admonition of a bhikkhu by a bhikkhuni is forbidden, but the admonition of a bhikkhuni by a bhikkhu is not forbidden. This rule, too, is to be honored, respected, revered, venerated, never to be transgressed as long as she lives. Buddha: "If Mahapajapati Gotami accepts these eight vows of respect, that will be her full ordination.".


Procedure of Women Ordination

Alexander Berzin states: "The ordination procedure involves asking the candidates a list of questions concerning impediments (bar-chad-kyi chos, Skt. antarayikadharma, Pali: antarayikadhamma) she may have that might hinder her from keeping the full set of vows. In addition to the questions asked in common with candidates for bhikshu ordination, these include further questions concerning her anatomy as a female."


Important quotations on equality of buddhist nuns

Equality of Full Ordination taken from the interview with Bhikshuni
Thubten Chodron Thubten Chodron ( — De Lin), born Cheryl Greene, is an American Tibetan Buddhist nun, author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the United States. C ...
, Committee of Western Bhikshunis Discriminating against buddhist nuns within Full Ordination taken from Berzin Summary Report Equality generally speaking taken from Berzin Summary Report Impacts of bowing ''A Painful Ambiguity - Attitudes towards nuns in Buddhist myth'' by Bhikkhu Sujato 25/9/2007 Giving joy to monks in order to foster openmindedness Sister Chan KhongSenauke, A and Moon, S (1994) "Walking in the Direction of Beauty--An Interview with Sister Chan Khong", The Turning Wheel
/ref>


See also

* Bhikkhuni *
Ordination of women in Buddhism Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
*
Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
*
Women in Buddhism Women in Buddhism is a topic that can be approached from varied perspectives including those of theology, history, anthropology, and feminism. Topical interests include the theological status of women, the treatment of women in Buddhist societi ...
**
First buddhist council __NOTOC__ The First Buddhist council was a gathering of senior monks of the Buddhist order convened just after Gautama Buddha's death, which according to Buddhist tradition was c. 483 BCE, though most modern scholars place it around 400 BCE. T ...
** Second buddhist council


References


Bibliography

*


External links


News on Bhikshuni Lineage in Tibetan tradition. - Yasodhara-Newsletter on International Buddhist Women's Activities
Information referring to the 3rd Seminar of Vinaya Scholars about the Bhikshuni Lineage, organized by the Department of Religion and Culture, held in Dharamsala, India, May 22–24, 2006.

an interview with Bhikshuni
Thubten Chodron Thubten Chodron ( — De Lin), born Cheryl Greene, is an American Tibetan Buddhist nun, author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the United States. C ...
, founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, a monastery in the USA, and former resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore, member of the Committee of Western Bhikshunis
Bhikkhuni says she is glum on future of ordination
Study Buddhism (2007-08-00) * ttp://www.congress-on-buddhist-women.org/ Information about Developments after the Congress''Buddhist order of interbeing - established in 1964''
Order of Interbeing Beginnings (Sister Chân Không, Excerpt from her book ''Learning True Love'')
by Chan Khong ''Buddhist Dharma on women''
WOMEN IN ZEN BUDDHISM: Chinese Bhiksunis in the Ch'an Tradition
by Heng-Ching Shih (Advisor of Committee of Western Bhikshunis) {{Buddhism topics Buddhist monasticism 21st-century Buddhism Ordination of women in Buddhism Buddhist nuns History of Tibetan Buddhism Buddhist women's organizations 2007 in Germany 2007 conferences 2007 in religion 2000s in Hamburg