Each one of us is a Ring-bearer, bound fast by our pride, our lust for power, our unawareness. –Sujato |
This major work combines scrupulous research with creative imagination to investigate the diverse and sometimes problematic roles that women have played in Buddhist stories.
The First Council was a critical turning point in Buddhist history, defining the direction Buddhism was to take after the death of its founder. Here is the account from the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya, translated from the Chinese canon.
Exploration of issues confronting fully ordained nuns (bhikkhunis) in modern Buddhism. Includes detailed textual analysis based on comparison of the original Vinaya texts.
While discussion on women’s role in the Sangha proceeds, those who most need to take part in the discussion — the monks — are conspicuously absent. The issue is not so much a dialogue as a call to the darkness, for a sympathetic hearing that is just not there.
Ordination is more than a change in lifestyle. It is a fundamental shift in the orientation of one’s very being. While denied bhikkhuni ordination, women are forever excluded from the heart of the Buddha’s community.
Through careful attention to the earliest Buddhist teachings, preserved in scriptures in Pali, Chinese, Tibetan, and Sanskrit, we can not only come closer to the Buddha’s original message, but can discern the teachings shared among all Buddhist traditions.
Fifteen hundred years ago, Buddhist nuns from Sri Lanka braved the long sea voyage to China in order to introduce the authentic bhikkhuni ordination lineage. Here are their stories, translated from the ancient Chinese histories.
