When she entered samadhi she sat from sunset to dawn, or from dawn to sunset. Her breath was soft like cotton... –Sujato |
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.
In preparation for the 2007 Congress on Buddhist Women’s Role in the Sangha, the Committee of Western Bhikkhunis asked for a historical presentation from a Theravāda point of view. I prepared the following to show that, while bhikkhunis are absent from the mainstream Theravādin institutions, they are very much present in the texts and history.
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.
