Alliance for Bhikkhunis Summer 2015 Newsletter

http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d081c03c356665756e3a8ac94&id=a00ad51a29&e=bd165d4899

Alliance for Bhikkhunis Summer 2015 Newsletter

Tenzin Dadon: An Outstanding Woman in Buddhism

https://snfwrenms.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/tenzin-dadon-an-outstanding-woman-in-buddhism/

Tenzin Dadon: An Outstanding Woman in Buddhism

Apr9

I am very happy to say that one of the nuns who has been involved in our Support Network from the beginning has just been named as a recipient of an Outstanding Woman in Buddhism Award. Here is a full report by Ven. Karma Tashi Choedron, and we all say a big sādhu to our friend Venerable Tenzin Dadon (Sonam Wangmo) on this memorable occasion.

International Bhikkhuni Day

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=d081c03c356665756e3a8ac94&id=603c26590f&e=bd165d4899

International Bhikkhuni Day 

As I write this note to all of you who support the worldwide Bhikkhuni community, I am excited about our upcoming 4^th International Bhikkhuni Day (IBD) celebration.  The premise of IBD is to spread the word about Bhikkhunis as far and as wide as possible and each year it seems to be drawing more interest.  On Saturday, September 6^th we will pay respect to all Bhikkhunis and have chosen to honor Yasodhara, the wife of Siddhartha Gautama, who was a fully enlightened arahant.  Last year’s IBD was a huge success because so many of you held celebrations, meditation events, fundraisers and other gatherings during the month of September. We already have several IBD events lining up for this year’s celebration!  As events come in, we will add them to our interactive map on our website.  If you will be holding an IBD event this year, please let us know of the location and your contact information at info@bhikkhuni.net so that followers from around the world can enjoy the communal joy and celebration along with you.  You can read more about Yasodhara and International Bhikkhuni Day on the IBD page of our website:  http://www.bhikkhuni.net/4th-international-bhikkhuni-day/  We have also created flyers that you can customize for your event.  These can be downloaded at http://www.bhikkhuni.net/flyers-ibd/.

This year on IBD we have been offered a special treat by the producers of the wonderful video “The Buddha’s Forgotten Nuns”, found on Vimeo On Demand video service.  They have generously offered to allow all of you to view the full length, 34-minute video free from September 6^th - 13^th.  This special free viewing can be seen at https://vimeo.com/70402429/ with the password of IBD2014.

Thank you Wiriya Sati, director, for your generous gift of making this great video available to us!
 

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Two Generous Donations

Recently, we received a couple of generous donations.  One of them was for the direct support of Bhikkhuni medical expenses.  The latest donation is from a woman who herself is about to take robes, which will go into our general fund.  These are her words upon offering up this money for the greater good of other bhikkhunis:  "I deeply appreciate the precious work the Alliance for Bhikkhunis is doing, supporting the Dhamma and the Bhikkhuni-Sangha, and helping the Nuns in their practice. May you all be happy and at peace”.  These monies will go a long way to assist with ongoing and ever-present needs of our blessed Bhikkhunis.  We extend our utmost thanks to both of these wonderful donors and wish our new monastic the very best in her pursuit of the Buddhist path.
 

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Portrait Of A Volunteer

On our website you will find a wonderful story about one of our AFB volunteers, Mindy Zlotnick, written by another one of our volunteers, Margo Mallar.  This well-written commentary shines light on the benevolence of volunteers like Mindy who give so much to the Bhikkhuni cause.  You can check it out here:   http://www.bhikkhuni.net/2014/07/16/portrait-volunteer/
 

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Our Work Continues

One of our most important functions here at Alliance for Bhikkhunis (AFB) is to raise funds and provide other resources for Bhikkhunis across the globe. Because of your generosity, we have been able to contribute to these projects so far in 2014:

• Funds to help complete construction of the new communal library/office studio at Aranya Bodhi Hermitage
• Funding to help develop a new translation of the Bhikkhuni Vibhanga (Monastic Code)
• Funds to help in Aloka Vihara’s move to Placerville, CA
• Funds for to help provide a vehicle at Aloka Vihara
• Funds for ongoing monastic medical support

More info is available on our website:  http://www.bhikkhuni.net/projects/
 

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None of this can be made possible without your continued support.  We realize that digging into your pockets and adding to this cause is asking a lot in these difficult times, especially when there are many other worthy organizations out there to donate your time and money to.  On behalf of the AFB Board of Directors I want to say thank you for your contributions in the past.  It is our hope that we can count on you once again for your help in this worthwhile cause.

With much metta,
Michael Bratton, President
Alliance For Bhikkhunis

Contact us:  info@bhikkhuni.net
Website:  http://www.bhikkhuni.net/
 

14th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women : Compassion and Social Justice

http://sakyadhita.org/conferences/14th-si-con/14th-si-con-abstracts.html

Conference Abstracts: "Compassion and Social Justice"

14th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, June 23-30, 2015

HuffPost: The F Word in Buddhism: 'Daughters of the Buddha' Discuss How Buddhist Women Can Achieve Equality

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michaela-haas/daughters-of-the-buddha-discuss-how-buddhist-women-can-achieve-equality_b_2421834.html?utm_hp_ref=buddhism

The F Word in Buddhism: 'Daughters of the Buddha' Discuss How Buddhist Women Can Achieve Equality 

 by Michaela Haas

Numata: E-learning Course on Bhikkhuni Ordination

http://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/Home.3.0.html?&L=1

E-learning Course on Bhikkhuni Ordination

 

News from the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies:

E-learning Course on Bhikkhuni Ordination

The Numata Center for Buddhist Studies, in cooperation with the Women in Buddhism Study Initiative is currently offering an E-learning course focused on bhikkhuni/bhikshuni ordination. It will consists of a series of lectures given by a group of international scholars, who will present their research on legal issues and relevant Vinaya material. This will be followed by an updated regional survey of the current situation of nuns in the Theravada and Mulasarvastivada traditions. The language of instruction is English. Participation is free of charge, but requires online registration. For more information see here

Restoring Balance: Women's Wisdom for the Modern World

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michaela-haas/restoring-balance-womens-wisdom-for-the-modern-world_b_3188422.html?utm_hp_ref=buddhism

Restoring Balance: Women's Wisdom for the Modern World

Posted: 05/07/2013 10:49 am by Michaela Haas


Recently ,His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama made headlines when he enthusiastically supported the idea of choosing a female successor.

Bhikkhunī Academy at Manelwatta Temple: A Case of Cross-Tradition Exchange

http://blogs.dickinson.edu/buddhistethics/2014/06/04/bhikkhuni-academy-a-case-of-cross-tradition-exchange/

Bhikkhunī Academy at Manelwatta Temple: A Case of Cross-Tradition Exchange

Cheng Wei-yi
Hsuan Chuang University
This article is the result of an investigation continued from an earlier article on an exchange between Buddhists in Taiwan and Sri Lanka (“A Cross-Tradition Exchange Between Taiwan and Sri Lanka,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics, vol. 18, 2011). In that article, I investigated the exchange between a Mahāyāna Taiwanese nunnery and a Theravāda Sri Lankan missionary monk. After the initial exchange, described in the 2011 article, a more permanent institute for the education of Sri Lankan Buddhist nuns has been established. This article describes the cross-tradition exchange behind the founding of the educational institute and its implication for exchanges across different Buddhist traditions in Asia.
Read article

http://sharanam.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/some-challenges-of-living-a-contemplative-life-today/

Some challenges of living a contemplative life today

There are several topics that come up a lot for me of late, and they seem to bring up some discomfort and concern around how Buddhism is integrating into Western culture. The issues are:
1) The subject of dana and generosity, and how it has not very successfully been translated here; and
2) The issue of gender inequality and the general lack of (recognized as such) realized women teachers within the Buddhist institution — the same can be said for lack of racial diversity; as well as
3) The challenges for monasticism, particularly for women in the Theravada tradition.

(full article)

World Buddhist Women’s Convention 2015

http://www.wbwconvention.com/

In 2015, the World Buddhist Women’s Convention will be hosted in Canada by the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada Women’s Federation (JSBTCWF) in Calgary, Alberta Canada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63VC52UHYZE

Women in Buddhism: Unity and Diversity

Published on Apr 25, 2014

A historic video on Sakyadhita and their work to unite Buddhist women across the globe.