The Legality of Bhikkhuni Ordination, Ven Analayo

https://web.archive.org/web/20140814022246/http://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/fileadmin/pdf/analayo/Legality.pdf

http://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/fileadmin/pdf/analayo/Legality.pdf

http://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/fileadmin/pdf/analayo/LegalitywithTranslations.pdf

The Legality of Bhikkhuni Ordination

"The Legality of Bhikkhunī Ordination" (PDF) 20. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, Special 20th Anniversary Issue, D. Keown and C. Prebish (ed.),. 2013: 310–333. Archived fromthe original (PDF) on 14 August 2014. (reprinted as a booklet together with translations into Sinhala, Thai and Burmese: West Malaysia: Selangor Buddhist Vipassanā Meditation Society, 2013; and New York: Buddhist Association of the United States, 2014). PDF

Finding My Way

http://awakeningbuddhistwomen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/finding-my-way.html

Monday, October 19, 2015

Finding My Way

Jessica Morey

When all of our lives are so similar and yet so different, where can we look for guidance? As Jessica Morey has learned—and what she now teaches to teenagers—the best guidance is discovered in ourselves.

Upasika Kee Nanayon's Teachings

Upasika Kee Nanayon's Teachings

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/kee/inward.html

Village Women : Care of the Dying

http://www.tricycle.com/special-section/village-women

Village Women : Care of the Dying

Bringing a Buddhist view to the care of the dying was the subject of five recent interviews conducted by Mary Talbot, Executive Editor of Tricycle, and combined into the following discussion.

Healing Rituals for Miscarriages/abortions

Rituals for Miscarriages/abortions

http://www.npr.org/2015/08/15/429761386/adopting-a-buddhist-ritual-to-mourn-miscarriage-abortion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuko_kuy%C5%8D

http://www.esolibris.com/articles/buddhism/buddhism_abortion.php

https://web.archive.org/web/20040503125604/http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/135.pdf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/abortion.shtml

http://www.pregnancyoptions.info/pdfs/EmotionalAndSpiritualResolution.pdf

http://novamagazine.com.au/article_archive/2014/2014-06-healing-lost-pregnancy.html

Women in Buddhism: Unity and Diversity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpVfc7zI09o

Women in Buddhism: Unity and Diversity

History of Sakyadhita

Buddhist Women – A Hero in Dark Times: Jetsuma Mingyur Paldron

http://www.pemakhandro.org/buddhist_women_mingyurpaldron/

Buddhist Women – A Hero in Dark Times

Posted on Jul 14, 2015

Buddhist Women: Jetsuma Mingyur Paldron

One of my favorite Buddhist stories of Buddhist women is that of the eighteenth century leader, Jetsunma Mingyur Paldron (Tib. rJe btsun Mi ‘gyur dpal sgron, 1699– 1769).

This is the story of a female Buddhist teacher who, despite her family members being murdered, being forced into exile and dealing with debilitating health condition, becomes a major teacher and the pivotal figure in the revival and restoration of a major Tibetan monastery and its lineage.

Pema Chödrön’s birthday: celebrate with some of her best from Shambhala Sun

http://www.lionsroar.com/pema-chodrons-birthday/

It’s Pema Chödrön’s birthday — celebrate with some of her best from Shambhala Sun

BY LION'S ROAR STAFF | JULY 14, 2015

Here’s reason to celebrate: the American Buddhist nun (and frequent Shambhala Sun contributor!) Pema Chödrön turns 79 today.

Born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in 1936 — read her life story, “Becoming Pema” — she’s now beloved as a teacher to us all. So what better way to honor her than to make a little time and absorb some of her wisdom? Here’s a selection of some of Pema’s classic Sunarticles to get you started. (Or, you can always browse our special “Teacher Spotlight” page here on Lion’s Roar.) And don’t miss the September 2015Shambhala Sun magazine, featuring a conversation with Pema and k.d. lang, as well as “What Is the Most Important Teaching?”, a new teaching by Pema.

Select Pema teachings:

• What to Do When the Going Gets Rough — Pema Chödrön on four ways to hold our minds steady and hearts open when facing difficult people or circumstances.
• You Can Do It! — Make your vow to help others real with this meditation teaching from Pema Chödrön.
• The Natural Warmth of the Heart — In the difficulties of your life, says Pema Chödrön, you will discover your natural love and warmth.
• Turn Your Thinking Upside-Down — We base our lives on seeking happiness and avoiding suffering, but the best thing we can do for ourselves—and for the planet—is to turn this whole way of thinking upside down. Pema Chödrön shows us Buddhism’s radical side.
• Stay With the Soft Spot of Bodhichitta — Pema Chödrön on how to awaken bodhichitta—enlightened heart and mind—the essence of all Buddhist practice.
• Looking Into Laziness — Rather than feeling discouraged by laziness, Pema tells us, we could get to know laziness profoundly. This very moment of laziness becomes our personal teacher.
• How We Get Hooked and How We Get Unhooked — Shenpa, Pema teaches us, is the urge, the hook, that triggers our habitual tendency to close down. We get hooked in that moment of tightening when we reach for relief. To get unhooked we begin by recognizing that moment of unease and learn to relax in that moment.

You’ll find plenty more teachings from Pema here. And to stay up-to-date with Pema’s activities — and share a birthday wish with her — follow the Pema Chödrön Foundation on Twitter. You might also visit the PCF online.

Where do women belong in Buddhism, by Jaya

1 Where do women belong in Buddhism

http://www.bbncommunity.com/where-do-women-belong-in-buddhism/

2 Social attitude towards women at the time of the Buddha

http://www.bbncommunity.com/social-attitude-towards-women-at-the-time-of-the-buddha/

3 Where do women belong in Buddhism

http://www.bbncommunity.com/where-do-women-belong-in-bbuddhism/

4 Where do women belong in Buddhism

http://www.bbncommunity.com/women-belong-buddhism-5/

by Jaya  , September 2013

A realistic look at the way how women are treated over time.

We bring you a work by Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera on how women are treated in Buddhism.

Making Our Way: On Women and Buddhism

http://www.lionsroar.com/forum-making-our-way-on-women-and-buddhism/

Making Our Way: On Women and Buddhism

BY LION'S ROAR STAFF | FEBRUARY 6, 2015

• Email

Photos: Jesse A. Jiryu Davis

Grace Schireson, Christina Feldman, Rita Gross, and Lama Palden Drolma discuss how women are defining new roles as Buddhist leaders, teachers, and practitioners.

Introduction by Sandy Boucher

When I think of women and Buddhism, I see before me the faces of our Western Buddhist female pioneers. In the relatively easier situation we enjoy today, with the proliferation of powerful women teachers and spokespeople, I wonder if we will forget these early women who placed the foundational stones on our path.

Right speech, Right Silence

http://awakeningbuddhistwomen.blogspot.com/2014/12/right-speech-right-silence.html?spref=fb

Right speech, Right Silence

by Ayya Medhanandi

China: Ascetic Nuns live a peripatetic life of hardship

http://www.chinasmack.com/2014/pictures/devout-chinese-ascetic-nuns-live-a-peripatetic-life-of-hardship.html

China: Ascetic Nuns live a peripatetic life of hardship

Daoyuan Temple of Haicheng Liaoning is a strict discipline nunnery in China. This temple is composed entirely of women. The nuns practice Buddhism at the Dabei Temple in Haicheng Liaoning and belongs to the same Guiyang School of Zen Buddhism as the Dabei Temple.

The Women's Meditation Tradition in Tibet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG-RiTO3vjY&list=PLrbj8yFBT58RzJu6GE913ConFh2MRc5zu&index=10

The Women's Meditation Tradition in Tibet  

Uploaded on Jun 14, 2010

Google Tech Talk
June 11, 2010

ABSTRACT

Presented by The Venerable Wangdrak Rinpoche.

The Venerable Wangdrak Rinpoche is a native Tibetan and overseer of Gebchak Gonpa, which is the largest Buddhist nunnery in Tibet. Rinpoche will be speaking about the cultural and spiritual role of women meditators in a tradition that is typically very male-identified. His talk will reveal the rich cultural heritage and important role women play in Tibetan Buddhism and culture.

Wangdrak Rinpoche the third is the reincarnation of Wangdrak Dorje. Along with the Gonpa's founder, Tsangyang Gyamtso, Wangdrak Dorje was instrumental in building Gebchak and was renowned for his total mastery of profound yogas and meditation. The present incarnation holds the Khenpo degree in Buddhist philosophy, and has received a remarkably broad training in the almost all of the traditions.

His Holiness Sakya Trizin formally recognized Rinpoche as the reincarnation of Gebchak Gonpa’s Wangdrak Dorje, with an extraordinarily clear prediction letter describing his name, his parents' names, the place and year of his birth, and a unique birthmark on his back. This prediction letter was issued in accordance with the signs he received in meditation. Every detail in the letter proved to be correct. This recognition was also verified by His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, the head of The Drukpa Lineage, and His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche.At the age of nine he entered Chodrak Gonpa, a monastery of the Karma Kagyu and Barom Kagyu traditions, where he received the traditional training in all ritual practices. At the remote hilltop retreat place of Trachok Gon, he received the experiential instructions from Trachok Karma Tseten, the most renowned Karma Kagyu Dzogchen and Mahamudra lama in the vast provinces of Eastern Tibet. There Rinpoche spent three years in isolated meditation retreat, gaining experience and realization of the instructions he'd received.

Dzongsar College in Derge is where Rinpoche undertook his formal studies in Buddhist philosophy and scripture, and is well-known as the best college in all of Tibet for non-sectarian scriptural study. Rinpoche undertook the entire nine-year course, consistently placing first to third in his class and graduating with the Khenpo degree. From the highly respected Drukpa Kagyu lama Adeu Rinpoche, Wangdrak Rinpoche received all the transmissions of the Gebchak lineage. Rinpoche has been fortunate to receive many great empowerments, from many great lamas. His teachers include Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche, the late Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse, and others.

When he had completed his studies, Rinpoche returned to Chodrak Gonpa to teach Buddhist philosophy for three years. After moving to teach at a branch gonpa in Nepal, Rinpoche was repeatedly requested by Tsoknyi Rinpoche and the Gebchak nuns to accept formal responsibility for the spiritual and material well-being of Gebchak Gonpa. Along with caring for his students from all over the globe, this is the end to which he continually works.

For more information about Wangdrak Rinpoche and his activities, please visit Rinpoche's official website: www.gebchakgonpa.org

Buddhist Women worth knowing about

http://www.patheos.com/Public-Square.html

2014 Religious Trends: Expanding Leadership Opportunities for Buddhist Women—Which Way Forward?

While immigrant Buddhist communities often retain their traditions of male leadership—as priests, monks, and dharma instructors—many contemporary Buddhist centers are exploring new ways to integrate women into leadership roles. At the same time, a disturbing rise in abuse and inappropriate conduct has highlighted a need for greater attention to teacher-student relations and physical and emotional well-being. What are the risks and benefits of opening Buddhist leadership to women?

Harvard Uni: Good Karma Connections: Buddhist Women in Tang China (618-907)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ3JCZ2nVsc

Good Karma Connections: Buddhist Women in Tang China (618-907) 

Published on May 22, 2014

This lecture was delivered on February 24, 2009, by Ping Yao, PhD (California State University, Los Angeles), Research Associate and Visiting Professor of Women's Studies and Buddhist Religious History.

Zen Buddhism In Search of Self

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDsK2YV7klc

Zen Buddhism In Search of Self

Women's Korean Retreat

Buddhist weddings and other rituals

Buddhist weddings and other rituals 

 (originally a reply to a student enquiry)

Buddhism started off from India around 2500 years ago, and as it has progressively become known and accepted in different countries, it has been adapting its message and rituals to best suit the local cultures, incorporating local customs and symbols and giving them a new dimension and lease of life.

The whole of Buddhism can be seen as a skilful means, designed to lead those that feel so inspired to walk for themselves the spiritual path, that leads away from unnecessary suffering brought about by my deluded perception of what is happening, fired as it is by my wants, dislikes and distorted seeing; a path that leads to fulfillment, and the healing of the chasm between me and other, and to joyful participation in the great life where we all find our home and origin.

Different cultures place different value on the rituals themselves, but generally speaking they are rites of passage, helping the individuals involved cast aside roles that they have outgrown and help them slip smoothly into other roles better fitting their circumstances, and responsibilities to their immediate family, circle of friends and society at large.  How society is organized is bound to have a big influence on the nature of the roles themselves and the function of the rituals.

A Tibetan clan celebrating a wedding and the coming together of two families in the harsh environment of the Himalayas, where collaboration and mutual support carry an obvious survival advantage, is bound to look and feel rather different from a ceremonial exchange of vows and rings in the Rockhampton Town Hall, sanctioning a union that might not last for more than few years.

The seven Sacraments as known to Catholics are invested with a strong sense of the Sacred, matched by the gravity with which the failure to live up to them is looked at.  

To some extent birth, but especially Ordination in its various forms, and also Death rituals in Buddhism might come somewhat close, but please bear in mind that however solemn, they would always be regarded as undertakings by individuals (or on their behalf),  rather than being invested with the authority of a personal God.

Marriage in particular is regarded more as a civil union/partnership designed to underpin society and provide a safe and loving environment in which children can grow, rather than a relationship by nature carrying an intrinsic value per se : not a coming together of two souls for eternity or even life, but rather a training ground in which wife and husband (or partners) can learn to gradually lay down the burden of me, and open up to other, more easily done where love prevails. However close relationships carry the danger of attachment, possession, dependency and exclusion, resulting in two individuals causing each other an extra layer of suffering, rather than growing together.

So, in the light of all that, the best I can do is to point you to some web resources, that are bound to be culturally/ethnically biased, but at least you will get a feeling of the significance of marriage rituals in a variety of settings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_view_of_marriage
http://family.jrank.org/pages/183/Buddhism-Buddhism-Family.html
http://www.buddhanet.net/funeral.htm
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kariyawasam/wheel402.html
http://voices.yahoo.com/traditions-buddhist-marriage-ceremony-2635683.html
http://www.buddhistwedding.org/makingbuddhist.shtml
http://www.urbandharma.org/udnl2/nl021004.html
http://www.matrimonialsindia.com/help/buddhist.php
http://weddings.iloveindia.com/buddhist-wedding/wedding-rituals.html
http://weddings.iloveindia.com/buddhist-wedding/
http://blog.aseankorea.org/archives/17089
http://a.northernthailand.com/thai-weddings/453-traditional-thai-buddhist-weddings19.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poruwa_ceremony
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s7171.html

http://www.toddjayleonard.com/Todd%20Jay%20Leonard,%20Blog/CE808F25-F3BE-464C-A16D-D0A49B1089FC.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_7766141_japanese-buddhist-matrimonial-ceremonies.html

http://www.buddhistmatrimony.com/articles/wedding-customs-buddhist.php
http://www.vibranttable.com/blog/bridal-boutique/buddhist-wedding-ideas-rituals/

Dharma Documentaries: Secret Tribes, Bhikkhunis in Thailand

http://dharma-documentaries.net/secret-tribes-bhikkhunis-in-thailand

Secret Tribes: Bhikkhunis in Thailand

Posted by Anandajoti on Monday, 14th April, 2014

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.