We are delighted to announce the public ordinations of the following 12 women, at Bordharan Retreat Centre, Maharashtra, India on Sunday 15th January 2017.
Private preceptor Vijaya Public preceptor Jnanasuri Supriya Akshobhy - North Nagpur - becomes Nityashri, “Permanent glory” Kusumlata Goutam - Dehradun, Uttarakhand - becomes Aryadarshini, “One who knows/sees the Arya - noble one” Babita Bhan - Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh - becomes Ratnavajri, “A jewel-vajra” Chandrakanta Bouddha - Dehradun, Uttarakhand - becomes Vinayadarshini, “One who observe the vinaya-discipline”
In Lives of Early Buddhist Nuns Alice Collett, now lecturer at Nālanda University in India, explores changing attitudes to women in Buddhism through the stories of six early nuns: Dhammadinnā, Khemā, Kisāgotamī, Paṭācārā, Bhaddā Kuṇḍalakesā and Uppalavaṇṇā. In the first half...
The Network of Buddhist Women in Europe is mainly a website (in French, English and German) providing a home for links to various Buddhist women teachers, groups and projects in Europe (and worldwide).
Earlier this year, through my work as Liaison officer, representing Triratna at the European Buddhist Union, I was asked to contribute a profile of a woman teacher from Triratna to the site’s list of female Buddhist teachers. I was delighted but replied that since we now have around 800...
By Dhivan Thomas Jones on Sat, 1 Oct, 2016 - 13:30
Here, Dharmacārinī Vajratārā reviews a collection of scholarly essays exploring how it was for women in early Buddhism – at a time before feminism when nevertheless women were taken seriously as dharma practitioners.
essays by various scholars, edited and introduced by Alice Collett
Oxford University Press, USA, 2014, 274pp., hback and ebook
Reviewed by Vajratārā
What were the attitudes towards women in early Indian Buddhism? Does textual analysis of early Buddhist texts corroborate the idea that early Buddhists saw women...
We are delighted to announce that the following women were publicly ordained at Akashavana, Spain, on Friday 16th September:
Public preceptor: Padmasuri
Claire Brown becomes Amrtavani (the third ‘a’ is long as is the final ‘i’). Sanskrit name meaning: ‘She who plays the music of the deathless’, or ‘She whose song is limitless’ Westernised spelling: Amritavani Private preceptor: Dhatvisvari
Anneke Dekker becomes Maitridaya (second ‘i’ is long as are second and third ‘a’). Sanskrit name meaning: ‘Giver of maitri’ ...
Ratnashri from Mumbai and Vijaya from Nagpur talk to Dassini about their perspectives on the IC; being outside of India for the first time, and being inspired by the example of Dr Ambedkar to see learning and developing skills as having no age limit.
Vijaya shares her top 3 highlights from the meeting, the first being an approach to conflict resolution that builds confidence and supports individuals to see their own shortcomings in the light of the Buddha’s kindness.
We are delighted to announce the ordinations of the following women at Akashavana, Spain on Saturday 4th June:
Public preceptor: Parami Kate Arrowsmith becomes Dharmamayi (long ‘i’) Sanskrit name meaning ’She who is filled with Dharma’. Westernised spelling: Dharmamayi Private preceptor: Punyamala
Hattie Johnson becomes Akasajoti (long first and second ‘a’s, long ‘i’) Pali name meaning: ’She whose radiance is like the sky’. Westernised spelling: Akasajoti Private preceptor: Vajratara
Minh Truing George becomes Amaradipa (long ‘i’ and long final ‘a’) ...
In my late teens and early 20s I used to say that I would have children by the time I was 30. It was only on a Going for Refuge retreat at Tiratanaloka (in Wales) when I was 27 that I realised child-bearing wasn’t - and isn’t - compulsory. This realisation encouraged me to think and reflect carefully about the pro-natal nature...