BV - May 2015 Yr 2 Issue 6 E

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www.jaibheem.net ● Year – 2 ● Issue – 6 ● May 2015 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com ● Email: indian.buddhistvoice@gmail.com 22
Buddhist Women As Agents of Change: Case Studies from Thailand and Indonesia Dr Lai Suat Yan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- While in Thailand the majority of its population are adherents of the Theravada Buddhist ‘tradition’, in Indonesia, Buddhism is a minority religion with the Theravada Buddhist ‘tradition’ embraced by the majority of Buddhists. However, the development of the Theravada tradition in Indonesia is much influenced by its counterparts in Thailand. Consisting only of men, the Theravada Buddhist ecclesiastical authorities in both Thailand and Indonesia do not recognize bhikkhunis (a fully ordained female monastic). In this context, the aspiration and determination of Buddhist women to be female monastics in the Theravada Buddhist tradition in the 21st century reflect their role as agents of change to bring renewal to their faith. Their convictions and actions affirm women’s spirituality and gender inclusiveness as envisioned by the Buddha in establishing the female monastic order. They are able to survive and even grow due to their ability to attract their own supporters and followers. Furthermore, those who aspired to be female monastic are able to travel outside of their countries to be ordained due to the transnational dimension of Buddhism. These Buddhist women thus reclaim their identities and roles from only being supporters of Buddhism to that of spiritual leaders, religious innovators and ritual specialists. The Theravada Buddhist ‘tradition’ is a changing one as the female adherents stake their claim to their rightful heritage as female monastic. Similarly, the identity and roles of Buddhist women are fluid. Changing Identity of Buddhist Women In Thailand, Ven. Dhammananda, and in Indonesia, Ven. Santini both reference the Buddhist scripture for a usable past 1 to posit that where bhikkhunis are not in existence, it is possible for them to be ordained by bhikkhus (fully ordained male monastic) only (Lai 2014, 3, 6). They thus became religious innovators by leading the way in becoming ordained and legitimized, deeds based upon the ‘original’, ‘pure’ message of the Buddha. Detractors of bhikkhuni ordination claim that the proper procedure and requirement for bhikkhuni ordination is to require both bhikkhus and bhikkhunis (dual ordination) as the ‘original’, ‘pure’ message of the Buddha (Lai 2011, 147- 48). Ven. Dhammananda received her full ordination as a bhikkhuni in 2003 in Sri Lanka and Ven. Santini with three other Indonesian Buddhist women did so in 2000 in Taiwan. Their ordination subsequently paved the way for other Thai and Indonesian Buddhist women to be ordained and to defend their ordination as being based on the Buddha’s ‘tradition’. However, none of them are recognized by the religious authorities of the Theravada ‘tradition’ in their home countries. Despite this, Ven. Dhammananda and Ven. Santini introduced samaneri (novice female monastic) temporary ordination which is based upon the samanera (novice male monastic) temporary ordinations in their respective countries. ● Year – 2 ● Issue – 6 ● May 2015 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com ● Email: indian.buddhistvoice@gmail.com 23
Page 1 and 2: ● Year - 2 ● Issue - 6 ● May
Page 3 and 4: Editor’s Voice Greetings on Buddh
Page 5 and 6: Buddhist way and Hindu dominance is
Page 7 and 8: Jainism espoused caste and rituals,
Page 9 and 10: Mahamaya. He was a wealthy person a
Page 11 and 12: (Ilaiah 2001: 11). While Kautilya a
Page 13 and 14: Finally, the new religions were at
Page 15 and 16: Conscience Speaks Doing only one th
Page 17 and 18: Renowned Psychologists like William
Page 19 and 20: psychological change experienced as
Page 21: James, W. (1890). The Principles of
Page 25 and 26: and Indonesian case, networking at
Page 27 and 28: to know that Yashodhara delivered a
Page 29 and 30: made warrior gods as their own gods
Page 31 and 32: Triumphant and victorious in the 16
Page 33 and 34: fundamentalists within the minority
Page 35 and 36: Husband and living father cared to
Page 37 and 38: serving in different capacities. Th
Page 39 and 40: people can counter the communal for
Page 41 and 42: Tribute I have always been fascinat
Page 43 and 44: We had several conversations on pho
Page 45 and 46: His two booklets on Mandal Commissi
Page 47 and 48: News Conference of World Fellowship
Page 49 and 50: misunderstanding among the communit
Page 51 and 52: The Buddha's teaching of the Kalach
Page 53 and 54: Buddhist Youth Training Centre in O
Page 55 and 56: International Festival of Buddhist
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Page 59 and 60: Mountaineer Anand Bansode Mountaine
Page 61 and 62: International Conference on Teachin
Page 63 and 64: Mrs. Vasundhara Kamble Elected as C
Page 65 and 66: Dr B R Ambedkar National Award 2014
Page 67: Sant Kabir Residential Hostel for B

BV - May 2015 Yr 2 Issue 6 E

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