Compassion & Social Justice
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COMPASSION & SOCIAL JUSTICE Edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo PUBLISHED BY Sakyadhita Yogyakarta, Indonesia © Copyright 2015 Karma Lekshe Tsomo No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the editor. CONTENTS PREFACE ix BUDDHIST WOMEN OF INDONESIA The New Space for Peranakan Chinese Woman in Late Colonial Indonesia: Tjoa Hin Hoaij in the Historiography of Buddhism 1 Yulianti Bhikkhuni Jinakumari and the Early Indonesian Buddhist Nuns 7 Medya Silvita Ibu Parvati: An Indonesian Buddhist Pioneer 13 Heru Suherman Lim Indonesian Women’s Roles in Buddhist Education 17 Bhiksuni Zong Kai Indonesian Women and Buddhist Social Service 22 Dian Pratiwi COMPASSION & INNER TRANSFORMATION The Rearranged Roles of Buddhist Nuns in the Modern Korean Sangha: A Case Study 2 of Practicing Compassion 25 Hyo Seok Sunim Vipassana and Pain: A Case Study of Taiwanese Female Buddhists Who Practice Vipassana 29 Shiou-Ding Shi Buddhist and Living with HIV: Two Life Stories from Taiwan 34 Wei-yi Cheng Teaching Dharma in Prison 43 Robina Courtin iii INDONESIAN BUDDHIST WOMEN IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Light of the Kilis: Our Javanese Bhikkhuni Foremothers 47 Bhikkhuni Tathaaloka Buddhist Women of Indonesia: Diversity and Social Justice 57 Karma Lekshe Tsomo Establishing the Bhikkhuni Sangha in Indonesia: Obstacles and Opportunities 64 Ayya Santini Images of Women in Contemporary Indonesian Buddhist Short Stories 67 Latifah and Ary Budiyanto BUDDHIST CULTURE IN INDONESIA Bedhaya Ketawang: A Sacred Dance of Mystical Union of The Ruler of the Land and the Ruler of the Sea 76 Parwatri Wahjono Compassionate Legacy: Indonesian Influence on Buddhism in Tibet 77 Annie McGhee What is Borobudur? 83 Hudaya Kandahjaya The Karmavibhanga Reliefs of Borobudur: Unveiling Their Moral and Social Value 89 Kustiani Ruwat-Rawat Borobudur: An Annual Cultural Event that Celebrates Diversity and Multiculturalism 92 Wilis Rengganiasih Endah Ekowati THE GLOBALIZATION OF BUDDHISM The Pearl in the Bubble Tea: Buddhist Women and Social Change 97 Malia Dominica Wong Gender and the Cybersangha: Buddhist Women’s Online Activism and Practice 103 Emma Tomalin, Caroline Starkey, and Anna Halofoff iv Some Challenges Facing Non-Himalayan Nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition 111 Tenzin Palmo The Universality of Buddhism: Proposing a Sakyadhita Sangha 115 SungJa Cho IMPLEMENTING COMPASSION & SOCIAL JUSTICE Creative Activity and Social Justice 122 Arahmaiani Feisal Managing Sexual Harassment and Child Abuse: A Coordinated Approach 128 Diana Cousens Indian Buddhist Women Followers of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar 133 Minal Wankhede Barsagade and Sangita Meshram Linking Compassion to Social Policy 136 Lenny Hidayat DIVERSITY & MULTICULTURALISM An Emerging Alliance: The Diverse Family Formation Bill and Buddhist Gender Justice in Taiwan 145 Chang Shen Shi A Narrative Analysis of Buddhist Discourse on Gay Marriage in Taiwan: A Case Study of Master Chao Hwei 151 Chih Yin Shi Buddhism and Sexual Diversity in Germany 157 Rotraut (Jampa) Wurst v BHIKKHUNI ORDINATION: BENEFITS & BARRIERS A Comparative Study of the Theravâda Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni Pâtimokkas 161 Nishadini Peiris Bhikkhunî Ordination in India: Benefits and Barriers 168 Bhikkhuni Suniti Controversies and Prospects: Issues Surrounding the Establishment of the Female Monastic Sangha in Bangladesh 173 B. D. Dipananda Bhikkhunî Ordination in Thailand, 2014 183 Bhikkhuni Dhammananda (Chatsumarn Kabilsingh) The Imaginarium of the Nuns: Days Past and Futures Yet to Be 189 Bhikkhu Sujato EQUALITY, RESPECT & LAY/MONASTIC RELATIONS Pious Lady, Noble Woman: Relationships between Lay Women and Nuns as Narrated and Prescribed in the Mahasanghika-lokottaravada Bhiksuni Vinaya 194 Amy Paris Langenberg Noblewomen and Monks: Lay-Monastic Relations in the Early Choson Dynasty 199 Soun Sunim Bridging the Lay-Monastic Divide: Women’s Religious Leadership in Tibet 204 Pema Khandro The Invisible Majority: Conversations with Young Adult Asian American Buddhists 211 Chenxing Han THE FUTURE OF BUDDHIST FEMINISM Emergent Buddhist Women’s Leadership: Competing Feminist Views at the Intersection of the Sacred and the Profane 217 Carol L. Winkelmann vi The Uncomfortable Relationship Between the Self-Management Boom and Feminism in Korea 224 Seokjoo Kang Unveiling the Lives of Great Female Masters of Bhutan 228 Sonam Wangmo (Tenzin Dadon) The Real Problem Regarding Buddhist Women and Gender Justice: Gender-Neutral Models of Humanity 242 Rita Gross BUDDHIST WOMEN & COMPASSIONATE ACTIVISM Leaving Family Behind: Lessons of Love and Loss from the Buddha’s Hagiography 247 Vanessa R. Sasson Compassion and Social Engagement: Interdependent Paradigms for Vietnamese Buddhist Women 252 Thich Nu Nhu Nguyet Mahakaruna of Prajnaparamita: The Divine Feminine and Compassionate Activism in the 21st Century 257 Neela Bhattacharya Saxena IN THE SPIRIT OF COMPASSION The Healing Power of Compassion in the Stories of the Buddha’s First Daughters 262 Karen Lang Loving Speech and Right Speech in Relation to Nonviolent Communications 270 Bhikkhuni Dhammananda (Pham Thi Minh Hoa) Gendering Nyungne: The Tibetan Buddhist Fasting Ritual 274 Darcie Price-Wallace Compassion: The Path to Resilience 282 Teresa Sivilli vii BREAKTHROUGHS IN BUDDHIST EDUCATION Literacy and the Education of Bhikkhunis in Early Chinese Buddhism 287 Jeong Wan Sunim Chin Hui Pitt: An Exemplary Buddhist Woman Educator in Singapore 292 Zhen Yuan Shi The Significance of Bhiksuni Hiu Wan’s Prajna Chan, Compassion and Art 297 for Modern-day Education Sheng Ying Shi Buddhist Schools in Australia: Buddhist Women’s Roles 301 Thich Nu Phuoc Uyen CONTRIBUTORS 308 viii PREFACE The 14th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, is an extraordinary crosscultural opportunity. Focusing on the theme “Compassion and Social Justice,” the conference introduces activists of the social justice movements in Indonesia and other Asian countries to Buddhist feminist wisdom, social analysis, lives, and experiences. At the same time, it introduce Buddhist communities to Indonesian activists and local social justice movements. The conference provides a space for attendees, volunteers, interpreters, and seminar and workshop presenters of different backgrounds to interact and break down perceived barriers. It creates a foundation for future collaborations among Buddhist feminists and social justice activists and encourages women’s groups in Indonesia to include feminist Buddhist views in their future programs and activities on pluralism. The papers in this collection celebrate the many contributions Buddhist women have made to the spiritual and social lives of people in their communities around the world. As at previous Sakyadhita International Conferences on Buddhist Women, the gathering includes meditation, panel discussions, workshops, artwork, cultural performances, and tours. This conference also highlights the achievements of Buddhist lay and monastic women and their ongoing struggles for human rights and gender equity. The aim is to expand Buddhist women’s awareness of the social and political processes that shape their communities and global society. Buddhist women’s spirituality, for example, is not typically included in the negotiation processes among government officials, scholars, social activists, and religious leaders who meet to discuss humanity’s collective future. Most decision makers and social justice movements are not familiar with the work of Buddhist women. Similarly, most Buddhist women are not familiar with the larger social, economic, and political complexities that affect their daily lives. Due to their unfortunate circumstances (poverty, illiteracy, political oppression, and so on) and inadequate access to information about global issues, they may be unaware that the spirituality, compassion, and ethical principles of their cultural heritage could contribute substantially to shaping a more just and peaceful world. The 14th Sakyadhita Conference in Yogyakarta is timely, considering the growing religious, national, and ethnic intolerance found everywhere in Asia, including in Indonesia. This trend of growing intolerance triggers divisions in societies where people previously lived in harmony and diversity. Sadly, oppression, violence, and intimidation of minority religions, beliefs, and ethnic groups are daily occurrences in the world today. Women have major roles to play in countering ignorance and religious intolerance. Indonesia is a diverse nation, with more than 252 million peoples of nearly 300 distinct ethnic groups speaking 742 different languages and dialects. Their lives are influenced by six officially recognized religions (Islam, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Hindu, Buddha and Confucius) and myriad unrecognized ancestral beliefs (Sunda Wiwitan, Kejawen, Merapu, Patuntung, etc.). The Republic of Indonesia’s founding father, Soekarno, adopted a symbol to embrace this rich diversity: “Bhineka Tunggal Ika,” which means “Unity in ix Diversity.” This is a core principle of living together for Indonesians: acknowledging, respecting, and appreciating diversity. If the spirit of diversity and pluralism in Indonesia dies as a result of growing intolerance, Indonesia’s cohesion as a nation would be threatened. The 14th Sakyadhita Conference in Indonesia