SSEDS OF PEACE e'"v*&:"4'*- 4a *.' .*-"::': :f ::.*3**x*x;4 a**"- @ {n H*nmr *t His l&*Lixz*ss Tenzin Gyatso, The VAthWaLaILaxma on His &0th Birthd,ay 6tn fuly 2015 $.E.EP'Q.9.f.IEAQE............i.......y:l:3.?]jg3.|11v.:.4TgT:t?:?gl?gl?l 3 gditorial Notes 4 Country Reports 4India : 20,000 attend Dalai Lama's teaching at Sankisa pilgrimage slte Tib etanReview 5 How India Is Squandering Its Top Export: The Buddha Dzongsar lamyang Khyentse 9 Indonesia: Indonesia Muslim, Buddhist leaders denounce religious strlfe Bambang Muryanto { O On }akarta's Streets, Opinions Divided on Executions Ryan Dagur r,lll!illlllltltllllll,l,,,,ll,,r,ll,trltlil;ll:tttttfr, 12 fao: The Sombath Initiative 9lXKxllltllrl'l,,ir,,tll,,,ll',,," {4 Siam: DSI summons Dhammakaya monks 14 lantato pass law banning homosexuals from monkhood Kongpob Areerat :1111j :: : t;::::::::::::tt:t:t\t:La..Laaa.aaaaaaaaal tai.: { 7 Sri Lanka/Tibet : Buddhist Union - Spiritual Confluence or Geo-Politics? Claude Arpi ffil'r*:i,2t,;,ttttlt,111'll.lillll1lillffi { 9 rNse t-...:. .:.....:..r..t:11tN.1i::::::::::::: { 9 e High-Level Summit of Buddhist and Muslim Leaders Yogyakarta Statement FiNAL STÄTEMENT: Shared Values and Commitments 22 Apen Letter To: The President of Indonesian Buddhist Association (WALUBI) Somboon Chungprampree 23 Changing With the Breath: American Students Reflect on Social Activism With INEB Teachers Sarah Simon and Allegra Lovejoy 28 Nepal - Earthquake Relief PhakchokRinpoche 28 Vtindfulness and Awareness-Bringing wisdom into Society 29 s"tut Sivaraksa 29 lCritical Response to the Supreme Administrative Court's Decision 32 erti.l"t 32 Patronage System Breeds Malaise in the Monkhood Phra Paisal Visalo 33 nuaanism and Sex An Interview with Phra Chai Woratham mo Kritsada Sup aw attanakul 37 Women in Buddhism Bhik;uryi lampa Tsedroen SEEDS OF PEACE 4O Putting an End to Buddhist PatriarchyAjahn Brahm 42 Fostering Peace, Inside and AutVen. Bhikkhu Bodhi 45 Strengthening the Buddhist Muslim Unity Ven. Bellanwila 48 Awakening in the Age of Ecological Crisis David Loy 52 obituaries 52 Narayan Desai George Lakey 52 tvts. Lalita Banomyong 53 t.tt.tt 53 Notes from Lerab LingDenny Campbell 54 gooL Reviews 54 X History of the Thai-Chinese Sulak Sivaraksa 55 Puey Ungpakorn, Founding Father of Modern Thailand Stefan Collignon 58 guddhism, Monarchy and Democracy Theodore Mayer rilw:: Itllis Hi6 TNEiB: Vol.32 No.2 May - August2558{2015) relationships take hold-or by suggesting that people are some schools, such as Phra Paisal's, that try to apply who are attracted to the opposite sex are more likely to the core of Buddhism to contemporary issues, but in understand the Dharma. Buddhism denies any discussions general Buddhism in Thailand is varied. You can about sex, and those with non-normative behavior are say Buddhism has adapted enough. You can also argue systemically excluded because of this. otherwise. I think it is more likely the latter. However, I must admit that Buddhist schools are focused more on TCIJ: tf we want to change the view of Thai Buddhists on practice than on semantics when compared to the 1950s. this, how do we do it? You would find that back then, there weren't that many Phra Chaj: It cant be done. The best we can do is to keep schools that focus on the practice itself. Today, more talking about it. Since I ve started doing this work more people understand the foundations of mindfulness. On than ten years ago, IVe come to realize that things cant be the other hand, theret also an increasing presence ofthe changed, but we can still express our opinions so that trendy materialistic form of Buddhism, where you paste those who are willing to listen and agree with us will gold leafs on the Buddha statutes or sacred marker spheres understand the right approach to this matter. (Luuk Nimit). So, itb hard to tell whether Buddhism has adapted quickly enough, but I can say for certain that TCIJ: Oo you think Buddhism is keeping up with the there are many areas in which by it hasnt done so. times? Phra Chai: If we look at the big picture, I cant say. There Women in Buddhism BhikquqT Iampa Tsedroen (Dr. carola Roloff), senior Researcher in the field of Buddhism, Academy of World Religions, University of Hamburg, Germany Speech at the Governing Council Meeting of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) December Il2014, Rajgia Bihar, India ear Venerables, most respected friends Yesterday was Intemational Human Rights Day, in the Dharma, and I think it was an auspicious sign that HRH Ashi Kesang First of all, I would like to thank our Secretary Wangmo, Princess of Bhutan, served as ourpresident. Many General, the Most Ven. Lama Lobzang and his in the assembly expressed the opinion that Buddhism in the "core group" for giving me the opportunity to briefly speak 2lst century must include gender equity. on the subject of Women in Buddhism. Over the next ten minutes, I will touch upon three topics: The Role of Buddhist WomenAccording to the Tiipi{aka In brief, among the World Religions, Buddhism can be 1. The role of Buddhist women according to the proud that 2600 years ago Lord Buddha, the Awakened One, Buddhist canonical texts considered the issue ofgender equity to be important. The 2. The present situation of Buddhist women in the Buddha was far ahead of his time. In the Anguttara Nikäya three mainstream traditions of Buddhism 8.29 the Buddha explains what makes a human rebirth 3. The possible role of IBC with regard to women's precious. That is, a birth that is free from the eight inopportune empowerment circumstances that are not conducive to living the spiritual Vol.32 No.2 May - August2558(2015) life (attha akkha4ä asamayä brahmacariyaväsäya). One of ordination in Thailand took place in Songkhla. Eight these eight inopportune circumstances is to be born in a bhikkhunis were ordained. Maha Nayaka Mahindavamsa place where one does not find bhikkhunTs, bhikkhus, Maha Thero, the preceptor, made an announcement in front upäsikäs, and upäsakas. The Buddha decided to establish the ofthe assembly of20 bhikkhus and 18 bhikkhunls that he four-fold community. He did not adopt the caste system into had appointed Ven. Dhammananda bhikkhunl as the first which he himself was born, but said for example in Sutta pavattini of Thailand. A pavattinT is a senior bhikkhunl who "rains') and is entitled to give frrll Nipäta l.7,verse 1421 '. has at least 12 vassas @äli: ordination. In Sri Lanka, the highest position is Maha Nayaka. One is not an outcaste by birth, by birth one is not q All the three sects of the Sri Lankan Theraväda tradition priest (brahmin), have Maha Nayakas. Mahindavamsa is the Maha Nayaka of by deeds one becomes an outcaste, one becomes a Amarapura. He has a close relationship with the Thai Royal priest (brahmin) by deeds. family. Prince Prisang, son of King Rama III, was once the abbot at the temple where Mahindavamsa is now abbot. What counts are our deeds, not what we are. The Among the 20 bhikkhus who took part in the ordination, 17 Buddha did not intend to create two new castes, a caste of were Thai monks from the south. All the bhikkhunis were men and a caste of women. He did not distinguish between the most senior in Thailand. a precious male or female birth, but spoke about a precious In Tibetan Buddhism, the number of bhikSuds is human rebirth, and how we can make best use of this human growing, but so far the novice nuns, who were first ordained potential, without harming others or discriminating against by Tibetan Mülasarvästiväda bhikpus, have not been fully others. ordained in that Vinaya tradition, but in the Dharmaguptaka hadition. We discussed this very difficult situation in detail The Present Situation of Buddhist Women in the with H.H. the Dalai Lama and leading bhikkhus and Three Mainstream Tiaditions of Buddhism bhikkhums from all Buddhist traditions during the First During our First Founding Members Conclave in 2013, we Intemational Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the agreed that although Buddhist women have more educational Sangha in 2007 at the University of Hamburg. This discussion, opportunities today, the low position of women within the and all the 68 papers delivered, were published in 2010, and world's Buddhist communities is one of the greatest are available for anyone who has an interest2. On an academic challenges Buddhism faces at present. Why? Favoritism level, we have gathered a lot of information, but it has not towards males, and gender stereotyping, still persist in many reached the Buddhist communities on the grass-roots level. Buddhist societies. Women cannot participate equally in the Many wrong views concerning women and the issue of study, practice or teaching of Buddhism in all Buddhist ordination continue to be perpetuated. Therefore, educational traditions. Gender equity needs to be recognized, and campaigns are needed to communicate the most important circumstances changed, so that women and men's facts. opportunities and status will fully accord with Buddhist Some of the well-educated Srämaqerikäs (novice principles of equanimity. nuns) practicing Tibetan Buddhism are very interested in The most pressing issue relating to women in receiving full ordination, but they want to receive it from Buddhism is the lack of full ordination of nuns in the their Tibetan lamas. All the heads of the various Tibetan Theraväda and Tibetan traditions. Sri Lanka, like India, had Buddhist nikäyas are supportive, and have expressed their a strong bhikkhum- tradition up until the llth/l2th century. support in letters, which are published in Tibetan and English Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the bhikkhuni order on the intemet.3 But unlike in the Theraväda tradition, to was first revived in Sri Lanka.