The Dalai Lama on full ordination for women | Wisdom Publi...

http://wisdompubs.org/blog/201502/dalai-lama-full-ordinatio...

Donate

FAQ

Cart

Free shipping with orders over $35

W ISDOM P UBLICATIONS
Home

Books

Authors

Blog

About

Contact

THE WISDOM BLOG: CLASSIC &

CONTEMPORARY BUDDHISM
The Dalai Lama on full
ordination for women
by The Dalai Lama

February 4, 2015

AddThis

AddThis

RELATED TITLES
Buddhism

One Teacher, Many

Traditions
His Holiness the Dalai
Lama

Dignity &
Discipline
Reviving Full
Ordination for
Buddhist Nuns
Thea Mohr

RELATED AUTHORS
His Holiness the Dalai

1 of 5

08/04/2015 21:03

The Dalai Lama on full ordination for women | Wisdom Publi...

http://wisdompubs.org/blog/201502/dalai-lama-full-ordinatio...

Lama

From Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions by the Dalai

Lama and Thubten Chodron.

Over the years I have spoken many times about bhiku

CATEGORIES

ordination and expressed my wish and hope that this

ordination will be given in our Mlasarvstivda vinaya
tradition. When ntarakita brought the bhiku ordination
lineage to Tibet in the eighth century, he unfortunately did

Daily Wisdom
In Other News
Inspiring Images

not bring bhikus too, and thus the bhiku ordination

Mindful Living

never took root in Tibet. However, our Teacher, the Buddha

Mindful Monday Morsels

himself, established the bhiku order during his lifetime,

News
Teachings of the Buddha

and at the same time he airmed womens ability to attain

Theravada

both liberation and full awakening. He also expressed his

Tibetan Buddhism

wish for the fourfold assembly to exist and said that these
four groups harmoniously practicing the Buddhadharma
will make his teachings last a long time in this world. For all
these reasons, it is important that bhikus exist in our

Wisdom Academics
Zen

ARCHIVE

Tibetan community. This is especially true now, when the

September 2013 (40)

quality of the nuns education has vastly improved. We now

October 2013 (68)

see many nuns becoming good scholars; some nuns are

November 2013 (65)

now receiving their geshema degrees, signifying their

mastery of Buddhist philosophy.
Wherever I go in the world, I see multitudes of women
devotees; in many places they outnumber the men.

December 2013 (40)

January 2014 (32)
+ Show all

BLOGS WE READ

Therefore it is only right that women have access to the

108 Zen Books

responsibilities and privileges that full ordination brings. As

The 12-Step Buddhist

one individual, I do not have the authority to institute

About.com Buddhism

bhiku ordination in the Tibetan community. This is an

issue that the sagha as a group must decide. For many
years now I have suggested there be an international
meeting of the sagha to decide this issue. In preparation
for that, it would be good if Tibetan bhikus could agree on
a way to give the Mlasarvstivda bhiku ordination. I
am pleased to see the support for this from many of heads
2 of 5

Buddhism and Psychology

American Buddhist Perspective

Matt Bieber (Huington Post)
Big Love: The Life and Teachings
of Lama Yeshe
Buddhism Now
Buddhist Art News
Buddhist Geeks
Buddhist Global Relief
Buddhist Meditation Group

08/04/2015 21:03

The Dalai Lama on full ordination for women | Wisdom Publi...

http://wisdompubs.org/blog/201502/dalai-lama-full-ordinatio...

of Tibetan lineages. I have also shared some vinaya

material with Laotian and Burmese Buddhist leaders. We
will have a serious discussion, and I am quite sure some

Buddhist Peace Fellowship

Daily Cup of Yoga
Dangerous Harvests

agreement will be achieved eventually.

Dhamma Musings

We Tibetans were very fortunate that after persecution by

Eastern Horizon

King Langdarma in the ninth century, we were able to

Dharma Eye
Elephant Journal
The Endless Further

restore the bhiku lineage, which was on the verge of

Rev. Danny Fisher: A Buddhist

extinction in Tibet. As a result, so many men have been

Minister Trying to Benefit

able to listen, reflect, and meditate on the Dharma as fully

ordained monks, and this has benefited Tibetan society as
well as the world. Therefore, let us do our best to research
this issue and find a way to establish the bhiku sagha
as well. In countries that currently have bhiku
ordination, such as Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam, bhikus
benefit the Dharma and society in many ways. Recently
Theravda bhikkhun ordination has been restored in Sri

Beings
Full-Contact Enlightenment
Vincent Horn
Huington Post Religion
The Interdependence Project
(Ethan Nichtern)
Mindfulness Matters
Minute of Mindfulness (Josh
Summers)
More Than Sound (Daniel
Goleman)

Lankathere were about one thousand bhikkhuns as of

Jade Mountains

2012and there are now even some bhikkhuns in

Jaweed Kaleem (Huington

Thailand.
Equal opportunity regarding ordination is important. Citing
passages in the vinaya, some Tibetan vinaya masters
suggest that under special circumstances, a bhiku
ordination performed by the bhiku sagha alone is valid.

Post)
Liberated Life Project
Mandala Magazine Blog
Meditations Illustrated
Karen Maezen Miller
Mind Deep
Mindful Magazine Blog
Mindful Parenting

These special circumstances include a place where

The Naked Monk

bhikus are not available to give the ordination because

One Human Journey

no bhikus reside in that area or because it is too

dangerous for bhikus to travel to that place. Previous
and contemporary vinaya masters in the Chinese
community agree with this.
In the meantime, several women who practice Tibetan

Open Sky Zen

O the Cushion: A Blog About
Buddhism & Social Justice
Ox Herding: Practice and Daily
Life
Patheos: Hosting the
Conversation on Faith
San Francisco Zen Center Blog

Buddhism have received bhiku ordination in the

Search Inside Yourself

Dharmaguptaka vinaya from Chinese, Vietnamese, or

Leadership Institute Blog

Korean saghas. We recognize them as bhikus. I

3 of 5

at UUCR

Shambhala SunSpace
Sumeru Books Blog - Buddhism

08/04/2015 21:03

The Dalai Lama on full ordination for women | Wisdom Publi...

http://wisdompubs.org/blog/201502/dalai-lama-full-ordinatio...

encourage them to do the three main sagha activities

together.

in Canada
Sweeping Zen
Lama Surya Das

In addition to introducing bhiku ordination, bhikus

must also become objects of reverence. Therefore, we
must examine passages in Buddhist texts as well as
attitudes and practices in our communities that are biased
against women. The Buddha wanted his sagha to
conform with many of the cultural attitudes of the time. As
the sagha, we must do this in the twenty-first century as
well. Since modern societies, as well as the United Nations,

Tiny Buddha: Simple Wisdom

for Complex Lives
Tricycle Magazine Blog
Turning Straw Into Gold (Toni
Bernhard)
Urban Dharma
The Wheat and Cha: Politics,
OCD, and Dharma
Wild Fox Zen
Wildmind
The Worst Horse: Buddhism,

stress the importance of gender equality and respect for

Pop-Culture, and Subculture

women, we Buddhists must do so as well.

Larry Yang (Huington Post)

Zen Habits
The Zennist

TAGS

CATEGORIES

women

Tibetan Buddhism

feminism

SUBSCRIBE TO
NEWSLETTER

gender
ordination
nuns

PREVIOUS

NEXT

Receive the latest news and

updates from Wisdom,
including new releases,
author announcements, and
special oers. Enter your
email below, then select
which newsletters you would
like on the following screen.

Subscribe

MAKE A GIFT
Please support Wisdom in
preserving
and sharing the great human
resource of Buddhism.

4 of 5

08/04/2015 21:03

The Dalai Lama on full ordination for women | Wisdom Publi...

http://wisdompubs.org/blog/201502/dalai-lama-full-ordinatio...

learn more

Wisdom Blog Comment Policy

Wisdom Publications

BOOK COLLECTIONS

199 Elm Street

Bestsellers

Somerville, MA USA

Academic Collections

info@wisdompubs.org

Meditation & Mindful Living

Tibetan Buddhism

All rights reserved

Theravada & Insight

Pali Canon

Terms of Use | Privacy

Zen

Policy

Buddhism & Psychology

AUTHORS

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

BLOG
Subscribe

ABOUT
FAQ

Buddhist Books for Children

Nonprofit 501(C)3

Complete Catalog

AddThis

Google+
web design + development by bartlett

5 of 5

08/04/2015 21:03