Sneak Peek at InterAct's "Women in Religion" Dialogue

InterAct Cleveland's new dialogue series, Sharing Paths: Religious Traditions in Dialogue, is set to begin! The series aims to increase interreligious literacy and appreciation of the variety of opinions offered by a range of religions on subjects relevant to our times. Each dialogue begins with a main presenter followed by additional commentary from a panel of local religious leaders.

Join us for the first dialogue "Women in Religion and Society" on January 26, 2010 at the Shiva Vishnu Temple (7733 Ridge Rd., Parma, OH 44129).  Ms. Devi Gursahaney a member of the Shiva Vishnu Temple will lead an all-woman panel that will answer the question "What are the teachings within your faith tradition concerning the role women play in religious observances and leadership, and in society?" The panel will consist of Sr. Donna Wilhelm, ssj-tosf, Executive Director of InterAct Cleveland; Rabbi Susan Stone; and Ms. Julia Shearson, Executive Director on Cleveland’s Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Unfortunately, Buddhist nun, Ani Palmo Rybicki, Director of Songtsen Gampo Buddhist Center of Cleveland, could not attend the evening, but was gracious enough to add these tidbits on one of the world’s most recognizable religions.

"The teachings of Buddhism do not always match up with the way the religion is practiced in reality," says Ani Palmo. Buddhism was born and spread in countries that have been largely misogynistic for centuries. Born in India, Buddhism spread throughout Asia and didn't migrate to the west until the mid twentieth century. "So, though the Buddha himself stated that it was equally possible for both men and women to attain enlightenment, in practice, women have been subjugated in both the religious and cultural settings up to present times," adds Palmo.

At the same time there have been women masters in Buddhism since the time of the Buddha himself. And there are female Buddhas such as Tara and other female deities like Vajrayogini. Women such as Yeshe Tsogyal, who lived in 8th century Tibet, attained full enlightenment and had thousands of disciples.  In the Theravadan tradition there is the female master Dipa Ma who lived in our own time. Other modern day masters include Khandro Rinpoche, a young nun and Lama who speaks perfect English and is a powerful teacher.

Yet, in practice, there is still room for improvement. In Thailand while the monks go on alms rounds to receive food from the laypeople and get financial support from the community, including the government, nuns are prevented from doing this and must find the funds to support themselves on their own.  As for the Thai government: "While the Transport Ministry regards the nuns as lay practitioners and denies them the free travel routinely granted to monks, the Interior Ministry treats them as religious persons [who do not vote] and denies them the right to vote...This entire structure of inequality is kept in place by a law that forbids the ordination of bhikkuni [fully ordained nuns.]" The Feminine Face of Buddhism, p. 31.

Today the situation for women in Buddhism everywhere is changing rapidly; even Thailand is gradually improving conditions. In all Buddhist countries, including the West, there is growing support for change. Palmo points out that, "We have western women in all Buddhist traditions not only receiving full ordination, but teaching, running Dharma centers, translating, and writing. And this new movement has echoed back to Asia where nuns in many nunneries are finally receiving education equal to the monks." Nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition are now debating, being trained as teachers, and traveling the world teaching and even creating sand mandalas. Women in other Buddhist countries are also receiving more support.

"The situation for women in Buddhism today is by no means perfect, but the energy moving in the right direction is powerful and vibrant," says Ani Palmo. Learn more about the women within the Hindu, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions at our next Dialogue. We will hear from these leaders as they recount their own personal achievements and their tradition's history with women in religion on January 26, 2010 at the Shiva Vishnu Temple.

What do you think about women in religion in your specific tradition? Share your ideas below.