Honoring Women of Wisdom
Today, Lion’s Roar joins the world in celebrating International Women’s
Day. Women historical and contemporary have contributed enormously to
the Buddhist path, practicing and teaching, blazing their own trails,
achieving titles and honors previously reserved for men, and dedicating
their lives to the benefit of all beings.
This month, Lion’s Roar is offering a free online event to celebrate and
honor the significant contributions, deep wisdom, and extraordinary
resilience of women past and present. Taking place from March 21-25, “ The Women of Wisdom Summit”
brings together renowned scholars, thought leaders, and Buddhist
teachers for a global gathering honoring the invaluable wisdom of the
feminine spirit.
I’ve found continual inspiration in my own life from each of the
presenters featured. Their transformative and empowering insights have
guided me on my own path, allowing me to take pride in my identity as a
woman.
Below, you’ll find three pieces by and about the contributions,
experiences, and wisdom of Buddhist women. I invite you to explore more
by signing up “ The Women of Wisdom Summit.” We’d be honored to have you with us.
—Lilly Greenblatt, Digital Editor, Lion’s Roar
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If there’s a mother of Buddhism, it’s Mahaprajapati, says Andrea Miller.
In women dharma teachers throughout the ages, we see a continuation of
her strength and practicality, her wisdom and compassion.
Mahaprajapati
worked within the bounds of what was possible, and she pushed those
bounds and then pushed them further. She is not only the founder of the
Buddhist bhikkhuni lineage, but also a role model for all the women
Buddhist teachers and practitioners who need to resourcefully find a way
to get by in this world, which is not always just. In the millennia of
women Buddhist teachers, we can see echoes of Mahaprajapati’s fortitude
and practicality, her wisdom and compassion.
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In
Vajrayana Buddhism, dakinis are seen as unbridled and enlightened
feminine energy. Lama Tsultrim Allione on how she discovered her own
dakini power.
The fierce dancing dakinis embody and activate the powerful and
transformative energy of the feminine. When you think about it, we
really don’t have that kind of image of spiritual enlightenment in our
world. We have a figure like the Holy Virgin Mother, who is peaceful and
nonthreatening, but we don’t have many reflections of female divinity
that are active, dancing, fierce, free, and wild.
By activating the dakini power within us, we will have an inner resource
that should never be underestimated. What we’re really doing is taking a
part of the psyche that’s been relegated to the unconscious — the
fierce, powerful feminine who has become repressed — and we are bringing
that energy forward and exploring that energy’s potential for
enlightenment.
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What are the challenges for today’s Buddhist women, and how can they be
overcome? Mihiri Tillakaratne discusses these pressing questions with
Lama Karma Chotso, Arisika Razak, Sharon Suh, and Brooke Schedneck.
Mihiri Tillakaratne: What does a “Buddhist feminism” or a “Buddhist feminist practice” mean to you?
Sharon Suh: It’s an attentiveness to the ways in which
women, women’s bodies, and everything related to being female-identified
has not been the norm, and renorming that. What makes Buddhist
feminisms Buddhist for me is the liberatory aspect, which includes
everyone, not just women. It’s about liberating ourselves from the
epistemic violence that that we encounter and reproduce every day. It’s
how we view others. Buddhist feminisms are deeply political and deeply
connected to bodies. I don’t know how to be Buddhist without being a
feminist.
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