An Open Letter from our Founder Susan Pembroke
Over this full moon weekend, ordained women around the globe are remembering their history and recounting stories about their ancient sisters on this 3rd Annual International Bhikkhuni Day. This year’s celebration is dedicated to the Seven Sisters, a story of spiritual friendship and companionship that lays the foundations for today’s Bhikkhuni Sangha.
I am writing to you, my dear friends and fellow practitioners, to ask for your help in making this 3rd Annual International Bhikkhuni Day a success. I am also asking you to support the Alliance for Bhikkhunis (AfB) in any way that works for you, from donating to simply posting words of encouragement on their Facebook page or sharing what you learn from the AfB site with your sitting group.
My journey in understanding the need for bhikkhuni support began in 2006 when I traveled to Malaysia to attend a Sakyadhita conference. Seeing newly-ordained Thai bhikkhunis struggling to simply survive hit me very hard. I had to do something. If I didn’t, I would indirectly be a part of maintaining gender inequity in Buddhism, and so the Alliance for Bhikkhunis came to be.
If you haven’t visited the AfB site for a while, please take a few moments to do so. A tremendous amount of love and hard work have gone into creating a more dynamic, informative, and helpful site.
Sometimes people may wonder if we really need monastics. After all, don’t we have very sincere and informed lay teachers? I believe spiritual traditions sustain their vitality and essential teachings when they have a cadre of dedicated and adept renunciants whose entire life is devoted to plummeting the depths of their tradition and actualizing its potential. When I consider contemporary, outstanding lay teachers, all of them have studied with monastics. Some of them received most of their early training exclusively from monastics. In my case, Bhikkhuni Ayya Khema radically transformed my consciousness and practice.
Can we risk losing women who are tasked with preserving and sharing the Dharma?
Sending gratitude, love, and good wishes as always,
Susan Pembroke
An Open Letter from our Founder Susan Pembroke
Over this full moon weekend, ordained women around the globe are remembering their history and recounting stories about their ancient sisters on this 3rd Annual International Bhikkhuni Day. This year’s celebration is dedicated to the Seven Sisters, a story of spiritual friendship and companionship that lays the foundations for today’s Bhikkhuni Sangha.
I am writing to you, my dear friends and fellow practitioners, to ask for your help in making this 3rd Annual International Bhikkhuni Day a success. I am also asking you to support the Alliance for Bhikkhunis (AfB) in any way that works for you, from donating to simply posting words of encouragement on their Facebook page or sharing what you learn from the AfB site with your sitting group.
My journey in understanding the need for bhikkhuni support began in 2006 when I traveled to Malaysia to attend a Sakyadhita conference. Seeing newly-ordained Thai bhikkhunis struggling to simply survive hit me very hard. I had to do something. If I didn’t, I would indirectly be a part of maintaining gender inequity in Buddhism, and so the Alliance for Bhikkhunis came to be.
If you haven’t visited the AfB site for a while, please take a few moments to do so. A tremendous amount of love and hard work have gone into creating a more dynamic, informative, and helpful site.
Sometimes people may wonder if we really need monastics. After all, don’t we have very sincere and informed lay teachers? I believe spiritual traditions sustain their vitality and essential teachings when they have a cadre of dedicated and adept renunciants whose entire life is devoted to plummeting the depths of their tradition and actualizing its potential. When I consider contemporary, outstanding lay teachers, all of them have studied with monastics. Some of them received most of their early training exclusively from monastics. In my case, Bhikkhuni Ayya Khema radically transformed my consciousness and practice.
Can we risk losing women who are tasked with preserving and sharing the Dharma?
Sending gratitude, love, and good wishes as always,
Susan Pembroke