Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Gender equality/inequality in Buddhism

Gender equality/inequality in Buddhism

During a meditation course at Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India, the participants felt that there is discrimination against women in Buddhism and it became a hot topic at the course. Venerable Thubten Chodron was invited to address this issue from her perspective as a Buddhist nun for nearly 30 years.

Experience of gender equality

  • Personal experience in the Tibetan Buddhist world
  • Discriminate pure Dharma from social institutions
  • Having unhappiness about inequality and achieving real liberation occur internally
  • We should still work to remedy social injustices compassionately

Gender equality 01 (download)

Past and present situation

  • Discussion of the antidotes to sexual attachment
  • Historical ordination differences between monks and nuns
  • Origin of nuns’ orders
  • Buddhism in the West

Gender equality 02 (download)

Questions and answers

  • The differences between monks and nuns
  • How Sravasti Abbey is organized
  • Warnings about the fascination with finding reincarnated teachers

Gender equality 03 (download)

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.