Bhikkhunīs Worthy of Respect & Support : New article by Venerable Anālayo

[KevinK]

Āgama Research group kindly shared this new article by Bhikkhu Anālayo. I’ll include both the link to the piece in the Sri Lanka International Journal of Buddhist Studies and the pdf.

https://siba.edu.lk/SIJBS-files/57/SIJBS

BhikkhunisWorthy.pdf (360.8 KB)

[Snowbird]

@KevinK, could you say a bit about the article and why we might like to read it? I’ll paste the abstract here.

Abstract

The present article begins by examining the legal validity of reviving an order of bhikkhunīs according to the parameters of the Pāli Vinaya, in an attempt to make the basic elements of the situation accessible to a wider audience beyond those with a specialized knowledge of Theravāda monastic law. Next, circumstances related to the transmission of Buddhism to Sri Lanka are taken up to provide a background for appreciating why the legal validity of reviving an order of bhikkhunīs has in the past not met with full recognition.
The article then turns to the importance of according respect and support to bhikkhunīs, illustrated with the case of Bhikkhunī Kajaṅgalā. A remarkable teaching attributed to her is translated and studied in comparison with a similar teaching attributed to the Buddha himself. The comparison throws into relief the unique contribution made by Bhikkhunī Kajaṅgalā’s superb exposition of key aspects of the Dhamma. This in turn exemplifies the importance of granting women access to the life of a bhikkhunī in accordance with the Pāli Vinaya.

[KevinK]

Hello Snowbird,

Since many learned monastics, as well as lay practitioners who care deeply about their welfare, frequent these forums I thought it would be worthwhile to share Venerable Anālayo’s new article. As a simple lay practitioner I don’t have the requisite scholarship to fully appreciate the article but feel confident that many who participate here do.

[Adhimutti]

Hello Kevin, I wanted to say thank you for posting this - alas there is still after all these years a lot of resistance towards bhikkhunis, which is both painful on a heart level, and can be very very difficult on a material level. So, it’s always heartening to see also those who are supportive are out there. With metta

[Radius]

@Adhimutti

there is still after all these years a lot of resistance towards bhikkhunis

I’ve never understood why this should be, especially in Buddhist thinking. A quote from Ven. @Pasanna which has been on my ‘Contemplatorium’ wall for 2 years now (a.k.a. notes-to-self)…

…and right next to it a quote from Ayya Soma…

I’m embarrassed at the poor lighting and such, I always intended to return to these but got distracted. Now they’re on another pc which is in another city, I only have low quality screenshots.

[Pasanna]

I write a lot of things on this forum.
I quite like this one