Hi laurence,
I very much appreciate the ferver by which you want to end discrimination in all its aspects.
But probably there is a misunderstanding as to how the Buddha wanted the Sangha to work, and what the implications of seniority actually are.
Being senior (in ordination) does not automatically mean being in charge for all decisions. According to the vinaya, Sangha decisions have to be made within the community, ideally as unanimous decisions, and not imposed by the most senior monastic to the junior ones. And decisions should be made locally, within every seperate community, and not in a centralistic way. This is precisely the reason why it won’t work to make changes on a general, worldwide level, “once and for all”, as you put it in some of your posts.
Of course these ideals from the vinaya are not practised everywhere to the same degree. But there is no central authority to push this through—that’s exactly the way how the Sangha works: locally, not centralised, based on voluntariness, not obligation. With all the advantages and drawbacks this implies.
Interesting talk on this topic: https://youtu.be/omzglzirai4
Look for example at the communities in Perth—I understand that this is where you live. There are actually not many monasteries in the world that come as close to this vinaya ideal als those communities, especially Bodhinyana. We all know Ajahn Brahm as the senior monk and wellknown teacher, and he is certainly well respected—but is he making all decisions? There are some stories how he had to give in to the opinion of all the other monks because he was the only one with his opinion… and he willingly did.
On the other hand, in a country like Thailand for example, there are government—not Sangha—laws stating that there has to be a central authority for the country’s Sangha. This has nothing to do with the vinaya, and it cannot be changed but by the Thai government.
You say you are not a member of the BSWA and therefore not in charge to initiate any change in the local communities and ask others to take initiative. Why don’t you become a member yourself, and maybe not only that, but take on some responsibility in the committee? This would provide you a good opportunity to see more closely how the two monasteries are running, and you would also probably see better where concretely things can be improved.
And just a side issue: In one of your posts you are publishing your personal email address. I don’t think this is a good idea and would probably suggest to ask people to PM you instead if they want to join your “anti-discrimination initiative”—let me just call it this way.
