JUDITH HERTOG 89
For Tenzin Palmo, the beauty of Sakyadhita is that it is totally
nonsectarian and inspires Buddhists to look beyond the restrictions
of gender or nationality to the essential Buddhist values they hold in
common. “All these women from all over the world, from all these
different traditions, come together and meet each other and recog-
nize that underneath the differences in costume and language and
ritual we are all just Buddhists,” she says.
The recent Sakyadhita conference in Australia, with the theme of
“New Horizons in Buddhism,” explored what Buddhists, and Buddhist
women in particular, have to offer the world in light of current global
concerns. Dozens of internationally acclaimed female Buddhist teach-
ers addressed issues such as racism, sexism, and sexual harassment, as
well as practical methods to resolve conflicts and achieve peace and
reconciliation. In contrast to previous years, discussions of sexual
abuse and its prevention were featured in every sector of the confer-
ence, leading to the formation of the new Alliance for Buddhist Ethics
to Eradicate Abuse in Buddhism.photo Olivier Adam