JUDITH HERTOG 95
According to Ohnuma, textual criticism has shown that the story of
the founding of the nun’s order is clearly not historical. Early Bud-
dhist scriptures were written down only centuries after the Buddha’s
death, and it’s likely that the rules that subordinate nuns to monks
were only later cobbled together by monks who felt threatened by
competition from nuns. “It’s amazing,” says Ohnuma, “that women
initially got so powerful at all.”
Karma Lekshe thinks it’s timely that women gain the equal status
in the sangha that the Buddha intended for them. “If women were
inferior and not worthy of ordination, the Buddha would not have
ordained women,” she says.
Since its establishment more than three decades ago, Sakyadhita
has made so much progress that it has had to revise its objectives;
almost all its early goals have been accomplished. “Of all the goals
that we set ourselves, I think the only one we haven’t achieved yet is
to attain world peace through the teachings of the Buddha,” jokes
Karma Lekshe. She lists the many improvements in the status of
Buddhist women today: greater educational opportunities, more
women teachers, improved opportunities for ordination, representa-
tion in public forums, increased women’s leadership, higher educa-
tion for women in traditional Buddhist studies, and, finally, a new
willingness to expose sexual abuse in the sangha and in Buddhist
societies overall. Thanks to a surge of research on the role of women
in Buddhism, much of it sponsored by Sakyadhita, we are also get-
ting to know many strong Buddhist women from the past.
Many things that seemed impossible for women in Buddhism
three decades ago have now become a reality, and this progress
emboldens Sakyadhita’s sense of purpose. “When women achieve
equal representation in Buddhism,” says Karma Lekshe, “Sakyad-
hita will continue to work for social justice. We will continue to
nurture kind and wise women leaders to help eradicate sexism, rac-
ism, homophobia, and other social ills.” Today, women in robes are
creating currents of social transformation in Buddhist societies, with
ripples expanding across the globe.JUDITH HERTOG is a teacher and writer whose work has appeared in such publications as the
New York Times, the Sun, and Tablet Magazinephoto Olivier Adamopposite | 16th Sakyadhita International Conference, Australia, 2019