Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

lI 8 Elizabeth

Bowen

movementandas

a

positive

forcefor

contributing

toa

peacefulsociety

basedon

the

creed

thata

great

human

revolutionin

just

a

single

individualwillenablea

change

inthe

envtronmentandthe

destiny

ot'all

humankind'

(Ikeda2009),

References

lkcda.D.
(2008)‘Faithin
revolutlon‘.
THQITIA

18

(2).

tkeda.

D.

(2009)

‘Daisaku Ikeda

website'. Available online:

wwwdalsakulkedaorg

(accessed 14

August2009).

3

Ordaining

women in

Australia

Nagasuri

[n this

chapter.

I will

explore

the

ordaining

ofAustralian

women into the

Western

BuddhistOrder

(WBU

now

knownasTriratnaBuddhistordert

from

my

experience

asbothawoman

training

forordination

and,

since

2000.

asa

WBt)

member

helping

otherwomento

prepare

themselvesforordination.

Iwasordained

inOctober 2000

inadeconseerated

Augustinian

monastery

in

Tuscany.

Italy.

onaseven-weekretreat.

Seventeenotherwomen.

noneofwhom

isAustralian,

wereordainedinto

theWBOatthesame

time

by

womenWBO

members

whowere

private

and

publicpreceptors.

Ihadfound

theBuddhadharma

atthe

Sydney

centreoftheFriends

ot.theWesternBuddhist

Order

tl-‘WBO

now

knownas

TriratnaBuddhist

Communityt

inNovember

1989 andaskedto

Join

theordination

trainingproeess

for

the WB()inmid-1991.

Ihad

gonelooking

for

meditation

asameansofstress

management

andina

very

shorttimefound

myself

deeply

attracted

tothedharma

andtheFWBO

sangha.

WhileI

experienced

no

beginner's

mindandfound

meditationmost

frequently

a

struggle.

Iwas

strongly

convinced

by

thetntth

ulthedharrna.Ibecame

very

muchadoctrinet‘ollower.

My

faith

creptup

on

memuchmore

slowly

and

was

clearlyapparent

toothers

long

before

Icould

acknowledge

and

appreciate

it

myself.

In

Sydney.

l'emale

ordermembersconducted

alldharma

study.

retreatsand

ordination

training

forwomen. lhis

is because

during

the

early years

ofthe

order.

Sangharakshita.

thefounderof

the

FWBO.

hadseen

clearly

thatforallbut

beginners‘

classes

andretreats.

single

sexactivities

helped

most

womenandmen

go

deeper

and

confronttheir

conditioning

more

clearly

and

incisively.

Asafeminist

aeademice

Ifound

theseconditions

congenial

andconduciveto

taking

mypractice

deeper.

I

experienced

littletensionbetween

womenandmeninthe

Sydney

FWBO

sanghai

Festival

days

and

regular

weeklysanghanights

atthe

Sydney

Buddhist

Centre

were

friendly

andhamwnious.

Iwasanarethatin

Ijnglandduring

the

early

years

therehad

beendiscordand

dishannony

inrelationshctueen

sangha

menand

women

andmuch

emphasis

hadbeen

put

on

single

sex

community

ltvtng

andthe

dccentring

of

sexualrelationsfrom

one‘slife.it‘onewereaserious

practitioner.

These

tensions

had notcarriedover

totheAustralian

sanghas

in

Sydney

and

Melbourne

to

anylargedegree.

Thereweremarriedand

single

ordermembers

and

friends

andboth

hetero ualand

homosesunl

partnerships

were

accepted.

as

they

are

today.