THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON WOMEN
Newsletter
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THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON WOMEN
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Newsletter |
"Our fourth newsletter to commemorate King Bhumipol Adulyadej's 74 years Anniversary and The 50th Golden Jubilee Celebration of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, B.E 2443/1950 to B.E. 2543/2000
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VOLUME 2 No. 3 |
SEPTEMBER – DECEMBER, B.E. 2543/2000 |
I searched and searched for a divine being in the boundless skies and mountains high I could not find him in this dreary planet so my cry was in a song sublime..............
"in this wide, wide world somewhere, let it be if man has attained that pristine divine goodness uncontaminated in any way a beacon shining for everyone with naked eyes to see then life is worth its becoming"...
then 16 years of living in the kingdom Thai I discovered a King A King of Kings King Bhumipol Adulyadej who is the answer to our many cries from sages, saints to the young, Thai's
so for you o' lucky Thai's "...life is worth its becoming"
so let this precious King be blessed and blessed with health and life and happiness
Composed by Erika Dias
FLOATING LEAF-CUPS
(LOYKRATHONG)
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According to an old saying in Thai, that we can grow from infancy to adulthood is because of the nourishment of rice and water. Children in the olden times were taught to give their thanks to the Goddess of Rice call Mae Bhosop, who guarded rice crops so we could survive. This was based on the belief Brahmanisn, which taught that their was a protective god or goddess for everything in nature. Of course, there was then no science as it is known today. After every meal we used to join our hands in reverence to the goddess of rice, but not yet to one of water. In the olden times people saw water in the form of rain, then water in the rivers and canals all of which had regularly sustained their lives. This water flowed down from the Northern highlands, mainly during the beginning of the rainy season (around July or August), carrying with it mud and soil. This gave the water various colours, depending on its mixture. Generally it was not until the month of November (on the full moon day of the twelve lunar month) that most of the mud, soil and other foreign bodies settled down to the bottom of the river. Then the water became most clean and the people took delight in storing it for drinking and using purposes. They were more delighted on the full moon day of that month than everything: the moon, the sky and the water were seen to be all clean and clear at the same time. It was on this occasion that there occurred the thought that a thanksgiving should be arranged for the Goddess of Water called Mae Kongka in addition to the Goddess of Rice or Mae Bhosop. The best possible way thought of at that time was to float leaf-cup baskets on the water as a token of their homage. This custom later developed into a tradition and still later had art incorporated into it, with the result that the leaf-cups have been made with various ornate designs. Those who know about the origin of the ceremony have the answer from Brahmanism that it is meant to float away whatever evils the floaters have done. This is in the same spirit as the person taking a bath Ganges can float away his or her sins in its water. From the Buddhist tradition we have the answer to the effect that the floating is directed at the Buddha's foot-prints on a sand bank. While I was told to light candles and incense sticks as a token as my homage to the Triple Gem and then put them in the leaf-cup. These were also accompanied areca nuts, betel leaves, cigarettes and also some coins. This action I did not understand, and I was told that they were meant to be a Dana (Charity) for the poor people who were waiting to collect them downstream.
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THE CENTENARY BIRTH CELEBRATION OF OUR PRINCESS MOTHER
ON OCTOBER 21, B.E. 2543/2000
To our Beloved Princess Mother
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When Thai people talk about Princess Mother or Somdej Ya' everybody feels that she was not only the Mother of the two Kings and Princess, but Mother of the whole country. Her gestures, kindness, all her doings for social welfare of the Thai people, especially the underprivileged and those in the up country are the sweet, unforgettable memories for all Thai's, even when she has already passed away. Born a commoner on October 21, 1900 - 100 years ago, Her Royal Highness had modest beginnings. Her parents passed away when she was still very young, and she was sent to the household of a relative who placed her under the care of Her Royal Highness Princess Valai Alongkorn, the sister of her future husband. She had her education of Stri Vidhya girl's school, then at age 13, she attended a nursing course at Siriraj Hospital. Because of her exceptional ability, she won a scholarship under Her Majesty Sawang Vadhana to continue her nursing studies in the United States. It was there that she met her future husband. His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol Aduldej who was a public health student at Harvard University in Massachusetts USA in 2453/1920. The couple got married at Sra Pathum Palace, and after that they returned to the United States to continue their studies. Three years after marriage she gave birth to their first child, HRS Princess Galyani Vadhana in 1923, and then came the birth of their Majesties King Ananda Mahidol and King Bhumipol in 1925 and 1927, respectively. It was a great loss to the family when Prince Mahidol passed away in 1929 leaving her two young sons and daughter. Becoming a widow at the age of 29, Her Royal Highness had to carry out responsibilities with common sense, vision and love. Prince Ananda was proclaimed to be King in 1934 on the abdication of His Majesty King Prajathipok. Her Royal Highness tried to do her best to prepare her son for kingship. Returning to Bangkok, the young King died unexpectedly, Her Royal Highness faced another great loss, and watched as her second son was named King. From that day up until now, all Thai's were impressed by her great devotion, love and the care she gave to Thai society. Through all parts of the country she visited, she inspired and encouraged people to become good citizens. On her one hundredth birthday this year, we all Thai people take this opportunity to recall her kindness and good deeds with our respect and love. Summarized by Mrs. Kanchana Soonsawad |
Women's Roles in Buddhist Activities in Thailand
Assoc. Dr. Sritaptim Panitpan
A Board Member and Chairwomen, Standing Committee on Women,
World Fellowship of Buddhists
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Women's contribution to Buddhism and Buddhist activities is neither a recent trend, nor is it confined to certain social strata. Women have also played vital roles in many spheres, - economic, political, social, cultural, educational, social welfare, social work and mass media shoulder to shoulder with men, even though it cannot be denied that prejudices against women which have been handed down from the past still exist, even among women themselves. They are believed, mainly by reason of their physique, to be inferior to men except in matters relating to the care of their home and children which is supposed to be their primary concerns. This is indeed an unfortunate misconception. Experience has shown time and again that women are equally capable as men in many types of work, whether professional or non-professional. It is therefore more important for women to be recognised as equal to men in religion, because religion has a great influence on people's value, mentality, attitudes and actions. Since 93 per cent of the population in Thailand profess to be Buddhists, Buddhists in Thailand can be divided into four groups, namely, the Monks, the Nuns (mae chee), laymen and laywomen. Due to spaced limitation, this paper will be dedicated to the roles of the Thai Nuns (mae chee) and laywomen in the Thai society especially. Even though Nuns (mae chee) have a lower status than Monks in Thai society, they have played their vital roles in Buddhist activities: a) their role as Buddhist believers who study Buddhism, especially the real principles of Buddhism, especially the real principles of Buddhism to prevent them from being misled and to have true understanding. They can help to generate and disseminate the Buddhist knowledge to other citizens at large. b) their role as Buddhist meditation practitioners as well as promoters of meditation, ethics and morality. c) their role as social welfare/social work volunteers: Nuns have volunteered to aid the aged who have been abandoned at various homes for the aged so as to alleviate their solitude and distress;
They also play their active role in community development;
d) Nuns' role in teaching morality and ethics to children in kindergartens and primary schools, as well as juvenile delinquents in reform institutions, and orphanages or children's homes, so as to enable children to appreciate the distinction between virtues and vices, and to lead their behaviours and personality. e) their role in offering necessities to Monks. Women, especially laywomen, have also played vital roles in Buddhist activities because Buddhism has been absorbed into their lives and souls so deeply that it has become an intimate and integral part of the Thai way of life ever since the early beginnings of Thai civilization. Moreover, Buddhism is very much the foundation and core of Thai life and society. Women's roles in Buddhist activities are as follows:-
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The Changing Role of Women in
Buddhist Sangha Council
by Venerable Dr. Karuna Dharma
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The role of women is slowly changing in the regional center Buddhist Sangha Council of Southern California, just as it is all over the world. In the United States women's roles have changed drastically the last one hundred years, and these changes are being reflected in our Sangha Council as well. No longer are women satisfied with cleaning and cooking chores, and teaching children only. They are taking leadership roles as well. This is most obvious in the American temples, but is also occurring at a slower pace in the various ethnic temples. For instance, there are large numbers of American born women who attract both male and female disciples. I believe that this is in large part due to the fact that Americans are tired of paternalistic organizations, and are turning to women, who usually run things differently. Women tend to include more people in their decision making process and even run their meetings meanings (meetings) differently, more in keeping with the Buddha's teaching of how decisions are to be made. For instance, women prefer a panel of people to be in charge, rather than a hierarchical structure. They tend to take more time before making decisions, and often have a sorter approach to teaching and problem solving. Many men are finding this change in style quite refreshing. All of the temples are making concerted efforts to have more women on their governing boards and entrusting women to larger roles in planning and executing activities. But the biggest changes are seen in the ordination process. Even some of the Theravada temples are making changes. For instance, for the past several years, Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara, led by Venerable Walpola Piyananda, started giving ordination to both men and women as lay Ministers of Buddhism, in order to aid the traditional Sangha. The Mahayana temples, have, of course, been ordaining women as Bhikkhunis, for hundreds of year. And these women are playing important roles in Buddhism. His Lai Temple in Hacienda Height was built by Bhiksunis, who raised the funds and oversaw the building of the temple. The Nuns play very important roles at the temple. And at International Buddhist Meditation Center, the Venerable Dr. Thich An-Tu, also known as Karuna Dharma, in 1994, conducted an ordination, where by both men and women received upsampada (higher ordination) with the Masters, both Monks and Nuns, playing equal roles in the ceremony. For instance, the role of Uppajaya (ordaining master) was played by both Venerable Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara (a Sri Lankan Theravada Maha Thera) and Venerable Dr. Karuna Dharma (a female Maha Theri of Vietnamese Mahayana tradition). They gave ordination to men and women in Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions in the traditional format. This ordination marked a milestone in Buddhist history. First of all, men and women entered the Order, not a specific tradition within the order. It was the first time that women and men played equal roles. Also, it was the first time that truly international ordination had been performed. The ordainees took on the names which their own Masters gave and donned the garb particular to their tradition. Venerable Karuna and Venerable Ratanasara made sure that all the rules were followed: from contacting all Theras and Maha Theras and inviting them to come, to being sure that all of the candidates were fit, had received the required training, and followed the rules scrupulously. More than 30 Masters attended, from all Buddhist traditions. Thai and Sri Lankan Bhikkhus sat beside Tibetan Lamas and Chinese and Vietnamese Monks. The ceremony took three hours to perform. They gave another grand ordination in 1997. This time a Sri Lankan male became a Bhikkus and Sri Lankan women and a Nepalese Theravada women became Bhikkunis, in addition to the Americans and Koreans who became Bhikhus and Bhiksunis. It is hoped that more of these ordinations will continue. His Lai Temple has also given upaisampada to Asian Theravada women and to Vajrayna women, who cannot receive the ceremony in their native lands. |
Deification of Fire and Buddhistic Idea
Sujip Punyanubhab
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The people of ancient time believed that the four elements : earth, water, fire and wind are fundamental essence and origin of all matters. They, therefore, deified them and paid them homage in various forms. One, which was esteemed as more prominent that the others among those elements, is fire. For it can destroy and reduce things to ashes in a few moments. It was honoured by setting up on the altar and feeding up with fuels such as ghee and firewood with the purpose that the worshipper might be protected or blessed by the fire-god. The Lord Buddha did not protest, such traditional belief, but suggested the new idea for His followers. Grouping fire into various categories the Exalted One explained them one by one as follows:
This is the fire in various categories proposed by the Lord Buddha, suitable for all to put the idea into practice in their daily life. |
FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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Dear Members and Readers, We are delighted to issue this fourth newsletter of the Standing Committee on Women, one of the nine Standing Committees of the World Fellowship of Buddhists. The objectives of the newsletter are:
We are pleased to extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation to Mrs. Erika Dias, and Venerable Doctor Karuna Dharma, for their great contributions by sending us creative, thoughtful and beautiful short articles and poems. Please feel free to send us your comments, news, activities, poems related to women and children for our Newsletters. Your cooperation will be highly appreciated. Sritaptim Panitpan (signed) Associate Professor Sritpatim Panitpan, D.S.W Editor-in-Chief |
THAILAND
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Associate Professor Sritpatim Panitpan
DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Mrs. Kanchana Soonsawad
Mrs. Ponggrutai Chotayakrit
GRAGHIC
Mr. Prasong Promprasert
REGIONAL CENTRES
Mrs. Wimala Somaratne
(Sri Lanka)
Venerable Doctor Karuna Dharma (Australia)
and so on
Standing Committee on Women
The World Fellowship of Buddhists
616 Benjasiri Park, Soi Medhinivet off Soi Sukhumvit 24,
Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110 Thailand.
Tel : (662) 6611284-87 Fax : (662) 6610555
E-mail : wfb_hq@asianet.co.th http://www.wfb-hq.org