Reports that a Buddhist nun has been gang raped has shaken up the Buddhist community here in Syracuse. This senseless sexual attack against a Buddhist woman has stirred up rages of discontent with a lack of adequate initiatives to put a stop to assaults on Buddhists. The rape issue is taken very seriously here and the Rape Crisis Ctr Vera House at 6181 Thompson Rd Ste 100 Syracuse (315) 422-7273 is always available for Buddhists and others to discuss rape issues and to offer actual help for rape victims, http://bit.ly/c01dPh.
The Buddhist Channel has reported "Debate grows in Nepal about gang raped nun", http://bit.ly/p6Nygk. A 21-year-old Buddhist nun from Nepal was recently gang raped on a public bus. Her suffering has opened up concerns about her well being and about possible rapes against Buddhist nuns here in Syracuse. There are now also debates about what this means for the future of the nun.
Ang Kaji Sherpa,general secretary of the Nepal Adivasi Janajati Mahasangh, and one of the first indigenous organizations to protest at the attack, has said "We are discussing the formal Buddhist policy that says a nun who loses her celibacy, even though involuntarily, can't remain a nun any more. Though the conservative Buddhist sects adhere to this belief, yet the Nyingma sect allows its monks to marry."
The Nyingma Sect, also called the Red Sect, was founded in the 11th century. This is the oldest school of Tibetan Buddhism. Sherpa has said there are now considerations of offering the nun sanctuary in a nunnery run by the sect in Nepal. He has said "Buddhism is a very forgiving religion. The Buddha forgave Angulimala, the robber who was a ruthless killer. So it should show compassion to a victim."
The National Women's Commission in Nepal has offered help for the nun. Mohna Ansari, a member of the commission, has said that while her organization was earlier looking into women's issues and rights collectively, the gang-rape of a nun and its fallout has shown it was time to delve into community-based issues as well. The women's commission has written to the prime minister's office in Nepal, and to the ministries of health as well as women, children and social welfare, and has asked them to bear the costs of the nun's medical treatment and subsequent counseling as well as pay her compensation.
And there is a movement in Nepal supported by Buddhists here in Syracuse to seek proper punishment of the nun's attackers and to continue to assist with her recovery as well as rehabilitation. Bad weather had forced this nun to stay on a bus overnight when she was traveling home in eastern Nepal last month. That night she was reportedly raped by the bus driver and his two helpers as well as the driver of another bus and his helper. Thus far the police have arrested five suspects in this rape case as the victim remains in shock.
Mandel News Service: http://www.mandelnews.com
