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The video to the left is an address Ajahn Brahm gave in April of '08 to a group of Bhikkhunis (Buddhist nuns). It is obvious from his language that the issue of women's ordination is not a new concern to him.
Despite the age of this video, the comments remain current considering the recent ordinations he performed in Australia that resulted in his church's expulsion from its parent Sangha in Thailand.
In a letter published today on the Buddhist Channel website, Ajahn Brahm makes clear the actual events before and during the meeting with senior monks at Wat Pah Pong in Thailand on November 1st.
He reports his conversation with Senior Patriarch Somdej Phra Pootajarn, during which he told Ajahn Brahm on the matter of Bhikkhuni ordination, "Thai Sangha law does not extend outside of Thailand." Ajahn Brahm decided to proceed, and the Committee of The Buddhist Society of Western Australia approved the ordination this past September.
During the meeting in Thailand which was hastily convened, he was asked to promise before the Sangha that he would not participate in any further female ordination. After he complied, they asked him to declare the ordination as invalid because the Thai Sangha had not approved it, but he refused. The Wat Pah Pong Sangha declared the Bodhinyana Buddhist Monastery no longer a branch of their sangha as a result.
Previous report: Monk's expulsion may lead to new era for Buddhist women (video)
The letter from Ajahn Brahm on the Buddhist Channel website
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Comments
There are 2 issues here: women's ordination and the way Ajahn Brahm went about the ordinations.
Go to: www.dhammalight.org
There is a new letter on this site by Bhikkhu Bodhi stating that although he supports bhikkhuni ordination, he does not support the way that it was done.
In spite of all Ajahn Brahm's fellow bhikkhus telling him not to go ahead, he still did, and in secret too. The only result could be a break from the Wat Pah Pong monks that he was supposed to respect and stay in harmony with.
There is even a letter on the site in Ajahn Brahm's hand saying that he will not ordain bhikkhunis without the consultation of his fellow bhikkhus.
I read about that. Such a sensitive issue, so many factors... I'm sure that's not all of the story, either. It was reported that the Western Australia supported the ordination, too, and that hints at a deeper conflict of interest between what the sangha wants and the monastics' ruling.
It feels- and this is just one person's opinion, mind you- as if the issue of women's ordination was something Ajahn Brahm had felt strongly about for a while previously. Sometimes things have to be shaken up before change happens, instead of the other way around. Maybe Ajahn Brahm shouldn't have pushed it; but something had to give.
I'd like to believe the higher monastics have Perfect Vision and Right Thinking, but I can't help thinking about what this dances around- there is no reason at all why women shouldn't be full bhikkhunis. The monastic heirarchy was wrong to keep these rules in the face of broad social change- change the sangha wants. This issue does not help further the Dhamma in the W
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