Abstract
From late January to early February 2018, the first Vinaya course in the Tibetan tradition offered in the United States to train Western nuns was held in Sravasti Abbey. Vinaya masters and senior nuns from Taiwan were invited to teach the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, which has the longest lasting bhikṣuṇī (fully ordained nun) sangha lineage in the world. During this course, almost 60 nuns from five continents, representing three different traditional backgrounds lived and studied together. Using my ethnographic work to explore this Vinaya training event, I analyze the perceived needs that have spurred Western Buddhist practitioners to form a bhikṣuṇī sangha. I show how the event demonstrates the solid transmission of an Asian Vinaya lineage to the West. I also parallel this Vinaya training event in the West to the formation of the bhikṣuṇī sangha in China in the 4th and 5th centuries, suggesting that for Buddhism in a new land, there will be much more cooperation and sharing among Buddhist nuns from different Buddhist traditions than there are among monastics in Asia where different Buddhist traditions and schools have been well-established for centuries. This Vinaya training event points to the development of the bhikṣuṇī sangha in the West being neither traditionalist nor modernist, since nuns both respect lineages from Asia, and reforms the gender hierarchy practiced in Asian Buddhism. Nuns from different traditions cooperate with each other in order to allow Buddhism to flourish in the West.
Highlights
From late January to early February 2018, the first Vinaya course in the Tibetan tradition offered in the United States to train Western nuns was held in Sravasti Abbey
This Vinaya training event points to the development of the bhiks.un.ısangha in the West being neither traditionalist nor modernist, since nuns both respect lineages from Asia, and reforms the gender hierarchy practiced in Asian Buddhism
By participating in the first Vinaya training event in the U.S, ‘Living Vinaya in the West,’ I use it as a case study to explore bhiks.un.ılineage and the emerging bhiks.un.ısangha in the West
Summary
Mahāyāna—Chinese Buddhism is perceived as holding the world’s oldest and lasting bhiks.un.ı (fully-ordained female monastic) sangha tradition since the 4th century CE (DeVido 2010). The Vinayavastu (Gen ben shuo yi qie you bu pi nai ye chu jia shi) says the Buddha made a rule that fully ordained monastics must train for at least five years with their master before they may visit other places for further studies or practice This means that a monastic has to stay at least five years with his or her master in order to learn how to observe Vinaya properly.. There were around ten participants whom I asked for permission to interview, but it turned out that only seven people responded to my email and agreed to be interviewed These interviewees represent the three Buddhist traditions, are diverse in terms of their ethnic, cultural and geographic backgrounds, and their bhiks.un.ıordination years are diverse, ranging from one to over twenty years. They, like the other participants, knew about this Vinaya course through email lists or friends
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