Ja, så spännande nyheter kommer just nu från Asien.
En av de vigda kvinnorna, Victoria Rue, har startat en blogg där hon berättar om sin resa (som pågår just nu), i interreligiöst dialogsyfte, och inte minst för att träffa kvinnor i andra religioner som är pionjärer på vigningsområdet s.a.s.
Hon deltog nyligen i denna vigning av en kvinnlig buddhistdiakon (motsvarande).
***
"It's now Friday but I will try to describe a bit of what happened yesterday on July 17. I have been at the monastery of the first woman monk/bikkhuni of Thailand since Tuesday evening. But yesterday was quite amazing. At 5:30am I went with Ven. Dhammananda and her "novice" (like a deacon) and 7 or 8 volunteers making begging rounds in the nearby town. The devotion of all those who gave these women was palpable. I took video and pictures and will try to get them up on this blog soon.
Flowers and food were offered. Begging rounds are done on Thursday and Sunday. From this food, all the guests were fed who arrived for the ordination that same day. At 8am the young woman who was to be ordained had her shoulder length thick black hair cut off. I participated in this with 20 other women. She held a lotus leaf that caught the hair as it was clipped off. All the while she chanted: hair, nails, skin, flesh---to remind her of the impermanence of our bodies.
At 9am the ordination ceremony began.
A day earlier I had given Ven. Dhammananda a gift of a clear glass chalice with the words "Women's Ordination Conference" carved into the glass. WOC, as most of you know, has been organizing for women's ordination in the Catholic Church for 30 years.
And I have been a board member for the past 3 years. So it was with much gratitude that I saw Dhammananda place the chalice on a table to be used in the ceremony."
Läs hela inlägget här.
***
En intervju hon gjorde med den nyvigda kvinnan är också väldigt intressant - där finns bl.a. följande paralleller mellan den rörelse som viger katolska kvinnor och den "kvinnomunkrörelse" det här handlar om.
1. The Thai Sangha does not accept her ordination done in Sri Lanka by male and female monks. The Vatican does not accept RCWP ordinations.
2. There is a clear history of women ordained by the Buddha. There is a clear history of women ordained in the early church.
3.According to the Thai Sangha (like the Vatican) the ordination of women monks died out in the 1100's and can't be returned. There were women priests, deacons and bishops in the early church historically, but the Vatican denies this and when pushed to it suggests that these women were married to male deacons,priests, bishops and that's perhaps why they had the same titles.
4.There is clear need for women monks in Thailand. There were 330,000 male monks and now there are 180,000--young men are not joining. The number of male priests globally are declining in the church.
5. There have been abusive behaviors of male priests and male monks.
6. Both women monks and women priests are working to balance keeping the tradition and adding something new (inclusive language, equalizing participation of all, re-imagining rituals.
Läs mer här.
Ser fram emot en hel artikel om detta en dag!Etiketter: buddhism, katolska kyrkan, kvinnliga präster, vigning |
