< Issue No. 2 (2006)Article
Sakyadhita: Buddhist Women in a Transnational Forum
Koppedrayer, Kay, Wilfrid Laurier University
Abstract
Sakyadhita, “Daughters of the Buddha,” is a transnational organization that attempts to link Buddhist women together. Its mission statement outlines objectives that include working toward full ordination of women in all Buddhist traditions and providing resources for women to be more active participants and teachers within Buddhist traditions. Built into Sakyadhita’s goals are numerous challenges: the difficulties of sustaining a global project, of acquiring the means and committed personnel to do so, and the strain of its activist platform. A further challenge is the organization’s capacity to bridge difference reflected in different understandings of Buddhist history and practices, different views of women’s development, differing feminisms, and contentions over the use of resources, financial and otherwise. To take a closer look at Sakyadhita’s work and its ability to meet its objectives, the researchers undertook a case study of the Sixth Sakyadhita Conference, held in Lumbini, Nepal in 2000. Through a survey of the conference participants (including some follow-up interviews) the researchers were able to establish a profile of the workings of the organization.