Page 24 - EH65

22 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

I also witnessed how monastic women are treated with
little respect, received minimal support, and had few
opportunities to dedicate themselves fully to meditation
practice. As a result, there are not many places for either
female monastics or lay women who want to devote their
lives to the Dhamma and awaken in this very life. This
was therefore heart breaking and disillusioning for me.

However, I also see the brilliance in many female
With fellow monastics at Aranya Bodhi Hermitage, California, USA, 2011
monastics and their dedication to their meditation
practice and study. This is when I realized that when
the right conditions are provided to them, they have
the potential to be just as accomplished as the male
monastics. So I believe female monastics should also be
considered worthy of support and respect.

The Buddha set up his Saṅgha to allow both men and
women to dedicate themselves full time to monastic life
and he praised the diverse accomplishments of many of
Kihikihi Meditation Centre, Waikato, New Zealand, 2017 with Ayya
his female disciples. He opened his Saṅgha to everyone, Tathaaloka, and two lay advisors (ex-nuns) Willa and Eliza. http://
male or female, rich or poor, high or low caste. In the kihikihi-meditation-yoga.org
spiritual life we are supposed to go beyond worldly
distinctions. The mind is not male or female, after all! overwhelmed, we can relax our body and tune into
our physical sensations, perhaps sensing into the
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect sensations of the hands and the feet and lengthening
on our lives. Both adults and children are facing our exhale. If we can keep ourselves grounded in our
challenges that are stressful, overwhelming, and experience, we will not be so caught up in the difficult
cause strong emotions. What can we learn from and overwhelming emotions.
Buddhism to remain calm and resilient during such
uncertain times? Also, we can notice that it is possible to maintain a

sense of inner balance and calm while we are still aware
The Buddha taught that mindfulness functions as a and alert and address possible issues and threats that
guardian of the mind. When things feel overwhelming, need responding to. Also, we can learn to be aware of
as much as possible, we need to train ourselves to stay negative emotions and stress as they arise. We can just
in the present moment and to take one thing at a time. accept them and be curious about their causes, but not
to feed them.
The ability to keep our minds in a calm and responsive
mode is a skill that we need to continually practice, Furthermore, in Buddhism there is a great emphasis
so that we can respond to challenging circumstances on being wise with where we place our attention. In
with an inner sense of calm strength. Keeping a daily Dvedhāvitakka Sutta, MN 19, the Buddha said: ”Bhikkhus,
meditation practice helps stabilize our minds and gives whatever a bhikkhu frequently thinks and ponders upon,
us the ability to put aside our worries, at least for a little that will become the inclination of his mind.”
while, and come to an inner peace not dependent on our
external circumstances. In modern terminology, our minds take the shape of
what we rest them on. So we need to be very careful
When we find ourselves feeling stressed and with where we rest our attention, and with what we