The Role of Vietnamese Nuns Overseas
When Sakyamuni Buddha was alive, he himself gave women the opportunity to ordain at Vaishali City. The first bhikshuni (Pali: bhikkhunī) congregation was led by the nun patriarch Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī. The nun sangha had existed in India a few hundred years when Princess Shanghamita and Prince Mahinda, the daughter and son of King Aśoka, brought Buddhism into Sri Lanka in the third century B.C. The bhikshuni sangha was established there from the first days, but now in this twenty-first century someone who seeks the origin or existence of the bhikshuni congregation in Sri Lanka will find it is hardly as continuous as it used to be. Certainly, the lineage's footprint has continued from Sri Lanka to China and from China to Vietnam, Korea and Japan since the first century A.D.
Our Vietnamese Buddhism is influenced strongly by the spirit of Mahāyāna Buddhism, from the first days of Buddhism in Jiaochu (Giao Châu, 交州, Guangxi and Guangdong belong to China today) at the time of Kang Senghui (Khương Tăng Hội), Zhi Jiang Liang (Chi Cương Lương), Mou Bo (Mâu Bác), and Mahajivaka (Ma Ha Tăng Kỳ Vực). The nun sangha played an equally important role in the lineage, not only practicing the śrāvakayāna vehicle, but also accompanying the bodhisattva vehicle. So both the monks and nuns of Mahāyāna Buddhism received the monastic Bodhisattva precepts to easily bring the spirit of Bodhisattva conduct into life.
Until the beginning of the eleventh century, under the Lý, the Đại Việt, we had Venerable Bhikkhunī Diệu Nhân, who was originally from the royal family, talented and flawless. After more than 1,000 years, the nuns' lineage in Vietnam still continues to this day. At the end of the twentieth century in Vietnam, we had Venerable Bhikkhunī Như Thanh, Venerable Bhikkhunī Diệu Không, Venerable Bhikkhunī Hải Triều Âm, Venerable Bhikkhunī Trí Hải, and others who were talented and famous with virtue both inside and outside the country. They translated works, annotations, composed poems and books related to Buddhism, as well as the issue of converting nuns and laypeople.
Since the 1950s, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha sent monks and nuns to study abroad in India, Japan, Sri Lanka, and other countries,. As a result, some nuns have played a role in preserving our religion by receiving renunciates, building pagodas, organizing retreats for laypeople, providing the ordinations of samanera, samaneri, śikṣamāṇā, and bhikkhunī for Vietnamese, as well as foreigners. Among the first nuns present in foreign countries were Venerable Bhikkhunī Thích Nữ Như Chánh, who studied in Japan, then settled down in the United States and passed away there; Venerable Bhikkhunī Mạn Đà La who studied in Japan and went to France for a long time; Venerable Bhikkhunī Trí Hải who studied in the United States, then went to work for Vạn Hạnh University in Sàigòn.
From 1975 onwards, there were many Vietnamese nuns coming to foreign countries, like Venerable Bhikkhunī Đàm Lựu who, before 1975 studied in Germany and after 1975 settled down in the United States and erected Đức Viên Pagoda in San Jose, California. Venerable Bhikkhunī Diệu Từ fled to Japan and then emigrated to the United States and founded two Diệu Quang Temples in Sacramento and southern California. Venerable Bhikkhunī Thích Nữ Giác Hương, Venerable Bhikkhunī Thích Nữ Như Hòa, Venerable Bhikkhunī Thích Nữ Nguyên Thanh are among the typical nuns arriving for the first time in the United States after 1975. In Europe after 1975, there were Venerable Bhikkhunī Thích Nữ Như Tuấn, formerly a refugee in Switzerland. Now she is the abbess of Phổ Hiền Pagoda in Strassbourg City, France. Venerable Bhikkhunī Thích Nữ Diệu Tâm, the abbess of Bảo Quang Ni Tự in Hamburg, Germany. Later, more nuns left for refuge then became nuns in Australia, Europe and America.
From 1994 onwards, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha sent many monks and nuns to India, Taiwan, Korea, the United States, Australia,and Japan to study abroad, and most of these later generations have graduated with bachelor degrees, masters or doctorates. Therefore, the role of nuns has become more and more stable by being lecturers who teach Buddhism at universities and institutes inside and outside the country. There are many popular nuns who preach Dharma to the masses, write books and translate scriptures, such as Venerable Bhikkhunī Giới Châu, Venerable Bhikkhunī Giới Hương, Venerable Bhikkhunī Tịnh Quang, Venerable Bhikkhunī Minh Liên, and so on. Just like that, continuing the career of propagation and service, the role of the Vietnamese nun sangha will be further increased.
About ten years ago at the University of Hamburg, Germany, a few days of discussions were held about the role of bhikkhunīs in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. At that time, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet attended. Guests from Vietnam included Professor Trí Siêu Lê Mạnh Thát, who presented in English on the topic of Venerable Bhikkhunī Diệu Nhân of the Lý Dynasty. Venerable Thích Quảng Ba from Australia, Venerable Bhikkhunī Thích Nữ Hạnh Trí from the United States, and many venerable monks and nuns from Taiwan, as well as myself, were also invited to attend. After a few days of discussing all Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions, even Venerable Bodhi (in the Theravada tradition) also agreed that foreign nuns following the Tibetan Buddhist tradition should be officially ordained as bhikkhunis as they follow the spirit of Vinaya (Four parts of Vinaya).
But in the end, the Dalai Lama said, “This issue is not only my decision, although I am happy to agree, but Tibet is not only one tradition, but four traditions whose sanghas must all agree for the problem to be solved” and he concluded, “What if the Buddha were here, he would help me in this case.”
Since then, Tibetan Buddhism has not yet officially had the ordination ceremony for foreign bhikkhunīs and the simplest response of the Dalai Lama that Tibet has not had the bhikkhunī lineage of nuns from ancient times to the present, so, in Tibet today there are no official bhikkhunīs. For this reason, Western nuns ordained in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism receive only eight or ten precepts (samaneri). Those who want to keep more precepts must go through other Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions in other countries such as China, Vietnam or Korea to request śikṣamāṇā (female novice trainee) and after training may request bhikkhunī ordination.
Thus, in the overview we observe that Mahāyāna is a kind of Buddhism that is very committed to the Western roots of the present. Especially, Vietnamese women must be proud that they can become Vietnamese Buddhist nuns, the bhikkhunīs, who lead the masses and share the work of the sangha like monks. Then, Vietnamese Buddhism can stand firm today while Buddhist countries who follow Vajrayana, such as Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia—to this day the role of the nun seems to be absent. The role of women in Theravāda Buddhist lands such as Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia is still very humble, because the community of monks has not accepted them yet.
Thus, whether Vietnamese nuns in Vietnam or abroad, we should take this as a strong belief to continue engaging in the spirit of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Then the voice, as well as the role of women, will be increasingly uplifted in the sangha of the disciples of the Buddha: upāsaka (masculine), upāsikā (feminine), samanera, samaneri, śikṣamāṇā, bhikkhunī and bhikkhu.
Written at Pháp Tạng Temple, Wien Capital, Austria
November 23, 2019
The Most Venerable Thích Như Điển
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