Continuing our aim to bring Buddhism, dhamma, mindfulness and meditation to Bangkok in English :-
_____________________________________
Sunday 12th May
Cappuccino Club meets with special guest
Bhikkhuni Ani Choying
Topic: Bhikkhuni ordination in the ancient and modern era
_____________________________________ 

At Ariyasom Villa, Sukhumvit Soi 1
free of charge, no reservation required

‘Cappuccino Club’ 

Eschewing the usual Dhamma Talk format, sometimes we like to meet for a more open discussion of the principles of Buddhism and meditation as they relate to ‘real’ life – how we deal as humans with the various issues of daily life.  Topics can be anything, so feel free to suggest a topic yourself. We meet for coffee, chat and gentle philosophising on what it means to bring the lofty ideas of Buddhism into practical living. 

You don’t have to be an expert in anything except staying alive – so feel free to come along and join in. Try to do the ‘homework’ (below) first though, so we have a launch point for discussion.

Topic

The ordination procedure in Buddhism is interesting. Originally, if you wanted to join the Buddha as a monk, you simply asked, and he said ‘Come Bhikkhu’, and you put on the robes if you were not already in them and joined him. This was the Samana (forest recluse) tradition, which required no special procedure, but did involve a certain set of expectations from the laity, who wold feed the monks on almsround. Later the Buddha added rules that the monks were expected to follow, and also a layer of questioning, formal request and requirements, which added up to a new ordination lineage. This is often called the ‘higher’ ordination, though in reality it was really just a specific variation of the common Samana tradition.

The Buddha ordained women also, though with some further stipulations, one of which was that they be ordained by both the male and the female monks. Later, when the female lineage died out, there was no way for new nuns to be ordained, so many traditionalists in the current age hold that women can no longer be ordained in Buddhism.

In the last decade or so, there have been a couple of attempts to restart the ordination of women, mostly relying on the Vietnamese, Korean or Taiwanese Mahayana traditions in which the female ordination lineage did not die out.

Over the next weeks before this event there will be some blogs posted in our newly designed mindfulness, meditation and event Blog feed on this topic.

But please note – this event will NOT be a detailed discussion about the Bhikkhuni ordination lineage (a topic we can do another time if you like), but more a friendly discussion based around the personal experiences and lessons learned by Ani Thoying over the last 15 years

Biography of Ani Thoying

Born in Detroit in November 1943, Ani moved to the UK in her early thirties, and stayed there for 25 years. She studied fine arts at St Martins School of Arts, and gained a degree in Education, and a Masters in Education and Psychology from Easter Michegan University before specializing in teaching and counselling emotionally disturbed children, and other therapeutic psychology departments. She spent some time as an artist and a writer, publishing several children’s books.

Ani ordained in 1998 in the Samye Ling monastery in Scotland with Lama Yeshe and Akong Rinpoche in the Kagyu lineage. In 2000 she ordained withKyaje Trushik Rimpoche in the Nyingmapa tradition in Nepal, as a 39 precept nun. In 2008 she took full ordination in Taiwan. Her time in the mountains, which began around 1995, was spent mostly in Samten Dechen Choeling temple in the lieneage of Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche.

Schedule

Sunday 12th May 2013
Kindly hosted by the beautiful Ariyasom Villa Boutique Hotel 

  • 1:00-2:00 arrive, order coffee or some of the rather splendid Ariyasom desserts
  • 3:00 – 5:00 discussion time (no more ordering drinks/food, as it disturbs the discussion)

Location

Library of Ariaysom Villa hotel and vegetarian restaurant at the end of Sukhumvit Soi 1. It is an 8 minute walk from Phrom Phong BTS, or you can take a motorcycle from the entrance to Sukhumvit Soi 1.