On June 14th, I will be taking my first journey alone on a plane to Tokyo and then Thailand. There, I will be staying at a Buddhist monastery for nuns and helping out in the front office while participating in the daily monastic rituals. I decided to create a blog to document my trip and keep people informed on what I am up to in Thailand. Hopefully I will get internet at the monastery and have enough time to post frequently!
Well I think I'll start by explaining how I found this opportunity to study with Buddhist nuns - since that seems to be the first question that most people ask.
The seed was actually planted over seven years ago when I decided to become a vegetarian for ethical reasons. I started to believe that even though humans have the ability to kill other beings, we do not have the right to take away life from another living creature. The next year, I gave up my belief in God completely and in high school, I committed myself to a sober lifestyle. Without any intention of doing so, my beliefs slowly aligned themselves with the five Buddhist precepts.
I have struggled with depression for most of my life and in fall 2010, I sank into a deep depression that was exacerbated by the end of a long-term relationship. Dealing with the heartbreak reminded me that nothing on this earth remains the same forever. No object or person is invincible to change and impermanence. Even feelings that can seem so powerful at one point in time can fade away like water rolling out for low tide. This impermanence upset me, but I realized that my acceptance of it would be the key to a happier life.
Buddhists believe that all humans suffer, yet all humans want to end their suffering and achieve happiness. As an individual who suffers from depression, I strongly agree with this idea and I decided to fully pursue Buddhism. In January of this year, I made a goal to study with monks in an Asian monastery at some point in my life. Only then can I truly immerse myself in the religion. This may seem silly, but watching all three seasons of Nickelodeon's Avatar during winter break helped inspire me.
When I returned to school in February, my friend told me about the Freeman Grant, which provides funding for summer internship in East Asia. I immediately thought about my goal to study with Buddhist monks and suddenly, my far away dream became a nearby possibility. At first, I searched internships in which I would teach English to Buddhist monks. Unfortunately, most of these programs charged a fee, which Freeman Grants do not cover. Since 95% of the people in Thailand practice Buddhism, I desperately searched every monastery (or "Wat") in the country for contact information and internship opportunities. I sent a couple email to wats, but I never received replies.
Through Thich Nhat Hanh's website, my mom and I somehow came across the link to the only monastery for nuns in Thailand. After reading some articles and watching interviews of the abbess, Venerable Dhammananda, I learned that Buddhism in Thailand does not allow the ordination of women into monkhood and therefore, they cannot hold high positions in their religion. Ven. Dhammananda taught at Thammasat University in the Philosophy and Religion department for over thirty years as Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh. In 2003, she was ordained in Sri Lanka, becoming the first ordained Thai Theravada Buddhist nun. She returned to Thailand with hopes to get more women ordained and started the Buddhasavika Foundation.
Her interviews inspired me so much that I decided to send her an email asking if she needed help in the monastery. To my surprise and great joy, she responded quickly and suggested that I could help transcribe and correct English articles for her newsletters and do other tasks in the front office. We exchanged many more emails, in which she wrote that I could stay at the wat and participate in the monastic rituals. Ven. Dhammananda's hospitality far exceeded my hopes and expectations. With an internship opportunity, a place to stay, and the monastic life I hoped to experience, I applied for the Freeman Grant in mid-April. My excitement while reading the email awarding me the grant paralleled reading my college acceptance letter to myschool. The grant amount would cover my air fare and expenses while in Thailand, making my dream truly become a reality.
No comments:
Post a Comment