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Powerful Women in BuddhismBuddhist Women Celebrating Their StrengthsBangkok, 6th March, 2008!
A report by Sabine Hayoz Kalff
Award for Sylvia Wetzel on the occasion of the Outstanding Women of Buddhism Award CeremonyIn Honor of the United Nations International Woman´s DayBangkok, 6th March, 2008
Prelude
In the lobby to the award ceremony hall, there is an exhibition of photos, short biographies and projects of the award winning women. In this year, twenty women are honored, twelve of them are ordained, including six Bhikkunis, fully ordained nuns. Seven are Asian women and five are from Europe and the USA. Among the eight honored lay women, six are from Asia and two from the West, including Sylvia Wetzel from Germany.
The entrance to the hall is lined with two rows of little girls and a few boys, all beautifully dressed in their typical festive costumes. They are holding up a poster with a welcome greeting to the award winning women: "Welcome Outstanding Women in Buddhism". Although only in pre-school or early school age, all girls have a make-up like real dancers and are posing for one hour, silently and in a well educated manner without giggling, gossiping or running around. With their large eyes, they are looking around and allowing the audience to look at them with curiosity and to take photos of them in such a naturalness and equanimity that delights me as a European woman and makes me wonder at the same time. Later on, these children will perform a welcome dance which is enjoyably appropriate for children and without any perfect choreography.
In the great hall, two rows of tables have been set up and decorated in white for the outstanding women. Each place is marked with a painted Kuan Yin statue and the respective national flag of the award winning woman. Large flags decorate the stage as well and underline the international character of the event.
Nuns in a Variety of Robes and Other Women and Men
the approximately two hundred people, the many nuns and the varying colors of their robes are catching the attenders' eyes. The majority of them are many young and some older Thai women dressed in light blossom white robes, most of the organisational helpers of the event today are members of this group. A few are wearing the yellow of Thai Buddhism. This is a political issue, as we will learn later on. Some nuns from Taiwan are wearing an uncommon dark red. They have studied the old texts and found that they do not have to wear only gray or yellow and light red. The nuns from Korea are dressed in noble gray, and a US American nun is wearing black. Monks are not present, neither from the East nor from the West. The political meaning of their absence and of the robe colors will be revealed to us in the course of the ceremony and of our stay in Thailand.
In the audience, there are about as many lay people as ordained persons, most of them are women in dresses between elegant and simple. About a fifth of all attenders are press representatives, most of the present men belong to them. They, but also the attenders, are taking photos throughout the event, almost non-stop, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Nobody feels bothered, and all enjoy photos being taken of them any time. This event is obviously about seeing and being seen, celebrating and being celebrated and about enjoying this together. The event has been well documented already in the preparation phase, and it even appears on the front page of the Bangkok daily newspaper, the Thai edition, and with a complete page in the English Bangkok Post.
The Opening Speech by Bhikkuni Dr. Lee
Born in America, Dr. Lee is an academic and fully ordained nun who has been living and working in Thailand for some years. She and her Thai colleague, Bhikkuni Dr. Rattanavali, are the founders and organizers of this award granting organisation (OWBA) honoring especially meritoriousady for the seventh time in a series. The event always takes place on the occasion of the international Women's Day in Bangkok. Dr. Lee explains that in previous years the ceremonies had taken place in a much more elaborate and official setting in the UN building with many VIPs, representatives of the royal family, diplomats and members of the government. Unfortunately, the original purpose of this event faded somehow under all this splendor. This year, the focus shall again be more on: the direct exchange between the award winning women and with Thai women about the rights and the position of women in Buddhism and in society. We are learning how far equal rights for women are away from the reality of modern Thailand.
....open website...
http://www.sylvia-wetzel.deespanol/index.htm
Sylvia WetzelWomen & BuddhismRecent ArticlesContactDisclaimerLinkseMail
deutsch español
Powerful Women in BuddhismBuddhist Women Celebrating Their StrengthsBangkok, 6th March, 2008!
A report by Sabine Hayoz Kalff
Award for Sylvia Wetzel on the occasion of the Outstanding Women of Buddhism Award CeremonyIn Honor of the United Nations International Woman´s DayBangkok, 6th March, 2008
Prelude
In the lobby to the award ceremony hall, there is an exhibition of photos, short biographies and projects of the award winning women. In this year, twenty women are honored, twelve of them are ordained, including six Bhikkunis, fully ordained nuns. Seven are Asian women and five are from Europe and the USA. Among the eight honored lay women, six are from Asia and two from the West, including Sylvia Wetzel from Germany.
The entrance to the hall is lined with two rows of little girls and a few boys, all beautifully dressed in their typical festive costumes. They are holding up a poster with a welcome greeting to the award winning women: "Welcome Outstanding Women in Buddhism". Although only in pre-school or early school age, all girls have a make-up like real dancers and are posing for one hour, silently and in a well educated manner without giggling, gossiping or running around. With their large eyes, they are looking around and allowing the audience to look at them with curiosity and to take photos of them in such a naturalness and equanimity that delights me as a European woman and makes me wonder at the same time. Later on, these children will perform a welcome dance which is enjoyably appropriate for children and without any perfect choreography.
In the great hall, two rows of tables have been set up and decorated in white for the outstanding women. Each place is marked with a painted Kuan Yin statue and the respective national flag of the award winning woman. Large flags decorate the stage as well and underline the international character of the event.
Nuns in a Variety of Robes and Other Women and Men
the approximately two hundred people, the many nuns and the varying colors of their robes are catching the attenders' eyes. The majority of them are many young and some older Thai women dressed in light blossom white robes, most of the organisational helpers of the event today are members of this group. A few are wearing the yellow of Thai Buddhism. This is a political issue, as we will learn later on. Some nuns from Taiwan are wearing an uncommon dark red. They have studied the old texts and found that they do not have to wear only gray or yellow and light red. The nuns from Korea are dressed in noble gray, and a US American nun is wearing black. Monks are not present, neither from the East nor from the West. The political meaning of their absence and of the robe colors will be revealed to us in the course of the ceremony and of our stay in Thailand.
In the audience, there are about as many lay people as ordained persons, most of them are women in dresses between elegant and simple. About a fifth of all attenders are press representatives, most of the present men belong to them. They, but also the attenders, are taking photos throughout the event, almost non-stop, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Nobody feels bothered, and all enjoy photos being taken of them any time. This event is obviously about seeing and being seen, celebrating and being celebrated and about enjoying this together. The event has been well documented already in the preparation phase, and it even appears on the front page of the Bangkok daily newspaper, the Thai edition, and with a complete page in the English Bangkok Post.
The Opening Speech by Bhikkuni Dr. Lee
Born in America, Dr. Lee is an academic and fully ordained nun who has been living and working in Thailand for some years. She and her Thai colleague, Bhikkuni Dr. Rattanavali, are the founders and organizers of this award granting organisation (OWBA) honoring especially meritoriousady for the seventh time in a series. The event always takes place on the occasion of the international Women's Day in Bangkok. Dr. Lee explains that in previous years the ceremonies had taken place in a much more elaborate and official setting in the UN building with many VIPs, representatives of the royal family, diplomats and members of the government. Unfortunately, the original purpose of this event faded somehow under all this splendor. This year, the focus shall again be more on: the direct exchange between the award winning women and with Thai women about the rights and the position of women in Buddhism and in society. We are learning how far equal rights for women are away from the reality of modern Thailand.
....open website...
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