18.35 Awarding the first ever Geshe Degrees to Tibetan Nuns

Ven. Lobsang Dechen (B.A., B.Ed.), Tibetan Nuns Project, Dharamsala (India)

Until recently, the Geshe degree, which Tibetan Buddhists consider the equivalent of a PHD in Buddhist Philosophy, was only available to Tibetan monks. Following many years of intense discussion, the decision was taken to offer Tibetan Buddhist nuns a Geshe degree too. Ven. Lobsang Dechen, Co-Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project, in Dharamsala, India, will discuss why this was important and what the challenges and successes have been within the community, and for the nuns themselves.

18.55 Gender, Buddhism and the Bhikkhunī Ordination: Transnational strategies for the feminist transformation of religion in the 21st century

Dr. Emma Tomalin, University of Leeds, U.K. 

Dr. Tomalin, Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies and Director of the Centre for Religion and Public Life at the University of Leeds, examines ‘transnational Buddhist feminist networks’, which cut across different Buddhist traditions and locations, and play a significant role in strengthening and promoting ‘Buddhist feminisms’ across the globe. These transnational networks have been quite successful in creating a critical mass of support for the revival of the bhikkhunī ordination, but can also serve as vehicles for critiques and debates that oppose and seek to block the ordination.

Prof. Dr. Katajun Amirpur, Professor for Islamic Studies / Islamic Theology and Co-Director of the Academy of World Religions at the University of Hamburg

Islamic feminism, is that at all possible? The opinion that Islam and feminism are by incompatible is something we often get to hear. But nonetheless it does exist - an emancipatory women’s movement using Islamic arguments to fight for equal rights. These women see the Qur’an not as denying equal rights but as demanding them even. They argue that wherever misogyny can be found, it does not originate in the Qur’an itself but with men interpreting the Qur’an. Men, they state, have been monopolizing Qur’an exegesis for centuries, and now this needs to change.

Prof. Dr. Tal Ilan, Institut für Judaistik, Freie Universität Berlin

In this paper I will argue that since the Babylonian Talmud has been the core text of Judaism since the seventh century, the process of removing women from the locations where it has been studied has had the effect of effectively removing Jewish women from any position of power and influence in Judaism down to modern times. I will argue that great fascination that this literary work now has on many women scholars the world over (including in my international project – A feminist commentary on the Babylonian Talmud) is altering this situation drastically.

Prof.Dr. theol. Uta Pohl-Patalong, Professor for Applied Theology and Dean of the Divinity Faculty at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel

“Feminism” is not a uniform concept. Rather, it includes different trends and tendencies which were developed in response to certain contexts and problems. The gender category is determined differently, using keywords such as “equality”, “difference” and “deconstruction”. And even the aims of feminist analysis differ. All approaches have been received in Christian theology resulting in different theological research topics, methods and findings.

Ven. Prof. Dr. Bhikkhu Anālayo, Buddhist monk and member of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, University of Hamburg

The talk will give an overview of central themes relevant to the revival of the bhikkhuni ordination ranging from the canonical account of the foundation of the order of nuns to modern day.

Dr. Petra Kieffer-Pülz, Research fellow at the Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz

In the beginning of the twentieth century first studies on Buddhist women appeared. From the 1970s onward they were supplemented by feminist Buddhist studies. In the course of time the issue of women and Buddhism in various shades steadily rose the interest of scholars, practitioners, and feminist activists. This led to a flood of publications still continuing to date. The quality of these publications from an indologist's perspective varies considerably depending on a number of factors (firsthand usage of sources or mere usage of secondary literature, one-sided selection of sources, differentiation or mixture of critical evaluation and personal approach, etc.)

Dr. Thea Mohr, Lecturer for Religious Studies at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt a.M., and Lecturer at the FH Wolfsburg and EH Darmstadt on International Management with a focus on Intercultural competence

Martin Luther abolished monasteries and nunneries in order to empower monks and nuns by releasing them from the powerful bonds of the church. Nonetheless, women in protestant regions attained the right to be ordained as priests and ministers. I will begin this comparative overview of the Protestant and Buddhist traditions by considering the definition of ordination in various traditions. I will then show why it is important for women to live in a way that reflects the spiritual values represented in the ordination rules.

11.45 Joint discussion on women's ordination and feminist studies in Buddhism in comparison to other religions
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Michael Zimmermann, Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies
Word of thanks to speakers, who will not be staying for the Workshop
13:00 Appreciation Luncheon
15:00-15:30 Co-Creative Workshop for a Programme on Women in Buddhism
Launch of the Co-Creative Session for the Programme on Women in Buddhism

Lisa Fancott, Gender Mainstreaming Specialist

As a gender specialist and a Buddhist woman practitioner, Ms. Fancott explores the benefits of women and gender as an organizing point for scholarship and the potential value in making that scholarship more widely accessible across disciplines. She proposes a specialized “Programme on Women in Buddhism, Study, Collaborate, Practice,” which would develop the Buddhist equivalent of Feminist Theology, collaborating across disciplines and religious traditions, to encourage mutual learning and transformational dialogue between feminist scholars and the “mainstream.”

An interdisciplinary cooperative event by the Centre for Buddhist Studies and the Academy of World Religions with the kind support by the Fund for Gender Equality of the University of Hamburg (Faculty of Humanities) and the Gustav Prietsch-Stiftung.

Registration is necessary to participate in the colloqium. The number of seats is limited.

Contact: Dr. Carola Roloff, Tel. 42838-7768, carola.roloff@uni-hamburg.de

[Programm als PDF]