Welcome

to www.sakyadhita-europe.org.

For your better understanding: this is not a society but an information platform trying to offer to the interested public in Europe news around the topic of Women and Buddhism. The trilingual form is only a start for hopefully more European languages to appear on this platform with the same information plus additional news on Women and Buddhism in the respective countries. Anybody interested in the topic of women and Buddhism is invited to cooperate in this valuable task.

Since I, Gabriele Küstermann, am affiliated to Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women as a lifetime member from the very beginning, I am starting with information on this groundbreaking Association, its aims and goals and its history.

In Germany, so far, no Sakyadhita society has been established, but German Sakyadhita International members are networking successfully to promote the goals of this international association, this website being an essential part of it. In addition we are on the way to forming a working group on Women and Buddhism under the umbrella of the German Buddhist Union – DBU.

In France the registered charity (84Reg.No.262), Sakyadhita France, was founded in Strasbourg in 2006 by Gabriela Reichert, since 2008 named Gabriela Frey, together with men and women of different Buddhist traditions.

Sakyadhita UK was founded as a non-profit making organisation in November 2007. Its founder members are Beatrice Jutta Gassner, Wendy Barzetovic and Susan Anne Bloy.

Sakyadhita UK as well as Sakyadhita France did pass an application to Sakyadhita International to be formally recognized being a branch of Sakyadhita International.

Since 2007 Sakyadhita International started to formalize their relations with Sakyadhita societies in other countries by editing Guide Lines to this purpose. Anybody interested to establish a society under the name of Sakyadhita should contact Sakyadhita International via the e-mail address: brancheschapters@sakyadhita.org

This website aims to serve a variety of objectives. One is to make the aims and activities of Sakyadhita more widely known - especially through information about social projects in support of necessary education for women and nuns in countries like India and Sri Lanka – as well as supporting Sakyadhita International in holding conferences all over the world as a means of public education and networking.

It also aims to further Buddhist women as teachers and to help them in all their varied and important contributions – as well as making books and texts more easily accessible to as many people as possible.

Since the time of the Buddha women have been deeply inspired by and gained strength in Buddhist practice. And although full ordination of women was introduced by the Buddha himself, it unfortunately has not been accepted everywhere as a matter of course. In their development towards full enlightenment, women have often passed on their experiences by unconventional means.

Sakyadhita in Europe would like to provide a forum where these experiences can be collected and preserved and to be passed on to as many people as possible, so that they too can draw inspiration and courage to find their way.

There are many texts to be translated, information to be collected and much social assistance is needed. This is a mammoth task, and needs the support of many people. The representatives are looking forward to an active membership and/or any other form of support you can give.