By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 11th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

BANGKOK (IDN | Lotus News Features) – The first ASEAN Buddhist Conference held on September 22-23 at Nakhonpathom Rajabhat University, about 100 km from Bangkok, brought together Buddhist Bhikkunis (nuns), Bhikkus (monks) and lay Buddhists from across Asia in a bid to form alliances to empower the increasing community of Bhikkunis in Asia.

Buddhism is unique, in comparison to many other religious traditions, because Gautama Buddha himself said (according to canonical literature) that like men, women could also attain all four stages of enlightenment (nirvana). Thus, on the request of his aunt and stepmother Mahaprajapati Gotami, he set up the order of Bhikkunis during his lifetime.