Happy New Year everyone!
It appears to me that there are nearly an equal amount of female-identified
Zen teachers, at least here in the US.
The membership list on the AZTA website seems to bear that out
https://americanzenteachers.org/members-of-azta.html ;(in as much as one
can determine gender by name.)
Is there a similar organization in Europe?
Palms together,
jmw
On Sat, Dec 28, 2019 at 3:14 PM Redacted sender fshore8654 for DMARC <
dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dear Barbara and all,
Barbara, I did receive this note in my (fshore8654@xxxxxxx) account so I
think this new list is working. Thank you for posting.
Our BWS retreat in Philly will begin next week. Unfortunately do the the
bathroom availability at the retreat center there are 3 times as many men
as women attending. Our Sangha here is growing and there seem to be more
women interested in our intensive retreats all the time. I know that more
women would be attending this one if there was a possibility.
I don't think there is difference in gender when it comes to awakening but
political and social factors as well as group dynamics (even in Zen groups)
may make being a retreat leader more challenging for a woman.
I am truly encouraged by the openness and insight of our growing BWS
community. Look forward to hearing from others.
Happy New Year!
Tina, Maryland USA
In a message dated 12/28/2019 11:12:27 AM Eastern Standard Time,
barei@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Dear all,
I am trying to write to the new list and am asking if it worked. Thanks
for the work to set this up!
After all this time I would like to share my thoughts on this topic with
you.
As for Andreas' concern that there are not enough female teachers, I think
that will change over time. Male and female laymen have equal rights in
western countries, at least in Germany. The number is also similar,
sometimes there are even more women than men in our group. If many practice
seriously, probably some get the right insight, whether male or female, I
don't think there is a difference in gender. Of these, in turn, some will
develop the ability to become a teacher regardless of gender. It may take
some time, but I believe that the future of zen in lay zen is in the west.
I have also read the story of Miao-Tao. She certainly was a very strong
woman and can serve as a role model. However, it seems that as a woman she
had to be even better than a man in order to get the appropriate attention
(this is still the case in business today). It is very interesting that at
that time women in Zen played such a big role in China compared to today in
Japan. It speaks very much for the Zen masters at that time that they made
no difference (in the opposite to other religions until today).
So much for today.
Best wishes and greetings to all!
Barbara (Munich)
--
Barbara Reichart
Truderinger Str. 91, 81673 München
089 12209687
01522 9949590
