Announcing the First Open Online Course on Bhikkhuni/Bhikshuni Ordination
The University of Hamburg (Universität Hamburg) Press Releases 2013-11-11
An open online course at the University of Hamburg on Buddhist nuns, the first of its kind, will be open for application in February 2014.
The First International Congress on Buddhist Women, http://www.congress-on-buddhist-women.org/ held at the University of Hamburg in 2007, brought together monastic and academic scholars to share advanced research into legal and historical perspectives on women’s ordination in the three surviving Buddhist schools. The Congress revealed how this topic fosters collaboration between the academic world and Buddhist practitioners across sectarian, national and disciplinary boundaries. The work has without a doubt affected Sangha reform, and inspired a deeper interest among lay practitioners in their Buddhist heritage.
In response to the increase in public interest and academic activity, and to give this precious work a dedicated “home,” the University of Hamburg is host to the Women in Buddhism Study Initiative (WiBSI). The first undertaking of WiBSI is an open online course, which will begin in April, 2014. In the spirit of inclusiveness, the e-learning course is a collaboration among scholars from twelve universities around the world, and is open to anyone interested in the topic. Participants are expected to include Buddhist practitioners, monastics, lecturers and professors, and students enrolled in university programmes at all levels, in a variety of disciplines.
This milestone in Buddhist Studies is the first to offer a concentrated curriculum that delivers quality academic research on the legal questions, based on a study of the relevant Vinaya material, followed by an updated regional survey on the current situation of nuns under the Theravada and Mulasarvastivada jurisdictions.
Participants in the class have the chance to familiarize themselves with the three surviving Vinaya schools (Theravada, Dharmaguptaka, and Mulsasarvastivada) and their handling of bhikkhuni ordination. Taking an academic approach, students will develop the ability to analyze the complexities involved in applying the Buddha's ideal of the Fourfold Sangha in the conventional world. Finally, students will learn about the strategies women have adopted in order to pursue their renunciant aspirations, in the context of challenges they have faced due to gender bias.
This course offers a starting point for further courses to be offered in subsequent semesters to continue exploring the various themes within historical and modern topics on Women in Buddhism.
The course will be held every Thursday from 17 April to 10 July, from 2.15 to 3.45 pm CET. The course consists of 13 lectures and related coursework. Participants are invited to register during the registration period (1st of February to 15th March, 2014) following a link that will be made available on the University‘s website, here:
http://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/E-Learning-Bhikkhuni.course_bhikkhunis.0.html?&L=1.
Please visit the course’s homepage for further details and registration.