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Compass – Buddha Realms, Part 1 (2001)

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Women and Buddhism education content clip 1

Original classification rating: PG. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Traditionally women are seen as unclean and an obstacle to a monk’s development as a Buddhist. This is the story of Thailand’s first female monk who fights for the rights of women Buddhists, against the old system.

Curator’s notes

by Janet Bell

All the world’s great religions have a paternalistic view of women. Buddhism, sadly, seems to be no exception. The clip neatly contrasts the impressive, intelligent and articulate female monk with some less impressive male monks. Thailand’s first female monk, who had to travel to Sri Lanka to be ordained, speaks with passion about leading the life of an ordained person, a life she’d encourage other women to take up. But a Thai Buddhist monk says that ordaining women is against the laws of nature. Now where have we heard that argument before?