07/28/04 Debate over women as Buddhist monks...

While Thais are proud of the thousands of golden roofed temples that adorn the kingdom, a growing number are calling for the "No Women Allowed" signs that still hang outside some of the buildings containing sacred relics to go.

But worse still to the old-guard is the threat of the full ordination of women to the Therevada Buddhist order, followed by more than 90 percent of Thais.

"When I was first ordained there were people that wanted to be ordained also but they didn't dare, so they waited to see if I got clobbered first," says Dhammananda Bhikkuni, Thailand's only Therevada Buddhist female monk.

The row in the kingdom -- a global bastion of Buddhism with more than 2,500 years of history -- has polarized the Buddhist world. The dispute peaked with death threats against a female senator who called for the ban on women to be scrapped.

Residents of Chiang Mai, Thailand's northern capital, are currently gathering signatures seeking her impeachment, but instead of settling the issue the row has reignited controversy after the Thai senate last year broke a taboo to debate the divisive issue of women wearing the saffron robe.

Dhammananda, 60, refuses to be silenced despite being at the center of that storm. After 700 years of silence, Thai women are finally reclaiming their Buddhist right to full participation, she says, with bans on ordination and sacred sites having nothing to with true Buddhism.

"Where did we derail? We have to go back to the Buddha, to Jesus, they were very open to women," says Dhammananda, who was ordained in Sri Lanka almost two years ago and has since been battling to build an official female monastic order known as a Sangha.

"We're not asking for status, wealth or equality just our share of responsibility which was given to us by the Buddha to serve the community," she says.

It will be some time before Thai women monks -- who wear white, follow hundreds of fewer rules than the men and have no rights or status -- match the roughly 250,000 strong Thai male monkhood.

But already Buddhist nuns from Thailand and countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar have come to learn more about full ordination.

Thailand's Buddhist patriarchs concede that the Buddha himself ordained women, including his wife, but point to teaching which says that at least five women monks directly descended from the first lineage of bhikkuni (female monks) are needed to ordain another. That lineage has never arrived in sufficient numbers in Thailand.

The roughly 30,000 Thai Buddhist nuns wind up spending more time doing menial chores than meditating, says social worker Ouyporn Khuankaewm, who works with monks and nuns.

"So many are controlled and oppressed by the monks, the monks say your job is to clean and cook and if you don't do that you don't get to eat or stay at the temple," she says.

"But they can help women who come to the temples and tell them something better than 'your husband beat you because you have bad Karma from a last life.'"

Ouyporn is also working to change attitudes towards the mostly northern tradition of banning women from sacred sites, but says it is a struggle.

"Whenever I speak, women get excited but they don't say it in public because that's not the Thai way, but that is the key, getting more women involved."

The four-day exposition, which aims at raising funds for charity and to increase public awareness of Buddhism's rich culture and heritage, also showcases eight sacred relics of the Buddha from Sri Lanka and Myanmar.  

There are also floral arrangements, traditional dances, chanting of Buddhist hymns and a Buddhist-themed stamp exhibition. 

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho, who launched the exposition yesterday, said the event provided an opportunity for visitors to experience the richness of the Buddhist culture. 

“The giant lantern with its many lights is a sight not seen in the country before. I feel that it is something people should see and experience as lights have always been synonymous with Buddhism,” he said in his speech before the launch. 

The exposition is open from 10am to 10pm until Wednesday at the Thean Hou Temple, 65, Persiaran Endah, Off Jalan Syed Putra here. 

It is jointly organised by the Sri Lanka Buddhist Temple and seven other Buddhist associations – namely Robson Heights Buddhist Society, Nalanda Buddhist Society, Bandar Utama Buddhist Society, Maha Karuna Buddhist Society, Siri Jayanti Welfare Organisation, Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society and Maha Karuna Compassionate Home.

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Now when that happens, he just says, "Om."

The 29-year-old Glendale resident took up the ancient practice of meditation six months ago. By stilling the turbulent thoughts that preyed on his mind, Perrin took control of his emotions and discovered a sense of balance.

"I'm not as reactionary as I used to be," says Perrin, who studies meditation at the Khandakapala Buddhist Center in Silver Lake. "I" d blame the other person for making me feel upset. Now I'm much more calm and have more patience."

Meditation still elicits its share of navel-gazing wisecracks and Zen-master jokes (just ask former Lakers coach Phil Jackson). But these days, meditation is seen as more than a spiritual tool. La Ma Ji, who operates free healing clinics at World Evolution Yoga Community Center in Long Beach, says people of any faith can receive positive results from meditating.

"Meditation is not a religion," Ji says. "We're scientists who practice the science of yoga."

In a 24-7 society where stress overload has become a natural state, a mini-vacation for the mind might be just what the doctor ordered.

"Stress is a human condition," says Victor Byrd, a marriage family therapist who practices in Long Beach. "Meditation is the most direct way of dealing with stress. As the breath slows down, the mind slows down. It's impossible to have slow breath and stress."

Tools for tranquillity

Most people try meditation, yoga or tai chi on their own, not from a doctor's recommendation. Dr. Ka-Kit Hui, director of the UCLA Center for East West Medicine, would like that to change.

Hui says there's plenty of evidence to show that mind-body therapies such as meditation are beneficial and should be recommended alongside conventional treatments. For example, a patient with hypertension who meditates might be able to take a lower dose of medicine, he says.

"Anything that increases our ability to handle different types of stress in our lives will be beneficial," Hui says.

Dr. Jeffrey Brantley of Duke University Medical Center credits Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson for laying the scientific foundation for mind-body medicine. Back in the 1970s, Benson studied the effects of meditation on the body, including heart rate and blood pressure. He coined the term "relaxation response," a deep, restful state that serves as a counterbalance to the adrenalin rush known as the fight-or-flight response.

Benson, who founded the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Harvard, provided evidence on how meditation affects the body. Now scientific research is giving clues as to why meditation affects the body, says Brantley, a psychiatrist and director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine.

A preliminary study in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin Medical School compared brain activity in participants who meditated to those in a control group. The meditation group showed an increase in electrical activity in the left frontal region of the brain. According to the researchers led by psychiatry professor Richard Davidson, this area of the brain is associated with low anxiety levels and positive emotional states.

In other words, the reason meditation makes people feel good may be based in biology.

Time to practice

"Sometimes it is deep and profound," Graham says. "Other times there is not much going on. The lesson is to be a casual observer, not goal oriented. Don't force or judge, just observe."

Some people even experience discomfort at first because the flood of thoughts becomes more intense. By being still, the person is simply more aware of the anxious thoughts, says Brantley, author of "Calming Your Anxious Mind."

"It's the natural fruit of paying attention," he says. "We tell people who come to our program that the first few weeks might be more stressful."

Byrd recommends beginners find a time and place to meditate and decide how long each session will last. The mind can be pushed only so far and finding that spot is an important factor in successful meditating.

"People need to come to their edge," Byrd says. "Your mind will start screaming, but you can't let your ego stop you from completing. Find your edge and work with it."

Any quiet time is ideal for meditation, but there are three traditional times many choose to practice, Ji says. The first is 5:30 a.m., the second at 5:30 p.m. and the third at midnight. These are good because 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. come at a time when day and night meet. This forms a relationship with breathing, which is between inhaling and exhaling. Midnight is also a good time because it is the middle of the night, typically the darkest and most quiet part of the night.

"What all three have in common is they are the still point of the turning world," Ji says. "Quiet is needed to focus on breathing. The body will follow the mind and the mind will follow the breath."

Gen Kelsang Lekma, a Buddhist nun who teaches meditation at Khandakapala Buddhist Center, compares the novice's experience to a radio blaring in the background. The noise has been there all along. With practice, the student learns to switch off the radio.

For the true student of meditation, calming the mind represents only the first step of the spiritual journey. But it's a crucial one.

"We realize how many thoughts we have and it's a shock," Lekma says. "We have to know we have the thoughts before we can let them go."

The choice of what specific meditation to practice is left up to the individual. While many forms of meditation exist, all serve the same function — to ease the body and the mind.

"There are millions of ways to meditate," Graham says. "All bring the mind and the body into a state of relaxation to gain many benefits."