Ajaan Parichart, professor, Mahidol University

In January, 2002, I had the opportunity to hear presentations from three people on the "Future of Religions in Thailand." Ajaan Parichart, along with a Christian and Muslim speaker, gave her views on the fate of Buddhism. During my second experience in Thailand, in 2003, Ajaan Parichart addressed our students with regard to women's issues. Ajaan Parichart is part of a small, but slowly growing movement of Thai Buddhist feminism. She indicated to me that there are probably about 60 women who come to conferences dealing with the subject.

January 2002:
As to her thoughts on the the fate of Buddhism, Ajaan Parichart emphasized the role of karma: cause and effect. She wants people to be aware of their actions in the hear and now. She realizes that there are many changes going on within Buddhism at the moment and people are afraid. In response to a previous panelist's concern that Christianity is at risk in Thailand, given that a recent gathering of Buddhist officials at Chulalongkorn University identified Christianity as the greatest threat to Buddhism, Ajaan Parichart emphasized the need for understanding.. Some people fear that Christians are using Thailand to spread Christianity, she suggested. They do not have real trust, nor do they have real information.

She maintained that Thais need the right information and that because the Sangha is weak they are even more afraid. They fear that there is underground activity working to harm the Sangha. But the Sangha needs to solve its own inner problems. We can have different beliefs and live peacefully together, she maintained. Right now, however, the Thais do not have trust in their "deep mind."

She called for more understanding of religion within the present context and more dialogue. She recognized however, that the impetus for dialogue often comes from the Christians and that some people fear a hidden agenda. Again, people are only looking at the danger and have no trust. People need to look more deeply at the cause of problems and they should not give this responsibility only to the monks. Buddhism is composed of the monks (bhikku), female nuns (mae chi), lay men and lay women.

She advocated for the opportunity for women to become monks (bhikkhusuni). She maintains that the original principle of Buddhism is not to put women down but that the cultural expression of Buddhism is against women. Thais need to explore this cultural setting in relationship to the original teachings. If you know the teachings of any religion well, this bodes well for the future. If you only know and practice the religion in name, this is not good.

January 2003:

Ajaan Parichart undertook an extensive study of the mae chi in Thailand, in comparison to Roman Catholic nuns in the US as part of her graduate study at the University of Chicago.

She explored with us some of the experiences of the mae chi in Thailand. She began by talking about the different kinds of education that are available to the mae chi:

a. Informal (where anyone can learn)
b. Nonformal (especially for poor children who are not previously educated)
c. Form: college for Mae Chi

There has been a lot that has been done for mae chi education, but there is no official government support for it. There is structural violence against the mae chi. Some universities exclude Mae chi because they look like ordained women and the government does not support ordained women (bhikkunis). In addition to poor access to education, mae chi suffer because people believe they gain more merit by giving to the male monks than by giving to women. Thus, women have to be supported by their families.

Feminism in Thailand receives little support overall. The idea is very problematic for the Thai though most Buddhist teachings support women, i.e. women can reach the highest goal of nirvana. While some writings seem to imply women are inferior, this leads to cultural expression. There is also a misreading of the texts that would require more information to dispel delusion. Thailand needs teaching that dispels illusion, intra religious dialogue, and to show the importance of religious women for society. The issue of the revival of the Bhikkhuni order is a key one here. But it is difficult to have dialogue because Thais do not like conflict.

What we need, she maintains, is the new idea of Buddhist Feminism of the Middle Path. This calls not for gender equality but equal value. Equal value means that women have the same dignity, according to karma, that karma separates people according to their actions, and that we are interdependent upon one another.

Ajaan Parichart believes that the change will come through dialogue, through education, and with good intentions that are acted out without fear or desire.