The Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women hosted its 16th conference in late June, gathering over 800 Buddhist nuns and laywomen from 29 countries in the city of Blue Mountains, Australia.
They were returning for the first time since the #MeToo movement started making headlines and marking the first time the event was held outside Asia.
Since its inception in 1987, Sakyadhita has pushed against the injustices affecting lay and ordained women from around the world.
They organise biennial summits where women and men from diverse Buddhist traditions meet to present papers, dharma talks, workshops, meditation and chanting sessions, and roundtable discussions.
In the past, Sakyadhita has hosted its conferences in Asia (the previous four took place in Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, and Thailand). This was partly intended to ensure that the meetings were accessible to as many nuns and laywomen as possible—the majority of whom live in Asian countries. Read more