Yasodhara
newsletter on international buddhist woman's activities |
Two thousand five hundred and fifty years ago, Four-fold was the sasana of the Buddha Gotamo, Bhikkhus, Bhikkhunis, upasakkkas, upasikas, the four, Spread the Buddha-work throughout the land, tho' In later years, his birth-place heard his word no more. Lucky, the isle of Lanka, Destined to harbor and succour, The gift bestowed b King Asoka, Via his son and daughter, The arahants Mahinda and Sanghamitta. Minstrels sang of by-gone days, When saffron robes dimmed sun's rays, For arahant theras and theris, Bore in harmony the torch of rigteousness. Alas! Now evanescent wordly phenomena are, The religious community became aware. When bhikkhun, and bhikkhunis, the spiritual heirs, Vanished from our shores for thousands of years, The kings of yore, may their fame increase, Did bhikkhu sasana faithfully resuscitate. But, the bhikkhunis, they had to wait, Patiently, this time, ten centuries at the gate. Faollowers of Pajapati, Yasodhara, and Sanghamitta, Were soon to appear I our midst, Clad in robes saffron with eyes downcast, In renascence, the daughters of the Buddha. No longer woeful, is the woman's lot! Their patience won. Six years ago they got, The 'Upasampada' : and now there hundred bhikkhunis, Bearers of the doctrine, and the rules with skillful ease. Quietly serve the people and meditate on their own release. On the third and fourth of March two thousand and two, Learned theras, both foreign and local apajhaya and acari, A vital sengha act performed, To elevate five and twenty samaneris, To the state of full fiedged bhikkhnis. Complete is the sasana of four, Envisaged by the Buddha Gotamo, In our island home once more Again may there arise the 'ariya sangho'. |
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Songdhammakalyani
Temple
195 Petkasem Highway
Muang District, Nakhonpathom
Thailand 73000 |