GIST PROPOSAL

Women Leadership in the South East Asia

Primary Objective:

P.N.Ajita
-

To Develop Women Leadership in South East Asia (SEA).

Objective of my proposal: To study the leadership role model of the
1. Buddhist women and their activities in Taiwan, Thailand and Myanmar and to use the
leadership skill of these leaders in India to inspire and develop leadership in women in the
country.
2. It is also aimed at understanding the working environment of the Buddhist women and their
activities in Theravada Buddhist countries- Thailand and Myanmar and Mahayana
Buddhist country- Taiwan.
3. This is to identify an ideal method of implementing their success as leadership role model
to bring change in Buddhist Community as well as people in general in India and South
East Asian Region.
4. To work for the status of women and gender equity in India as gender equity is one of the
main concept promoted by the East West Center.
5. Bring awareness by using the leadership role model of the women in the South East Asia.
Why?
The reasons:
1. Buddhism gained popularity in India of the equity in religion by rejecting the caste system.
2. Pointed to potentiality of all sentient beings attaining Nirvana irrespective of their gender.
3. In practical, Buddhism has social and religious inequity particularly in the Sangha
community.
4. Nuns are considered to be low and subjugated to the monks irrespective of their age and
seniority, spiritual and mundane experiences. In Thailand nuns are literally used as servant
by monks.
5. Women are deprived of their equity in social, cultural, economic, education and spiritual
values.
The task:
1. To enhance the process of egalitarian in religion and society which is the mission of EWC.
2. To build relationship and understandings based on dialogue and research between US and
SEA.
3. To bring fairness, impartiality, justness and equality in gender.
4. To give due consideration, acknowledgment and respect to women achievements in male
dominated countries.
The objective of doing this study particularity in the Asian countries is to promote the message of
EWC that women can achieve many things if they have specific target and consistent efforts. Not
only the women will get motivated to become respectful leaders but also will gain the support and

strength of their parent and families. Concept of girl should be confined only to their married life
can be changed. Master Cheng Yen of Tzu Chi foundation, Taiwan would be one of the many
inspiring leaders as role model to thousands of women who are unable to see their future in a
closed patriarchal and male dominated societies. Harvard University research (1998) shows that
an average of 11,000-15,000 women a year die in India with dowry issues. Hence promotion of
women leadership will impact the life and status of women.
What?
As a child when I left my hometown Himalayas in India at a young age of 12 to the southern part
of India, one day when I visited one of the busiest markets in Bangalore I saw an incident where a
women committed suicide due to dowry pressure. Despite my young age, it became the turning
point. After pondering for days and months I came to know two facts. 1. It is a routine happening
in the urban and rural areas of India. 2. The root cause lay in religion. Since then I have been
thinking of the women issues and status in India.
Specific Area: My specific area of GIST will be the concept of gender equity promoted by the
East-West center. The reason behind selecting this GIST project is
1. To meet and interview the Buddhist nuns/women who are leading organizations and are
doing social, economic, educational, medical and spiritual activities.
2. To understand the hardships, obstacles, barriers and complexity of their respective society/
environment just because of being a nun (women), as generally they are looked down and
how are they overcoming such barriers and obstacles to accomplish their goals and
missions.
3. To interact and interview the well-wishers and supporters, especially, the women
stakeholders who have stood firm in times of both hardships and happiness.
4. All the four women leaders in the four countries have different daily work but have equal
challenges. The Stakeholders and environment of the given society is also different.
Target and their relationship to the GIST project.
Country
Taiwan

Thailand

Person and
Designation
Master Cheng Yen
Founder and
Director
Mae Chee Sansanee
Founder and
Director
Ven.
Dhammananda,
Abbot

Organization
Tzu Chi
Foundation
Sathira
Dhammasathan
Songdhammakalya
ni Monastery

Activities
Spiritual, Medical, Social, Educational
and Natural Disasters Relief all over the
world
Spiritual activities for women.

Songdhammakalyani Monastery is the

only temple for women in Thailand and
she is the first women to get the
Bhikkhuni ordination from Sri Lanka.
She is now the leader of the rebel nuns
in Thailand who are fighting for the
rights of the nuns for Bhikkhuni
ordination

Myanmar Nunneries in
Myanmar

Mingalarama
Under investigation
Nunnery (?)
(Sagaing, Yangoon)
Under investigation (Ma Sutacari for help)

The Uniqueness of my target is:

1. I have chosen both the Mahayana (Taiwan) and Theravada tradition (Thailand and
Myanmar).
2. The activities of all the four targets are different.
The Subtopic: Master Cheng Yen is a fully ordained nun in Taiwan. She saw the suffering of the
people in the World War II and also experienced the bombing devastations. She looked after her
ailing brother in a hospital at the age of 8 and here she learns the deeper side of the pains and
suffering of the people. She took over her fathers business at the age of 23 when he died and it
did not satisfy her inner quest. She ran away from home to become a nun but her mother brought
her back. On her 2nd trail she succeeded in her mission but she was denied a registration to become
a nun because she didnt have a master, a mandatory tradition in the Chinese Buddhism to have
one for two years.
Two incidences becomes turning point to become a world leader. Firstly, after a discussion with
the Catholic nuns (1966), she realizes that though the teachings of the Buddha was profound but
the Buddhist temple had no social services like hospitals and schools to serve the masses. She took
this discussion as the live-scripture and begin her action plan. Secondly, when she visited a hospital
she sees blood stain on the floor (1966) and learned that an aborigine woman had a miscarriage
and she was forcibly taken back to the mountain because she couldnt pay the hospital fee.
Master Cheng Yen didnt take a special lesson to acquire the leadership qualities. Only by
understanding and learning from the day-to-day happenings, in and around her, she motivated
herself to develop the leadership elements. What, how, when and where were the tools that she
used to looked at the daily happenings through a different lens. To reach to the world level
leadership she had to undergo many hardships and challenges. Even today Tsuchi is facing many
challenges such as land-related controversies and selling of costly crystal Buddha status. These
challenges might have laid the foundation stone to become a world leader.
Also Mae Chee Sansanee of Thailand was a beauty contest, became a famous actress and had a
good earning and status in life. But she gave up everything to become a Mae Chee, a neglected
person in the Thai spiritual circle but despite being in such unfavorable environment and
circumstances she has proved herself to be a successful leader. Today she is imparting her
leadership as a women leader on world level.
Likewise Ven. Dhammananda in Thailand and nuns in Myanmar have many challenges, stories
and lessons from which we can learn their leadership and share with each others.
How?
The tools, methods and techniques that will be used are
1. Interview, direct observation, interaction, join their activities (direct involvement), if
possible stay at their institutions at least for a day, see and watch the activities of the women
leader.

2. Interview and interacting with them would reveal their motivation, strategies, processes,
implementation and their achievements and failures. At every achievements they have
experienced some failures and applied some leadership decision to overcome these failures
and this very process could be a great lesson, learning point and become a live scripture.
How I will learn and what I will do:
1. What I learned of leadership in the APLP course is only the theoretical part and when I go
on the GIST I will explore the practical aspects of the leadership.
2. The most attractive part of my GIST will be the sharing of values and may also add the
body of knowledge for the Buddhist women leadership in particular and women leadership
in general.
3. It would be a unique opportunity to participate in their programs actively during my GIST
study and impart the knowledge that I learnt about leadership at the EWCs APLP.
4. Two places that I could share and convey what I learned at EWC are Cambodia and Taiwan
as they have youths and activities for them.
How do I contribute to the EWC:
1. Input to education program, leadership program and understanding women leadership in
SEA.
2. Direct link between those organizations and EWC - open more doors for the youngsters
in their respective countries to study at EWC and work to promote the aims and objectives
of EWC.
3. Bridging a strong and firm relationship between EWC and the respective organization to
produce more global leaders and leadership qualities in their respective countries.
4. EWC can use my outcomes as programs for women leadership in SEA.
Expected Challenges in GIST:
1. Master Cheng Yen is a busy leader. Enough time for interview/conversation may become
tough.
2. May not be able to stay at the centers as most of the activities are carried out by the
involvement of women and stay of males are restricted.
3. In Taiwan, Thailand and Myanmar I may face problem in language and even I avail the
service of English translator sometime the message is not properly conveyed between me
and the targeted group.
The primary deliverables and project:
1. A paper writing on my GIST project and published articles in the newspaper of WonBuddhism which reaches to all the center in different countries of the world.
2. Publish articles on GIST project in the women newspaper in Korea. (Trail)
3. Publish articles on GIST project from the Buddhist point of view in Times of India, Delhi.
The outcome of the project:
1. Identify general principles for success and the subtleties of addressing them in specific
context.
2. To organize seminars and conferences on women leadership in India.

3. To bring awareness campaign on women leadership by publishing a monthly women

newspapers.
Challenges for women leadership program in India.
1. How I use GIST study to deliver the leadership achievement in Indian context will be
challenging.
2. India being the land of the Buddha have all types of Buddhist schools. It would be
challenging to convey all schools about women leadership because many of them look
down at women issues.
3. The other biggest challenge I foresee would be to make people understand of their inner
minds and stop personal egos coming into play.
4. How women leadership can be achieved beyond the Buddhist circle like Hinduism, Islam
and other religious communities.
With what?
The current resources I have is the contract and availability of two Won-Buddhist center in
Bangkok and Cambodia. They are the right place to conduct my GIST project. The center in
Cambodia have lots of young people who come to learn Korean, English, Daekwondo and other
activities. Such activities will provide a ground for me to practice my leadership training.
Budget
No
Particulars
1
Food for 110days @ 12/day
2
Lodging for 60 days @ 20/day
Lodging for 30 days @ 50/day
3
Traveling expenses within the country (interview, meetings
etc).
4
5

Air ticket to and fro to meet in different places.

Visa fee etc
Total

USD
Others
1,320
1,200
1,500
1,000 (Taiwan,
Thailand and
Myanmar
2000
400
7420 1,100 (6320)

Tentative Weekly Schedule

Date
Location/Program
25-31 Jan 2016 Hue Hin

Particulars
GIST Launching Program

Feb,1 10

Bangkok

Feb 10- 29

Yangoon, Sagaing,
Myanmar

Interaction and visit to different

organizations
Research in Myanmar
Womens Leadership and empowerment
conference 2016 Bangkok

Others
APLP
Staff

Mar 1-3

March 7-10
March 11 - 25
March 26April 23
Apr 24-29
Apr 30

Phnom Phen
(Mar 4-10)
Bangkok
Taiwan
Denpassar,
Indonesia
Korea

Rendezvous
Interaction and visit to different
organizations
Interaction and visit to different people
and organizations
Debrief

APLP
Staff

APLP
Staff

Seoul Korea

Tentative schedule in detail:

Date
25-31 Jan 2016
Feb,1 March
6
Feb 1

Location/Program
Hue Hin
Bangkok

Particulars
GIST Launching Program
Research and visit to different organization

INEB

Feb 2

WFB

Feb 3 - 5

Ven.Dhammananda

Feb 6-7

Preparation

Feb 8-9

Interview

Feb 10-29

Myanmar

Mar 1-3

Attend Conference

March 4
March 7-10

To Phnom Phen
Phnom Phen
(Mar 4-10)
Chulanlonkorn
Univ.
Capstone project

Visit to INEB and meet Mr. Sulak and Mr. Moo

Find out about their activities and study about the
gender related programs, conferences and their work.
Visit to World Fellowship of Buddhist HQ in
Bangkok and interact with the President and
Secretary. Study about the work of WFB especially on
gender issue.
Visit to Songdhammakalyani Monastery and interact
with Ven. Dhammananda. Study about the work of
Ven. Dhammananda especially her moments about the
rebel nun, challenges and perspectives. Involved in her
activities, Dhamma talks and interview with the stake
holders of Ven. Dhammananda.
Reevaluate the project, arrange things and prepare for
the next project.
Interaction with Mae Chee Sansanee and study about
her activities and projects, challenges and perspective.
Attend her activities and projects and interview with
the stake holders.
Visit to Myanmar under investigation and looking for
contacts. Looking forward to visit the Mangalarama
nunnery.
Womens Leadership and empowerment conference
2016 Bangkok
Fly to Phnom Phen
Rendezvous

March 11
March 14-15

Visit to Mahachulalonkorn University and interact

with the professor and students of Buddhist dept.
Capstone project at the Mahachulalonkorn University

March 16
March 17

Capstone Project
Visit to UN

March 18-19

Visit to
organization
Preparation
Revisit to
Organizations

March 20
March 21-25
Mar 26 Apr
23
March 26
March 27 to
Apr 23

Taiwan

Apr 24-29

Denpassar,
Indonesia
Korea

Apr 30

Capstone Project at WFB

Visit to UN Women empowerment and gender
equality section (Need help from EWC)
Visit to new people through NOK
Reevaluate and prepare for the next project
Revisit to organization with previous visit for final
investigations, clarifications and questionnaire. And
wrap-up in Bangkok.
Research in Taiwan
Rest and prepare for the work
Visit the Tsuchi Foundation, take note of the
activities, Life and works of Master Cheng Yen.
Interaction with Master Cheng Yen(not yet fixed and
unconfirmed)
Interact and interview people involved in different
activities of the Tsuchi foundation. direct involvement
and help their activities
Interact with the Youth Wings of Tsuchi foundation
and implement the leadership skills program of APLP
program
Debrief
Seoul Korea

Conclusion: The GIST project will give me an opportunity to acquire a vast knowledge of the
traditions and values of both the Theravada and Mahayana school. The leadership skill of these
Buddhist nuns will become an inspiration to develop leadership assets in a large number of women
in India.
I hope that this valuable experiences will become the foundation and the source of information to
work for the status of women and gender equity in India and bring awareness by using the
leadership role model of the women in the South East Asia as gender equity is one of the main
concept promoted by the East West Center and Won-Buddhism.