Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women was founded in 1987 in Bodhgaya, India, site of the Buddha’s awakening. Concerned about the difficulties women faced in various Buddhist traditions, Ayya Khema, Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, and Karma Lekshe Tsomo decided to organize a small gathering to discuss what could be done. At the conclusion of that gathering, participants advocated for the founding of an association to ensure that the conversations would continue and made a conscious decision to form an alliance of both laywomen and monastics. The organization was christened Sakyadhita, Daughters of the Buddha, By establishing and maintaining a communications network among Buddhist women internationally, Sakyadhita has created links among some four hundred million Buddhist women worldwide to encourage and support them in Buddhist practice, scholarship, activism, and the arts.
Since its founding in 1987, Sakyadhita: International Association of Buddhist Women has been working to benefit Buddhist women in countries around the world. The first international conference on Buddhist women focused on the plight of the nuns, highlighting their marginalization and exclusion from Buddhist institutions, education, and ordination. Since then, Sakyadhita has organized international conferences every two years to celebrate the achievements of Buddhist women. Each conference is historic in its own way. For example, the 13th Sakyadhita Conference in 2013 was held in Vaishali, India, where the Buddha’s aunt/stepmother Mahapajapati Gotami became the first Buddhist nun.
From the very beginning, Sakyadhita members recognized the pressing need for improved educational opportunities for Buddhist women. To that end, they formed committees focused on specific projects and objectives, such as Buddhist scholarship, Buddhist women’s history, translation, social engagement, ordination, publications, and healthcare. For more than three decades now, Buddhist laywomen, laymen, nuns, monks, and their friends from different religions and cultures have come together from all corners of the globe to share their experiences, encourage each other, and inspire projects to improve conditions for Buddhist women, especially in developing countries. With over 5,000 members in 45 countries, Sakyadhita has become a powerful force for good in the world.