Our next seminar will be held at 5:30-7:00pm on Tuesday
August 27 in room N208 of the John Woolley Building, University of Sydney (walk
down the flight of stairs directly inside the main entrance of the John Woolley
Building).
We do hope you can attend.
Kind regards,
AABS
Executive
Sensing Disability in Buddhism: A Reading Against the
Grain
Popular Buddhist narratives
and iconography abound with images of bad physicians who become blind or
disfigured monks, lepers who put the Buddha in trouble, menstruating nuns who
shame the Sangha and a perfect Tathagatha who embodies the 32 marks of moral
perfection. “Dwarf” Arahants, overworked doctors, Vedic notions of pollution and
Buddha’s chronic illnesses are often left out of the picture.
This
presentation will explore themes surrounding constitutional, legal and normative
paradigms of inclusion and exclusion embodied in and enforced by Buddhist
hermeneutics of the body, karmic multi-life commentaries and hegemonic readings
of the Vinaya (Buddhist Monastic Code). In the first section of my presentation,
I will discuss the ideal of moral or virtuous bodies in Buddhism, including the
Buddha’s body. In the second half, I will examine codes relating to bodies “out
of order” in the Vinaya; particularly Mahavagga 1.39–1.71 and its attendant
commentaries and sub-commentaries.
Niluka
Gunawardena
Niluka Gunawardena is a
Doctoral candidate at the Law School at Griffith University. She has a long
standing commitment to Disability rights and Dhamma practice. She has been
working on a campaign to make all major Buddhist religious sites of worship in
Sri Lanka accessible for all. The recent pledge to provide ramp access to
Ruvanveliseya in Anuradhapura was a major collective achievement in this regard.
She is also a passionate educator and has worked in secondary schools in USA and
Sri Lanka. She is dedicated to helping children understand disability, diversity
and marginality in a framework of compassionate, inter-subjective Buddhist
Ethics.
