Pat Reif Memorial Lecture

Speaker: Venerable Dhammananda

Abbot of Songdhammakalyani Monastery, Thailand

Path to Ordination of Women in Buddhism: Challenges and Opportunities

Venerable Dhammananda (aka Ven. Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh) was ordained in 2001 and pioneered a bhikkuni Sangha in Thailand. She currently serves as Abbot of Songdhammakalyani Monastery in Thailand and has taught Buddhist Studies and Eastern Philosophy for more than 30 years. She is author of more than 70 books (in both English and Thai) on the history of Buddhism, environmental concerns in Buddhism, women and Buddhism, et. al., and continues to write regularly on Buddhist issues for weekly magazines and newspapers. Venerable Dhammandanda works to bring about a better understanding of Buddhism to the larger public, to serve the Buddha in the best way she can, and to establish an Order of ordained women in Thailand where such status is currently neither available nor recognized.

* 2 pm, Sunday, February 24, American Film Institute

2021 N Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90027

* 7 pm, Monday, February 25, Mudd Theatre, CST campus

1325 N. College Avenue, Claremont, CA, 91711

Free and Open to the Public

Pat Reif     We are pleased to announce the formation of an annual lectureship in honor of Dr. Patricia A. Reif, IHM. A scholar, educator, and activist, Pat Reif taught philosophy and chaired the graduate department in religious studies at Immaculate Heart College. In 1984 she founded the M.A. Program in Feminist Spirituality at Immaculate Heart College Center. Active in many social justice issues, including domestic abuse, poverty, immigration, welfare rights, and the anti-nuclear movement, Pat co-founded the Interfaith Hunger Coalition and the Southern California Interfaith Task Force on Central America (SCITCA). Creation and funding of the Patricia A. Reif Memorial Lecture Fund is a joint effort of the CGU School of Religion, The Immaculate Heart Community, The Immaculate Heart College Alumnae Board, & The Immaculate Heart College Center. We have established this fund out of mutual respect and love for Pat, and we look forward to many years of cooperative effort advancing the ideals for which Pat stood.

Past Speakers:

(2002) Mary E. Hunt, WATER (2003) Chun Hyun Kyung, Union Theological Seminary, New York (2004) Beverly Harrison, retired, Union Theological Seminary, New York scroll down page for bio (2005) Musa Dube, University of Botswana (2007) Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Harvard Divinity School

FMI, contact 909.607.9592 or e-mail the Dean's office