Mindy Zlotnick has developed a new PowerPoint presentation, entitled “I Will Not Pass Away……Reinstating the Buddha’s Vision of Gender Equity” about the history of bhikkhunis (fully ordained Buddhist nuns) from the time of the Buddha until present day, using the Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery nuns as an example of a group of pioneering women who are helping to revive the lineage.

The presentation runs about 60-75 minutes and is colorful and informative overview of the history of the Buddha’s vision of the four-fold sangha, and how women were an integral part of this vision.  Because of political and cultural decisions, a strong female monastic presence disappeared for almost 1000 years. The revival of the Bhikkhuni Sangha began about 30 years ago and has spread throughout the world.

Mindy was moved to create this presentation when she originally saw one that had been put together by the Alliance for Bhikkhunis in 2011. She had been meditating in the Theravada tradition for over 25 years at that point, and had not ever heard of this part of the history of the tradition. Below is one of the slides from the presentation.

Mindy have presented for many years to a variety of audiences on a number of topics, mainly around the issues of birth, postpartum and infant development and communication through touch. She is comfortable in front of groups large and small and excited to use her speaking skills to bring this history and story of the bhikkhuni lineage to a larger audience. For an in-depth look at how Mindy’s life was transformed by generosity, please see here.

This presentation is the result of an aspiration that arose a few years ago, if you are interested in having a presentation for your sangha, please contact Mindy at <mindyzlotnick@gmail.com>.