First Parish’s Meditation Sangha is pleased to sponsor a talk from Tibetan Nun Ani Choyang.
A note from Ani Choyang on the subject of her upcoming talk:
Celebrating Women’s Empowerment in Spirituality
In Buddhism, like in other spiritual traditions, women embody both the nature of wisdom and the skill to manifest wisdom in every moment. When I speak of women’s empowerment, I am not referring to power in the sense of authority or strength, or some superiority to men. Instead, I am invoking the power of self-reflection, of self-knowing, and thus of self-understanding or wisdom. It is the power, the conviction, and the determination to investigate and then truly understand who we really are, what we really want, and what is the source of true happiness. Mindfulness is the method that we all can employ to realize this truth. And women have a great power and potential to realize this truth in every moment.
When we consider how we spend our days, and how we have spent much of our lives, we realize that much of our time is wasted chasing desires and misperceptions of who we are and what we need. Real wisdom is not limited to a particular religion or belief system. Rather, it is cultivated through a practice of inner peace, of true happiness, of unconditional kindness and of a deep acceptance of what is. But we need to dedicate effort and time to cultivating this inner peace, practicing compassion, and generating a sense of ease. This is what women can do naturally, and how they can manifest their true wisdom.
About Ani Choyang:
Ani Choyang was born in Tibet and escaped to India at age 18. She became a nun in 2003 under the guidance of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama. She received the Rapjampa Degree (similar to a Master’s degree) in 2022 after completing a 17-year course of Buddhist studies.
Additionally, she is a Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholar and was one of the first women to attend a two-year science-training program at Emory University as part of the Emory Tibet Science Initiative.
Ani Choyang also participated in a science research internship at Northwestern University in 2022, where she received in-depth training in the theory and methods of neuroscience.
Currently, Ani Choyang serves as the Monastic Science Leader in the Jan Chub Choeling Nunnery in Mundgod, South India. She also serves as a core committee member of the Tenzin Gyatso Science Association.
As an outspoken leader, she works tirelessly for the advancement of education for nuns, to strengthen their voices as ethical role models for a new generation of monastics and lay people, especially women.
As part of her own leadership training, Ani Choyang is traveling extensively, deepening her connection to new people and places and sharing her journey as a traditional Tibetan Buddhist nun in a globalized, secular world.