The Best Thing Women Could Hope For: Gendered Karma and Its Discontents in Thai Buddhism
Schedule
Tue, 31 Mar, 2026 at 05:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
34 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101-1909, United States | Portland, ME
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You are warmly invited to attend the 2026 Diana E. Long lecture with Dr. Daphne Weber exploring the intersections of gender, meditation practice, and ordination in Theravada Buddhism.This lecture presents the case study of Ananda, a woman grappling with doctrinal explanations of her lived experience. Ananda was a devoted meditator who turned to meditation in hopes of clarifying her suffering. However, when reflecting on her identity as a woman, she began to experience intense and recurring symptoms commonly described as “meditation sickness.” When she sought guidance from meditation teachers, she was repeatedly denied support on the basis of her gender, which deepened her distress. Resolution only became possible when Ananda learned about the possibility of ordination—an option she had long been told was impossible.
Through Ananda’s story, this lecture highlights the importance of gendered mentorship in meditation, particularly for practitioners whose identities sit uneasily within heteronormative doctrinal frameworks. While Ananda’s experience should not be generalized as representative of all women’s motivations for ordination, it reflects a broader question that emerged repeatedly during Dr. Weber’s fieldwork: If being a woman is understood as a karmic punishment, how is one meant to practice while enduring this “inevitable” suffering?
About the Speaker:
Dr. Daphne Weber is the Program Officer of Buddhist Studies at the American Council of Learned Societies. She received her PhD in Anthropology from Washington State University and specializes in Theravada Buddhism and gender studies, with a focus on Thai Bhikkhuni (female monastic) communities. Her research addresses themes of gender, embodiment, and healing in Buddhist contexts and is grounded in extensive participatory fieldwork conducted in Thai temples. Her work has been supported by numerous awards, including the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship and the Khyentse Foundation Dissertation Scholarship.
About the Diana E. Long Lecture:
Diana E. Long was a path-breaking feminist scholar, beloved mentor, and social justice warrior. She was also a beloved professor emerita of history at the University of Southern Maine for nearly two decades. In memory of Diana, and in gratitude for her scholarship and contributions to the field of women and science, the Women and Gender Studies Program at the University of Southern Maine established the Diana E. Long Lecture series which features voices in Women and Gender Studies to present a lecture on a topic germane to women’s contributions to intellectual thought, with an emphasis on, but not exclusive to, the sciences.
We hope you will join us for this thought-provoking discussion!
Laura Detwiler
Women and Gender Studies Program Interim Director
Professor Nichole Fournier
WGS Programming Chair
Food Provided (Light refreshments and beverages.)
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Where is it happening?
34 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101-1909, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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