[Buddha-l] First ever foreigner to become monk in China?

[jkirk]

 Dear All,

Today's Corriere della Sera, one of Italy's most important newspapers,
reports that according to an article in the China Daily, an Italian has
become the first ever foreigner to become monk in China.

Is this correct? No other foreigner has become Buddhist in China? 
Perhaps we should add "in modern times". Even so, would that be correct?
..................

Alberto Todeschini
==================================================
From: Kirkpatrick [jkirk at spro.net]

Several foreign (e.g., not Chinese) women renouncers--from Thailand and
other areas,
have gone to China earlier on to be ordained in a Buddhist tradition, since
the bhikkhuni tradition
had been lost in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. 

Here's one article reflecting this situation: 
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=52,4632,0,0,1,0

"...If women still insist, they will be simply dismissed and told to go to
Mahayana Buddhism in Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam or China for female ordination.
The mutual understanding, however, is that they will remain outsiders to the
Thai Sangha and never be accepted as equal to monks....In 1996, the clergy
in Sri Lanka restored the Bhikkhuni order. It was decided that Mahayana
Bhikkhunis could co-preside over female ordination because the Bhikkhuni
order in Mahayana could be traced back historically to Theravada origins.
The Thai Sangha has simply snubbed the move."

In any case, in the vinaya the bhikshunis are never 'equal' to bhiskshus,
but it's true that in Thailand such China-ordained nuns are not acepted as
ordained nuns by the Thai sangha.

Quite a few (I don't know how mnay) women have already done this before your
Italian chap went to China to ordain.

Joanna Kirkpatrick

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