 I'm your host Winston Welch, and I am delighted you are joining us today for an extra special edition of Out and About, a show where we explore a variety of topics, organizations, events, and other topics of interest with people who fuel them in our city, state, country, and world. As a disclaimer, any views or opinions expressed by me are strictly my own and not connected with any organization. Joining me today in this studio, I am especially delighted to have the venerable Dr. Karma Lexi Somo, professor of Buddhism and World Religions at the University of San Diego, founder of Sakyadita International Association of Buddhist Women, and the director of Jamyang Foundation, a charitable organization to provide education to girls and women in India and Bangladesh. I would like to read a little bit more, because Lexi has a fascinating background, but she does specialize in Buddhist studies, offers classes in Buddhist thought and culture, World Religions, Comparative Religious Ethics, Religious and Political Identities in Global Community, and Negotiating Religious Diversity in India. Lexi's research interests include women in Buddhism, Death and Dying, Buddhist Feminist Ethics, Buddhism and Bioethics, Religion and Politics, Buddhist Social Ethics and Buddhist Transnationalism. Also, Lexi encourages students, it would be wonderful to be a student in her class, to question the assumptions that they bring about religion and life, and to dialogue on the fundamental questions of human experience, which I think is what we're all after. She does incorporate comparative and experiential approaches, including field research at local churches, temples, synagogues and mosques, and her classes raise questions about the role of religion in contemporary life, including issues of race, privilege, gender, environment, economic ethics, politics and violence. She encourages active discussion on issues of global concern, such as secularism, fundamentalism, religious syncretism and interreligious dialogue. So that is a lot to say, but obviously you are a very fascinating person, and thank you so much for being on my show today. It was interesting how we just sort of ran into each other. As it turns out, you are friends with three people who I love and respect very much, Kathleen, Jackie and Aisha, and we met at our neighbor Mary's and Linda and our friend from Austria also said we should do a show together, so thank you for coming on the show today. Happy to be here. Susanne, yes, sorry, Susanne. I have a little bit of cold, so I'm on some cold meds in just in case I'm not saying everything exactly perfectly. So tell us, how does a young lady from California grow up to become a Buddhist nun? Well, it was an accident perhaps, or maybe not, that my family name was Zen, Z-E-N-N. So when I left California Malibu, Malibu Surfing Association, and went to Japan to go surfing in 1964, I had no intention of going to a monastery, but then it started to snow. So I wound up meditating in a monastery outside of Tokyo, and then got more and more into Buddhism as I went along. I started reading when I was very young, maybe about 11, and pronounced myself a Buddhist, which was quite unusual at that time, and then just kept running with it. So about how old were you when you went to Japan for that? I was 19. 19, and so even just being a woman surfer in Japan, or a surfer in Japan, probably was unusual at that time. Yes, it was the very beginning. We had the first international surfing competition ever held in Japan. I was the only girl. So it was quite a breakthrough for Japan, and now, of course, it's really big. And you've continued to be a trendsetter. I see all of your life with the path that you've taken, which is just so interesting for me. And so you just stumbled into this as it were. You could say that. Yep, to have a family name like that that just led me directly to Buddhism. People started teasing me about being a Zen Buddhist, and then they had to figure out what it was. So the kids at school would tease me, and then I went and found two books on Buddhism, read them from cover to cover, and said, that's it, I'm free. And then just went over to Japan and to India and just kept trying to follow this path, find teachers that wasn't as easy in those days as it is now. There weren't so many books, there weren't so many temples, and I had to do quite a bit of exploring. That was really interesting. Okay, so this has been a really fascinating life that you've had just starting by going to Japan and reading a couple books that just clicked with something inside of you that resonated and said, this is something I need to explore more. So you were able to follow that path, your parents were supportive? Not at all. Not at all, okay. But, you know, our generation were pretty rebellious, so I just sort of took a ship to Yokohama and sent them a postcard from there. And did you enter a monastery or was it a training program? Well, that was the problem. There weren't any monasteries for women that I could find. So there were a couple of temples where you could go and sit in meditation. But I was really looking for a monastery for women and couldn't find one. So that's why the path took a bit longer than I expected. Where did that path then lead you? Well, I went from Japan to Southeast Asia, and then up through India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and about a two-year journey. And still didn't find a monastery for women. Eventually I had to start one. Oh. Yeah. In 1987, then we started a monastery up in Dharamsala, which is where the Dalai Lama lives. And that's grown into a huge monastery, 150 nuns. We've got 12 other ones as well. And are these monasteries, are they for people from all backgrounds and all nations? Well, most of the nuns are from the Himalayan region. Because the medium of instruction is Tibetan. OK. So mostly they come from these different Himalayan areas. Anyone could come, but they would need to learn Tibetan. And I had read in your background that France was where you were originally, what's the correct word that I'm going to name? Ordained. OK. And then was that in a Western monastery? It's a really interesting story that, in fact, it was a monastery started by Bernard Benson, who used to live in Kailua, one of the original founders of IBM. And he had gone to France and bought this castle and turned it into a monastery. And I knew him as a child growing up in Malibu and wound up meeting him again after many years in France. So when I got ordained there and the karmapa had been here in Hawaii and in 1986, I was the cook. I was cooking for 13 Lamas or teachers over in Kailua. So many connections, you know. And then I wound up being taking my novice ordination with him in France and later taking full ordination in Korea. And what's the difference between those two when you started in France and then continued in Korea? What steps were involved in that? Well, it's a bit complicated. But generally you would become a layperson first and take five precepts. Then you would become a novice and take 10 precepts and then eventually take full ordination with two or 300 precepts. So it's a sort of a gradual process. And precepts would be things that you agree to do or how to act? Yeah, not to lie, kill, steal, and things like that. And for the monastics, then it's a celibate lifestyle. So you've got a couple hundred precepts that you will follow? Yes, try. Try, right, because we're all humans. Yes. Last time I checked. Last time you checked. OK, and then you started the monastery for women. And is this monastery open to men as well? Or is it just women at this time? Well, these monasteries are designed for women because women have sort of been left out of the picture until now. When the Tibetans fled Tibet in 1959, thanks to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his vision, they started setting up monasteries, recreating the monasteries they had in Tibet. But there weren't that many monasteries for women. So the monks could come and just sign up for a monastic education. But for women, there wasn't much offer. So that's why we started some. And it still remains for women, for women's focus? We do have male volunteers, though. In the summertime and wintertime also, we have male volunteers who come and teach English, Tibetan, Hindi, Buddhism, computer skills, all kinds of things. OK, and so I guess at this time, then you're probably becoming very, you love what Buddhism is, what it stands for, how it has meaning in your life and reflection for the greater world. Also at the same time, you're feeling this lack of empowerment of women inside of this? Or how did that, how would you describe that? Well, I think that the goal of Buddhism, which is liberation, liberation from ego fixation and all misfortunes, is open to both men and women. But somehow over history, somehow the male started to dominate, and women sort of took a back seat. And especially in the area of religion, religion and politics, the areas where the most power is at stake, somehow, tend to be, even in this country, dominated by men. So now is a new time, and things are actually readjusting. And women are taking more visible roles in all of these fields. It's really exciting. Do you think that the last time that we really had sort of women-centered religions was maybe with the Earth goddess sort of religion? Or when was the last period where we had that sort of equality or generation of women? Well, we don't really know, because we don't have historical records of those cultures. I think that women have power in all religious traditions. But it's not always visible. It's not always public. Sometimes it's private, and maybe that's an asset. But in terms of social change and so forth, it's also important that women take visible public roles. And we are, I'm sorry. Right. And to do that, we need education. And we need educations. And that folds into what you're doing with your Jam Yang Foundation, as well as with Sakya Deeta. And we'll talk more about that after the break. But I think as we look across most of the large world religions, we're seeing a lack of women in major leadership roles, or even in access to inequality of position or a stature or ability to access these sacred areas. But it's changing rapidly. It's definitely changing. And very rapidly. I just was up at the Parliament of World Religions in Toronto in November. And it was remarkable to see the presence of women, many of whom are now in positions of power or authority or change in the world's major religions. It's very exciting. And they're working together. We're dialoguing, dialoguing with each other, dialoguing with men. And I think it's a new age. It's a time of real opening, opening up the heart. And it's infectious. It's starting to change every aspect of life. Economics, politics, religion, education. Women are just taking much more visible roles. And feeling more confident to do that and getting more education to do that. And your work obviously is contributing to a lot of this and empowering young ladies across the globe and following your example, but especially at the Jamyang Foundation, which I would like to talk about when we give back from our break, some more as well as some other important questions I would like to ask you. And we won't be able to cover everything today. But again, we are delighted to be talking with the venerable Dr. Karma Lexi Somo, a professor at the University of San Diego and a feminist and Buddhist scholar. And we are delighted that she is here with us on Out and About on the ThinkTech livestreaming network series. We'll be back in just a moment. Aloha. I'm Wendy Lo, and I'm coming to you every other Tuesday at 2 o'clock, live from ThinkTech Hawaii. And on our show, we talk about taking your health back. And what does that mean? It means mind, body, and soul. Anything you can do that makes your body healthier and happier is what we're going to be talking about. Whether it's spiritual health, mental health, fascia health, beautiful smile health, whatever it means, let's take healthy back. Aloha. Hi, I'm Rusty Komori, host of Beyond the Lines on ThinkTech Hawaii. My show is based on my book, also titled Beyond the Lines, and it's about creating a superior culture of excellence, leadership, and finding greatness. I interview guests who are successful in business, sports, and life, which is sure to inspire you in finding your greatness. Join me every Monday as we go Beyond the Lines at 11 a.m. Aloha. We're back, we're live, and I'm Winston Welton. This is Out and About on the ThinkTech livestreaming network series, and we are delighted to have an extra special episode of Out and About, Talking with Venerable Dr. Karma Lekshi Somo, Professor of Buddhism and World Religions at the University of San Diego, a founder of Sakya Ditta, International Association of Buddhist Women, and director of Jam Yang Foundation, a charitable organization to provide education to girls and women in India and Bangladesh. Again, thank you so much for being on the show today, and it was just serendipity that we could come together due to our friends and just the forces conspiring to bring us together. I think as you were mentioning before with the founder of IBM, one of the founders, and it just sort of happens that way. You're just destined to meet whoever you're supposed to meet. A Buddhist called Karmic Connections. Karmic Connections, okay. And so after you became ordained, then you decided to go back to school and get a PhD? Well, I went back to India and studied for many years in Himalayas, in Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama lives. And then in 1989, I got bitten by a snake. Oh. Oops, yeah, it was almost fatal. And because of that, then I came back. So while I was recovering from that episode, near-fail episode, then I went back to school. Went and out, go back to school, right? So, and I wound up with a PhD in comparative philosophy from here at UH Manoa. So that's how I accidentally became a professor. That must have been a really fascinating course of study. It was. In what you were doing. And you were doing this, of course, still, while you've been in on all of this time. Yes. And so that hasn't changed. Now, would you consider yourself a feminist? Yes, I would, from the definition of someone that defined feminism as the radical theory that women are completely human. I think, from that perspective, no doubt at all, women are completely human. Yes. And we have the potential to do great things, so including enlightenment. Yeah. And I would say, if you're not a feminist, men included, why would you not be a feminist? Right. We're in a great awakening now, where we are leveling up in all of the things that you were talking on one of your YouTube interviews about how we all have to be aware of our own biases and our unconscious biases, which is even harder. But our biases, because we're humans, we are all racist, we're all sexist, we're all homo, we're heterophobic, transphobic, we're ages, we're classist. That's just what humans do. So it's about us being aware of it, doing what we can to overcome it so that we can create a level playing ground where humans can thrive. Well, you could say that we're all conditioned by our circumstances. And some of these misunderstandings get inculcated in us from a very young age, but it's not permanent because the mind is flexible and we have the power of critical inquiry. So when we think about it, a lot of these attitudes that we may have learned don't hold water and so we can change our minds. That's the whole idea of awakening. Awakening to what really is in front of us, right? A human being that the mind at root is clear knowing, awareness. And then all of the thoughts and ideas that we learn from our environment, from our education are mutable. And so we have a chance to shape those and change them if we become aware of things that are not serving us any longer. And we can also become aware of that societally. And I think we're seeing that shifting in all areas economically and politically and religiously and just you think about how women have completely come into it. I mean, just look at that. And we thought we were there and then you have the whole Me Too thing that came out which really just sort of exploded everything across the board. And it wasn't just for the obvious issue of what Me Too was about, but it was more this larger thing. Like we really haven't finished this discussion here yet. Exactly, we've still got a lot of work to do. We've made a lot of progress, but as we could see in the previous year, there's still a lot of work to do in terms of transforming attitudes. And part of it is women transforming our own attitudes toward ourselves. A lot of times we hold ourselves back. So awakening to our own potential is also very important and the potential of others around us is encouraging one another men and women. Do you think that this ability to awaken to our potential is equally accessible in all of the main world religions that we have out there and not so main world religions that we have out there? I think the potential is definitely there in all of the world's religions. It's a matter of how it's used and how it's nurtured. If it's nurtured well, then it can be only transformative. And I think that society is due for transformation. So if the religions of the world have tools to offer, let's make the most of that. Let's optimize. And Buddhism has become increasingly familiar for Americans, even though we may not quite understand, we can get the precepts or these basic ideas, you know, don't lie and cheat and steal and kill and those sorts of things. But why do you think Buddhism is becoming more popular in America and where do you see it going from here? Well, a lot of people say it's because life has become so very stressful and that people need tools to learn how to calm down, how to understand the mind. Where does anger come from? Where does greed come from? A lot of the driving factors that are causing problems around the world, you know, economic and political problems can be traced to our own mental cultivation. If we can become more peaceful people on an individual level, then that can also influence our families and our communities and our nation and therefore our world. So this is the idea. We start here and then we go from there. And once we clear up a lot of the greed, hatred and ignorance in our own hearts, then we're more effective agents of social change. I have a sticky on my computer that says the only precious being I can save as myself on some level because we all have to do the work ourselves. Well, initially, yes. But ultimately, I think that the broader vision is to transform the whole society. And that would be, I mean, include men, women and for the Buddhists also the animals. Well, it's a big part of my life. I often say, if I have a question, I just look deeply into the dog's eyes and ask her whatever the question is and she will relay the answer just telepathically. And I think that's a lot of truth in that. So you are planning to start a center up on the North Shore in Wailua. And when is that going to take place? Well, it's starting now. We've got the land. We've got a small building, a small shed. And we've started planting trees. We want to do agriculture, organic farming and also to create a center for peace where people can learn peace, acquire the tools of becoming more peaceful people. And sort of like a light center in a way you could say. Open to everyone, different religions, different backgrounds where we can all learn together. And what's, is there a website where people can go for information about that? It's on the Saakya-Dita website under local projects, Saakya-Dita, Hawaii. Saakya-Dita, Hawaii. And that brings us to Saakya-Dita. So we have a couple of web images of this and so you can tell us what is Saakya-Dita and how did you start it and what's going on with it now? Good. Well, we started in 1987 with a small conference in Bodh Gaya where the Buddha achieved enlightenment and the His Holiness the Dalai Lama opened it and encouraged us all to study and do our best as women in Buddhism. And we discovered we had noticed the inequalities in Buddhism. Until that time, the tradition was very male dominated but we weren't all really aware of it. And this was sort of the beginning of an international movement. Over the last 30 years, every two years, we meet together to talk about how we can do the best to transform women's lives around the world, women and children. So this year, it's going to be in Australia. For the first time, it'll be outside of Asia. 99% of Buddhist women live in Asia. So until now, we've held it in countries in Asia and the largest one was 2,400 women and men who came to Ho Chi Minh City. In Vietnam. And then we've had smaller conferences of maybe 600 but with workshops and meditations and cultural performances and so forth, it's a way of bringing women together and creating an alliance of women who can work together to help change the world. And the one that you've got coming up is already sold out even though it's a month away. And I don't know how many people are going to be coming to that one but obviously more than you have capacity, more want to come than you have capacity for. Let's do it. It's become really, really popular. Maybe this is going to become an every year. Well, it could be. Let's see, maybe so. Seems like there's a demand for it. And you were one of the co-founders of that. And the Dalai Lama has been very supportive of your efforts. Yes, he has. Okay, so that's wonderful to hear and that we all have our allies and they just show up because they're there and people do want to help. They want to support us for all of our potential as to grow as humans. Tell us about your really wonderful Jam Yang Foundation. Well, this is a project to bring education to women in the Himalayan region and among the hill tribes of Bangladesh. Also, we have outreach programs in Nepal and Mongolia and many different countries. And it's a way of encouraging women to get educated, to study and do the best they can, become teachers, become role models, mentors for others. And it's been tremendously successful in the last 30 years. In December of 17, we found 20 Buddhist women from the Himalayan region had become Geshets, which is the highest degree in philosophy. And women had never had done this before in Buddhist history. And so it was a real breakthrough for women and now they can become teachers. I mean, achieving sort of like a PhD in Buddhist studies. And so we're very pleased and happy about this. And it shows that women really do have tremendous potential, right? And that's a, it's a 501C, is it headquartered in America? Yes, both of these are a 501C3 charitable organizations registered in the United States. Okay, so people can Google, if you just Google karma lexi, you can find out some links there to Sakyadita or Jamyang Foundation, but it's probably jamyangfoundation.org. Yes, that's right. And there's a donate button on there. A donate button on there. So if you are moved to help young girls achieving their potential, then I can think of no better foundation to give to because these young ladies are the future of our world and being led by amazing teachers like you and examples like you. And I just, unfortunately we are out of time. As I said, this would go very fast. And it has been a real honor and a pleasure to have you as my guest today. And I really appreciate it. And I will hope that you will come back in the future when you're in Hawaii, because you do come back too. Oh yes, I come back all the time. You come back all the time. And I want to give a special shout out to my own mother who is a very kind and lovely person and watches my show and says my guests are amazing, which they are just like the one I had today. So thanks for watching my show mom and all the other moms out there. And it was a happy Mother's Day yesterday. We have amazing people here also at Think Tech Hawaii. We have Eric Hollander, who's our floor manager and Robert McLean, who is our broadcast engineer and Jay Fidel, our executive producer, who puts it all together. I'm here every other Monday at three. If you love these guests at Think Tech Hawaii, please go online also and donate to Think Tech Hawaii because that's how we stay afloat. So share the love, folks, and my great appreciation again to Venerable, Dr. Karma Lexi Somol, our guest today from University of San Diego and a director of the Jam Yank Foundation and founder of Sakya Dita as well. But thank you so much for joining in and that's all we have time for. Aloha everyone.