Podcast with Ven. Karma Lekshe Tsomo from Tricycle

Read and Listen, “A Call for the Full Ordination of Women”

Photo courtesy of Tricycle, otherwise uncredited.

In Tricycle’s Life as It Is podcast, Tricycle editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg interview Ven. Lekshe, and we learn about the path leading her to a monastic life. Much of the conversation is on her mission of improving the lot of Buddhist women, especially in countries where even today, women are not considered for ordination.

Tricycle offers the Life as It Is podcast for free. This episode was posted on March 20, 2024.

See and listen: https://tricycle.org/podcast/karma-lekshe-tsomo/

During her many years as a Professor at the University of San Diego, Tsomo Sensei provided addresses to our Temple and supported various events. In her visits she was always complimentary of the role and leadership of the Buddhist Women’s Association in Temple life, in San Diego, the mainland, and in Hawaii.

Although common now if rare earier, in Japan and North America, Jodo Shinshu has benefitted from the ordination of women, and we treasure both of our ordained Minister’s Assistants, Rev. Maribeth “Smitty” Smith, and Rev. Laverne Imori.

The podcast allows us to catch up with Sensei’s activities in Hawaii. In the podcast, reference is made to the Sakyadhita Hawai’i La’i Peace Center; learn more here.

— Article compiled by Bill Teague from Tricycle.