Written by Holden Byrne
Introduction
The Buddha Catu Parisa Maha Vihara temple is located in the secluded forests of Fairbanks, Alaska. The temple serves to train the minds of Thai Lady Monks. It is one of several temples founded by the Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation. The foundation also has temples located in Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Uruguay and India. The Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation teaches and promotes the Theravada tradition; specifically they wish to help to revive and support Bhikkhuni (lady monk) ordination.
History
The roots of the Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation International began in 1983 when their founding organization, the Sikkhadhamma Society, was established. The Sikkhadhamma Society was created within the Ministry of Industry of the Kingdom of Thailand by government officers of varying departments in the ministry. The intent of the society was to bring Buddhist values into the work environment with the goal of increasing productivity as well as worker’s morale. Every month the society would hold a Dhamma learning program where monks and Buddhist scholars would speak on the Dhamma.
Over time the program grew in popularity and gained more support from the Ministry. Eventually the Society began to meet weekly and was opened to the public, growing in size as members joined. The Society would establish a shrine hall on the campus of the Ministry in 1992 for hosting lectures and other Buddhist activities. Over time the society would continually grow in size, eventually possessing more than two hundred members by the early 2000’s. The society would then change its name in 2005 from the Sikkhadhamma Society to the Sikkhadhamma Tipitaka 84000 Dhammakhandha Society to show their value of the Tipitaka and its 84,000 Dhammakhandha.
The Dhamma learning program hosted teachings from a variety of different monks and scholars. These Monks and scholars interpreted and practiced in differing ways, consequently sparking debate among members of the community as to which teachings the Society should follow. After years of discussion and debate, the Society settled on an agreement in 2005 that the Tipitaka should be of utmost authority in their faith and practice. They believed that unconditional loyalty to the Tipitaka would prevent members from being misguided by Buddhist traditions and Dhamma teachings that lack what the original Buddha’s teachings were intended to be.
Then in 2007, the society again changed its name from the Sikkhadhamma Tipitaka 84000 Dhammakhandha Society to the Sikkha Buddhavacana Pariyattidhamma 84000 Dhammakhandha Society in order to emphasize their dedication to the study of the Dhamma (Paritattidhamma). Despite resistance in Thailand, in 2014 the Society decided to make the momentous decision to revive, promote and support the Bhikkhuni community. The Society believed strongly in the Catu Paris, the Fourfold community, and felt as though this faith would be incomplete without all of the divisions included. From these decisions, the Society would establish the Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation International in 2014. The intent of this foundation was to establish Fourfold community temples around the world in order to help promote and bring awareness to the Bhikkhuni ordination in the Theravada culture. In ~2020, the foundation established the Buddha Catu Parisa Maha Vihara temple in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Constituency
The Buddha Catu Parisa Maha Vihara temple serves to ordain female monks so all the members of this temple are female. As the Buddha Catu Parisa Maha Vihara temple was founded by a Thailand based foundation, a majority of the temple’s members are Thai. All members of the temple believe in Catu Parisa, the Fourfold community, with an emphasis on the Tipitaka. An advantage for members at this temple is the location. The harsh Alaskan climate allows the Thai Lady Monks to hone their meditation and train their minds. These conditions allow the Monks to push their minds to the limit and attain enlightenment. The temple hopes to serve as the final destination for many Buddhist souls.
Beliefs
The Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation International is a Theravada Buddhist temple organization. This means they follow the teachings of the first Sangayana (Buddhist council). This is the meeting that took place after the death of Gautama Buddha in the 6th Century B.C. At this meeting the senior monks preserved the Buddha’s Suttas (sayings) and Vinaya (rules). As a Theravadan temple, they believe that strictly following the monastic discipline, which was displayed in the original Suttas and Vinaya, and obeying by the Tipitaka/Pali Canon (scriptures) is the key to develop their mindfulness and eventually over time achieve a state of Nibbanna (Nirvana). Nibbanna is where a person achieves the bliss of enlightenment and is released from samsara (the cycle of rebirth). A person becomes freed from unwholesome thought and thus no longer requires rebirth.
The temple believes strongly in complying with the duty of the Catu Parisa (the Fourfold community) stated in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, a scripture of the Pali Canon. In this scripture the Buddha declares that he will not enter Parinibbana until there is a complete successful Catu Parisa. This entails that all quarters are fully functioning and thriving: the Bhikkhus (monks), Samaneras (novice monks), Bhikkhunis (female monks), and Samaneris (female novice monks), Upasakas (laymen) and Upasikas (laywomen). The standards for their success, as presented in the Sappatihariya Dhamma, are stated as being:
“Accomplished, trained, skilled, learned, well-versed in the Dhamma, trained in accordance with the Dhamma, correctly trained and walking the path of the Dhamma, who will pass on what they have gained from their own teachers, teach it, declare it, establish it, expound it, analyze it, make it clear: until they shall be able, by means of the Dhamma, to refute false teachings that have arisen, and teach the Dhamma accompanied by wonders” (Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation International).
This belief that the Buddha-Sasana (Buddhism) must have all the four divisions of the Fourfold community in existence with their specific duty upheld in order to be complete is the reason that the Buddha Catu Parisa Maha Vihara temple was built. The mission of the temple is to revive, promote, support and establish a strong Bhikkhuni and Samaneri community in order to make sure that all four divisions are accounted for. The Tipitaka specifically states that women are able to obtain enlightenment, the same as men, although they do have to follow more rules than men.
Their belief is that the path to enlightenment goes through taking refuge in the Tiratana/Three Jewels. The Three Jewels are the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Most important to them is the study of the Dhamma. The Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation sees the Dhamma as the ultimate guidance in their mission towards Nirvana. The reason for this belief is that they see the Buddha and Sangha as fully exemplified in the Dhamma and that the Dhamma, which the Buddha used to achieve Parinibbana so long ago, has been preserved and is still available to people today.
Goals
The Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation is actively producing documentaries, films and social media articles in order to spread and educate people on Theravada Buddhism, specifically the aspect of equality within Fourfold communities.The intent of the temple is to establish a strong Fourfold community. To do this, they promote and support the community of Bhikkhuni and Samaneris, a division of the Fourfold community. They wish to promote and facilitate a continuous study of and adherence to the Tipitaka among members of the Catu Parisa, the Fourfold community of Bhikkhus, Bhikkhunis, Upasakas, and Upasikas. The mission of the Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation is to establish Theravada Buddhist temples, in accordance with the Tipitaka.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eAr1-fxxtk
Works Cited
Buddha Catu Parisa Foundation International, 2020, www.buddhacatuparisa.org/.
“Subzero Sanctuary (Bhikkhuni Temple, Alaska).” 11 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eAr1-fxxtk. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.