Photo of the Australian delegation to the 19th Sakyadhita Conference. Photo credit to Olivier Adam.

Guest Author: Venerable Yeshe
Date: 27 August 2025

Women in Buddhism: 2025 Sakyadhita International Conference in Kuching, Sarawak

Sakyadhita – Daughters of the Buddha – and that is how we sat, listened, discussed, ate, played and prayed for a week in beautiful Kuching, Sarawak.

A personal reflection by Venerable Yeshe, member of the Sakyadhita Australia committee.

Introduction

Our air-conditioned venue was opulent and a welcome reprieve from the heat and humidity of the city streets. I was extremely blessed with great accommodation right on the Sarawak riverfront, taking the ten minute walk each morning to the ‘Waterfront Conference Centre’ (which was not on the water!) that revealed a clean, friendly, relaxed lifestyle of the locals who maintain a healthy regime of walking and jogging along the promenade from first light and returning in the evenings to very colourful, vibrant family gatherings.

The Conference

The conference for women in Buddhism delivered an amazing line-up of monastic and lay women; every one of them highly qualified and learned in their field, with an ‘alphabet soup’ of letters after their names. Most of them had achieved their academic status through years of extreme cultural and educational challenges that revealed strength, empowerment and incredible kindness.

This year’s theme was ‘Navigating Change: Buddhist Women in Transition’. The program offered scholarly papers, workshops, dharma talks, meditations, chanting, souvenir presentations, meetings and focus groups, tours, cultural events and ceremonies, as well as food and refreshments for over 400 registered participants and dignitaries from 25 countries for 5 days – a massive event which the host, Kuching Buddhist Society succeeded in doing faultlessly in conjunction with the event management team.

Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo’s attendance all day every day was an inspiration to us all and gratitude runs deeply in our hearts for the vision they have held for nearly 40 years.

Highlights

There were so many highlights that I could not pick one moment to define Sakyadhita 2025, but Buddhist women walking together in unity and harmony pretty well sums it up. The cultural performance was spectacular and the Korean monastics gave a dynamic ‘K-pop’ style performance the likes of which no-one had ever seen, and they had many swaying their arms and phone lights. The joy and laughter is unforgettable. What followed was breathtaking. The most powerful acapella rendition of prayers and mantras by Ayya Yeshe* who made Australia proud. A magnificent, goosebump moment.

What’s Next

This was my first Sakyadhita International Conference, and I will make every effort to walk with many more daughters of the Buddha in 2027 for the 40th anniversary of SIC being held in Borobudur, Indonesia.   All of the papers are available for everyone to read here: https://sakyadhita2025.kbs.org.my/proceedings Or you can read a summary here: https://sakyadhita2025.kbs.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/250621-Programme-Booklet.pdf

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  * Ayya Yeshe is a Buddhist nun, teacher, and social activist known for her work with member organisation, Bodhicitta Foundation.

Sakyadhita Australia is the Australian branch of the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women. Its role is to empower women in Buddhism, and thereby empower all. Anyone, regardless of gender identification, is warmly invited to be involved. To find out more and become a member, visit: https://www.sakyadhitaoz.org

 

Author Bio: Venerable Yeshe

I live in the Chenrezig Nuns Community on the Sunshine coast, Queensland, and have recently become a member of the Sakyadhita Australia committee. I study as well as participate and assist in retreats and events.