More than three hundred Buddhist women are expected to gather in Evanston next March to participate in the Third Annual Buddhist Women’s Conference sponsored by the Buddhist Council of the Midwest.

The all-day conference, Women Being the Dharma will offer an opportunity for Buddhists, both lay and ordained, to share their experiences as women who follow the “dharma” (or teachings of Buddha), to deepen their spiritual lives, and to discuss the role of women in the future of Buddhism in America.

Click Here for Lodging Information

We hope the women of all Buddhist traditions will join us.

This daylong conference will include a keynote speaker, a plenary panel discussion, lunch, workshops and discussion groups, and the closing celebration. Women of all Buddhist traditions are represented as planners, presenters, and participants.

Conference Registration Fee	$90
Student/Clergy Registration Fee	$50
Monastic Registration Fee	$0

To register online - Click this LINK

Monastic and Scholarship Attendees

There is no registration or luncheon fee for Buddhist or Catholic monastics, but please register before February 22^nd so we can provide your meal. For purposes of this conference, a Buddhist monastic is defined as celibate, in robes, living under the Vinaya by alms. A Catholic monastic is defined as celibate, living in a religious community, under monastic rule and a vow of poverty.

To download the 2008 Registration Form, CLICK HERE. This is a fill-in PDF form - you can type in the required information, print the form, sign it and mail.

To register online as a Monastic or Scholarship Attendee, Click this LINK

Important Dates to Remember

Snail Mail and Online Registration Now Open

Last Day for Early Registration Discount:
Form must be postmarked or time-stamped by:
February 1, 2008

Last Day for Hotel Registration:
February 7, 2008

Last Day for Full Cancellation Refund:
February 14, 2008

Last Day to register for a Vegetarian Meal:
February 22, 2008

Last Day for 50% Cancellation Refund:
February 28, 2008
(No refunds after February 28^th)

Last Day for Snail Mail Registration:
February 22, 2008

Last Day for Online Registration:
March 3, 2008

Buddhist Council of the Midwest is pleased to announce that the recipients of the 2008 Women and Engaged Buddhism Award are Sensei Joan Hoeberichts of the Heart Circle Sangha, Ridgewood, NJ, and Charika Marasinghe, PhD, of Sarvodaya, Sri Lanka, for their initiative in partnering to create the Psycho-Spiritual Healing Project to train Sri Lankan counselors to provide psychological support for tsunami survivors and others needing such aid.   More . . .

To read about the previous 2006 and 2007 Women and Engaged Buddhism Award Recipients, CLICK HERE.

The Conference offers a number of additional activities and services including, a Meditation and Shrine Room.
                                                               More . . .

The 2008 Conference Brochure is now available for downloading and printing. This twelve-page brochure outlines the Conference Program and contains workshop descriptions and

short biographical sketches of presenters. To download and print the full Conference Brochure - Click Here

Download the Registration Form (1 pg) - Click Here

To register online and receive the "Early Bird Discount" - Click Here

Download the Workshop Information (3 pgs) - Click Here

To view or print the Conference Brochure or Registration Form you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. Adobe Reader is FREE and can be downloaded by clicking this button:

How does Buddhist practice support our journeys as women on the path, and how does it work with obstacles? When do the teachings on emptiness provide a bigger, liberating view, and when do they push us into spiritual bypassing?

	Theravada Venerable Pannavati Bhikkhuni Co-Abbot, Embracing Simplicity Hermitage
	Mahayana Venerable Chang Wu Fashi Guiding Teacher, Dharma Drum Meditation Center
	Vajrayana Khenmo Nyima Drolma Abbess, Vajra Dakini Nunnery

Morning Sessions:   10:45 - Noon

Workshop	Presenter
101 - Women: Breaking With Tradition, Inheriting Nibanna	Venerable Pannavati, PhD
102 - Chan Meditation Workshop	Venerable Chang Wu Fashi, MBA
103 - Becoming a Bodhisattva Artist	Khenmo Drolma, MFA
104 - Awake in the Wild	Laurie Lawlor, MA
105 - The Liberation Struggle for Women's Ordination	Diane Martin Roshi, PhD

Afternoon Sessions:   2:45 - 4:00 pm

Workshop

Presenter

201 - Unsticking Attachment	Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown, PhD
202 - Right Relationships	Cynthia Stone, PhD, LCSW
203 - Using Yoga to Connect With the Dharma	Mary Tracy Sigman, MA, MEd
204 - Interfaith Panel and Workshop	Asayo Horibe, RN
205 - Sacred Dance: Wisdom and Compassion in Motion	Julie Thomas, PhD

Special Additional Workshop:

206 - Engaged Buddhism and the Path to Putting Compassion into Action

Rev. Joan Hoeberichts, LCSW
Charika Marasinghe, Ph.D
Moderated by:   Marianne Solome, VP BCM

The speakers will share their personal path to Buddhist social action and update us with slides on the projects they have initiated in Sri Lanka, training trauma therapist for tsunami survivors, Report and in Nepal, building a home and school for girls who are at risk of being sold into brothels More Info. Their presentations will be followed by a moderated group discussion of how we can engage the suffering around us with active compassion, wisdom, and equanimity.

Rev Joan Hoeberichts,is the Sensei of Heart Circle Sangha, Ridgewood, NJ, and member of the New York Buddhist Psychotherapy Collective. She and Dr. Charika Marasinghe are the recipients of 2008 of the BCM’s Women and Engaged Buddhism Award. Dr. Marasinghe’s law degree is from Oxford. She began Savordaya’s legal aid program fresh out of law school. She was a senior lecturer at Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, for 17 years. In 2005 she left teaching to open a law practice dedicated to children’s rights. She served at the Sri Lankan National Child Protection Authority and authored legal manuals for the prevention and prosecution of child abuse and violence against women. She is a trustee of Vishva Niketan International Peace Centre and a member of the Executive Council, Sarvodaya Movement, the largest NGO in Sri Lanka.