“Happiness is not just a personal matter; it’s a communal matter,” says Venerable Yeshe Chodron, known as Ayya Yeshe, in an online introduction to her foundation. Ayya Yeshe has taken the idea of communal happiness and made it a calling; she is the founder of the Bodhicitta Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to serving the poor in India. Author of Everyday Enlightenment: How to be a Spiritual Warrior at the Kitchen Sink (HarperCollins 2006), she found Buddhism at the age of 17 after struggling with depression. Six years later, she ordained and worked at a Buddhist center in her home country of Australia, before moving to India. When she encountered poor people from the Dalit community, sometimes known as the “untouchable” caste, she was impressed by their drive for justice and human rights—and wanted to help. The Bodhicitta Foundation provides meals, education, healthcare, and counseling services to poor communities, as well as meditation and spiritual guidance.

Buddhistdoor Global: You founded the Bodhicitta Foundation to serve members of the Indian community, especially those of lower caste. Can you talk a little bit about what inspired you and how it got started?

Ayya Yeshe: When I ordained [in 2001], I had nowhere to stay; my [Australian] center charged me rent, but allowed ethnically Tibetan male monks to stay for free. In the midst of that I had many requests to teach the Dharma in schools, prisons, and rehab centers. In Australia I could not financially survive and so I went to India to study, but I missed social engagement. I went to Bodh Gaya, where there is a huge gap between the air-conditioned marble enclaves of foreign Buddhists and the poverty stricken lives of local people. Most centers had high barbed wire fences out front and I found myself wondering which side of the fence the Buddha would be on.

I then met a man from the Ambedkarite community [Dalit Buddhism, a socially engaged Buddhist movement in India] and went to Nagpur. I was inspired by the Dalits’ struggle for human rights.

BDG: Working with women and girls is a primary part of the NGO’s mission. Why is the focus on women and girls important?

AY: All the data we have on social justice shows that women and girls are the most vulnerable and face the most oppression. Seventy-five per cent of trafficked people are female. Most of the victims of malnutrition, poverty, illiteracy, and domestic violence are women. Women do 60 per cent of the world’s work, but own 10 per cent of its land. There are millions of young girls waiting for a chance to attend school. Addressing poverty and the environment, as well as population growth can all be addressed in a big way by educating female children.