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What the traditional roles of women in Buddhist communities
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For the purpose of this essay, I have chosen to expand my forum post for the reading on Buddhist nuns and the difficulties they face due to the institutionalized misogyny present in Buddhist traditions. I selected this topic of wimmin in Buddhism because I am similarly interested in wimmin as my primary academic focus, and thus have found this topic one of the most engaging from the course so far. I believe that it is especially important to think about the roles of wimmin in Buddhism, and, more than that, why they do – and have – occupied these roles, both in history and as they continue to do so into current times, due to the simple fact that they are undeniably important members of communities, but culturally-normalized negative attitudes towards them have often implied otherwise.
In the chapter of Being a Buddhist Nun: the Struggle for Enlightenment in the Himalayas that was assigned for class, Gutschow does not go much beyond the issue of the clerical hierarchy’s unequal power distributions. Zher focus is on the way that this hierarchy has historically exercised its power, both by granting power and by exclusionary tactics such as acknowledgment and acceptance (Gutschow 168-169). While ordination is, and has, been possible for nuns in the various schools of Buddhism, the question of available opportunities (“After she has been ordained by the bhikshuni sangha, she [a female novice] must then present herself before a quorum (at least ten members) of the local chapter of bhikshu and go through the entire ceremony again, after which she is recognized as a bhikshuni who has received the double ordination from both sanghas” (Barnes 262)) is an extremely pressing one. Important to this issue, however, is locating the motivation ...
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...tly mythic and mystical, and had then subconsciously othered and exoticized it as a kind of paradise. Resetting my own white womyn Western perceptions is hard to do, and I’m disappointed in myself for not having noticed my error until I’d done it; however, moving on from that and looking simply at the issue itself, I’m left differently conflicted about Buddhism itself, for the reasons I’ve presented. There are too many layers and facets of Buddhism to count, and certainly I can’t expect to understand any part of it thoroughly yet. Even so, the struggle of reconciling what I thought were even the most basic Buddhist principles with the unabashed inequalities in the habits of the sangha is one that I think I only have hope of working through with further research on the various handlings of the matter (of wimmin) within canons and the commonly-accepted commentaries.
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
Buddhism is considered as one of the leading religions throughout the world today. In order for a Buddhist to follow the religion, there are certain set of guidelines that one has to follow to gain a better life, but most people have other factors that they have to face along this path. The story, “The Journey of One Buddhist Nun” by Sid Brown, is an account of a Thai woman, Maechi Wabi, who entered a spiritual life along with life struggles and outside influences. According to Brown, Wabi faced many challenges along the way to liberation and two challenges she faced most are the gender and socioeconomic issues which she overcame during her spiritual journey.
24 Amore, Roy C. and Julia Ching. The Buddhist Tradition. In Willard G. Oxtoby, Ed. World Religions: Eastern Traditions. P. 221
Buddhism is a religion from the East that has spread to many different countries all over the world. It has spread to the West, and has had a great influence and impact, especially in America. However, the Buddhism that is practiced in the United States is not exactly the same as the one that is practiced in Asian countries. If Buddhism differs between the different traditions of the Asian countries themselves, it is obvious that it will differ greatly in America as well. However, even though there are obvious differences, it is important to maintain the core values and fundamental principles the same. This research explores how the three different types of Buddhist practitioners have adopted Buddhism in America, and it describes some differences
The teachings of the Buddha do not only benefit men but also women. However, when trying to be ordained, women meet more problems than men do. According to the difference in precepts for monks and nuns, nuns are inferior to monks in all circumstances. (Walsh 2016) These differences combined with the low social status of women during the time of the Buddha have formed a popular view about Buddhism that discriminates against women. However although there is evidence that emphasize the difference in treating women and men in Buddhism, it is Buddhism that propose the equality between women and men, thus further raising the status of women in social circumstances. In this paper, I will focus on the traditional view of women
Buddhism is currently the fourth most popular religion in our society today, following Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Its major ideologies are based on the philosophies of Siddhartha Guatama, also known as “Buddha”, who began his teachings in 598 BCE at the age of 35, according to Buddhist texts. A Buddhist’s foremost aspiration is the obtainment of Bodhi, or enlightenment through meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of the breath). Buddhism shares many ideologies with India’s Hinduism and Yoga such as non-harming, non-violence, and self-awareness. In many instances, people regard Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion, for it has no clear belief in the idea of a God or Gods. Its structure is built upon a hierarchy much like Christianity where superior orders such as Lamas or the Dalai Lama are said to be chosen by nature through the process of reincarnation rather than by a council like Christianity’s Pope. Though these “higher level” Buddhists are rare (not everyone is a reincarnation of an ancient Buddhist “priest”), all are permitted to follow “The Middle Way” either as a Buddhist monk or the simple attendance of a weekly teaching session from time to time. Throughout the last few hundred years the Buddhist population has blossomed into a healthy 381,611,000 and over fifteen different sects including Zen, Mahayana, and Theravada.
In the documentary, it shows how they worship Buddhism by offering food. When offering food, they both say some chat as they did in meditation. In Buddhism, offering food is very important because you are given without the thought of wanting something back and in return, you get good karma; that good karma can be given to others to help their life better. Questions that I have arisen in this regard is why Maechi Wabi still want to go forth as a Maechi when she finds out that to become a nun you need money? In fact, she already knows that her family is poor and she won’t be able to afford it. Another question is that I notice in the Thai society women were viewed as powerless and have more karma which is one of the reasons why they’re born to be a woman, so why the society or government didn’t support the idea of becoming a nun to help women escape from samsara or reduce their
Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy can have a substantial amount of unfamiliar terminology and specific meanings for words we think we know the definition to. In order to ensure comprehension and clarity a few terms need to be defined. Buddhism as a spiritual movement is the following of the teachings of a fifth century B.C. E. Indian spiritual leader named known as Siddhartha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or --in the case of this essay-- the Buddha. Tibetan Buddhism will be defined in a similar manner. Tibetan Buddhism is in the course of this essay will focus on one of the six schools of thought in the Tibetan Buddhist cannon. The “Oral Tradition” or the Kagyu School is the monastic linage that arrives in Kauai in the twentieth century.
“In Tantric Buddhism, we are dealing with a misogynist, destructive, masculine philosophy and religion which is hostile to life – i.e. the precise opposite of that for which it is trustingly and magnanimously welcomed in the figure of the Dalai Lama.”[1] Within Tibetan Buddhism, there is an inherent contradiction regarding the status of women. Although in many aspects women are seen and treated as inferior to men, several of the ancient and fundamental values of Tibetan Buddhism, and more specifically Tantric Buddhism, emphasize equality of the sexes, universal compassion, and most importantly the significant and essential role of the woman. Tibetan Buddhist nuns have been trying to correct this contradiction for years to remove the inferior and degrading stereotype that defines them and to be seen as equal to men. Beginning with the emergence of Tibetan Buddhism from India until today, the status of women, both physically and symbolically has declined due to the patriarchal system adopted by Tibet. “The mystery of Tantric Buddhism consists in the sacrifice of the feminine principle and the manipulation of erotic love in order to attain universal androcentric power.”[2] In their patriarchal society, the symbol of the woman is used by men now as an instrument; manipulated by men in order to acquire control and power.
Buddhism prevailed as a religion indigenous to west India and comprises of varieties of traditions, beliefs and practices based on the teachings of Buddha. There are many reasons why Buddhism became so popular and entered into many civilizations. Buddhism began to be popular throughout Asia alongside India. Buddhism has blossomed in the contemporary world, especially in the West. It is an issue to wonder what Buddhism offers that other religions cannot and has become so significant worldwide. Buddhism has become an idea that is widespread and the teachings of Buddha have made a real difference in many civilizations like India, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea and surprisingly Buddhism has come to make a significant difference in American culture.
The study of Buddhism over the past century or so has resembled the encounter of the blind men and the elephant in many ways. Students of Buddhism have tended to fasten onto a small part of the tradition and assume their conclusions held true about the whole. Often the parts they have seized on have been a little like the elephant's tusks a striking, but unrepresentative, part of the whole animal. As a result, many erroneous and sweeping generalizations about Buddhism have been made, such as that it is 'negative', 'world-denying', 'pessimistic', and so forth.
was, and still is. sexual stereotypes present in the culture of Buddhist communities. By contrast to such bigoted practices that hinder spiritual development, Buddhism can be claimed. to be the least discriminatory in attitudes towards women. There is no doubt at all that the Buddha was the first religious teacher who gave women equal and unfettered opportunities in the field of spiritual development and development.
"What is Buddhism? | The Buddhist Centre." What is Buddhism? | The Buddhist Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. .
With the Shaolin monastery in China and the Enryakuji in Japan playing important roles amongst the Buddhist monasteries and becoming deeply involved in the secular world, we see a lot of similarities and differences about the relationship between the religious and secular worlds in China and Japan. We also see that Daoism and Shinto religions shaped the monasteries evolvement over the centuries.
The Web. The Web. 18 Mar. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. " The Buddhist World: Lay Buddhist's Guide to the Monk's Rules. "