Women in Buddhism
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
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The earlier proposal of the five obstacles of women in Buddhism (Anālayo 2009, 142), which stated women’s incapability of becoming a Buddha, was seen as a key element in Buddhism that discriminated against women and prevented women from participating Buddhism practices. However, if people read the context more carefully, they can find out that the reason why the Buddha proposed that women should be restricted from practicing was due to their “sexual desire, illness, ignorance…” (Anālayo 2009, 142). Under such definition, the boundary of men and women can be divided into physical and psychological aspects. In psychological aspect, as long as people possess more “sexual desire, illness, ignorance…”, the five obstacles should be applied, no matter they are women or men. In another words, people should not judge women as inferior and sustained and men as superior and pure because of their physical gender. When encountered the Buddhist texts, we should read critically and discriminate the underlying background in order to better understand the sutras. By emphasizing on the importance of concentration and gaining of wisdom, the importance of women as an external feature, has been downplayed and minimized. 'When one 's mind is well concentrated and wisdom never fails, does the fact of being a woman make any difference? ' (Thero, 1994, 711). This quote clearly indicates that the external appearance has no effect in practicing Buddhism. Thus, the right to participate is important and equal for all beings. For normal women, the right to participate are regulated by the rights and responsibilities for citizens regulated by laws, and reflect in all fields, including politics, culture, and economics. Of course, the right also includes the freedom to choose and practice any religion. Buddhism, act as the first religion granted the possibility for women to ordain, played an important role in gender
In addition, studying the place of women in the light of spiritual teachings of the western religions, we can convince other women and people around in bringing about a positive change in the modern global village. Studying various religious beliefs and their in-depth analysis proves that there is a fundamental teaching and principle of all spiritual forms that humanity is to be treated as one concrete unit wherein all men and women share similar relationship and identical position in the eyes of the Almighty. The unjust oppression of women is based on false assumptions and preconceived notions by the male-dominating world, has been obvious and responsible for paving the way for serious gender issues to emerge. This caused religious conflicts among the masses. Confined to narrow realms of activity in society, deprived from the essential human rights, restricted to confined educations scope, open to unhealthy criticism and mental and physical abuse, this society has not permitted women to become what they potentially are.
The excerpt being reviewed in this paper is the story of An Lingshou whose “secular surname was Xu” (Shi 307). She is an upper class woman who “was intelligent and fond of studies” and “took no pleasure in worldly affairs” (Shi 307). She is devoutly Buddhist and doesn’t want to be married, but her father Xu Chong disagrees, accusing her of being “unfilial” (Shi 307). She responds that her “mind is concentrated on the work of religion” and questions why she must “submit three times before [she is] considered a woman of propriety” (Shi 307). Her father thinks this is selfish and goes to see a “Buddhist magician monk” who tells him to “keep a vegetarian fast and after three days . . . come back” (Shi 307). Xu Chong does so and the monk “spread Xu Chong’s palm with the oil of sesame seed ground together with safflower” and has him read what’s there (Shi 307). He sees “a person who resembled his daughter” as Buddhist preaching to a large group. The monk tells him that it “is a former incarnation of” his daughter who left her house to help the world at large and that “she indeed shall raise her family to glory” and help them find Nirvana (Shi 307). Lingshou is allowed to become a nun and “cut off her hair, discarded secular ornaments, and received the rules of monastic life from” the monk who spoke to her father and another famous nun (Shi 308). Lingshou goes on to be a famously great nun who “built five or six monastic retreats” and her family goes on to be honored and promoted (Shi
In China and India, Buddhism helped women gain ground in maintaining education in. Buddhism allowed and encouraged women to join religion and education as equal to men. While in China a few women were Buddhist scholars, the Neo-Confucianists excluded women from the politics and educational system to prevent the power of women in government. Upper class women commonly had more opportunities for higher education then the lower class. Women in Europe and America lived more freely and openly than in other societies. European upper class women were able to read and write, become apprentices in towns, and perform family medicine, and some were caught with English Bibles.
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.
"Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them" (Oscar Wilde). As stated in this quote, all over the world women are restricted by their religions, from doing many things that men can do freely. An example would be to wear anything they want (pants), or pursue a career. Such situations are portrayed in various mediums including: Hillary Jordan's book When She Woke, Roland Joffé's film The Scarlet Letter, and Ida Lichter's article "Misogyny in the Muslim World: Bound by Culture or Religion?". In all three sources, religion is such a practice that imposes many restrictions on females, which results in women having to sacrifice their rights and face humiliation in front of society.
Was it the Market Revolution that changed women’s quality of life, the strong will of many women, or both? At the beginning of the market revolution women were just being sought after to join the work place. Beginning a time when women started to question their rights and statues in the United States. Several women decided to stepped forward and raise up for women’s rights by fighting to remove women from the “Cult of True Womanhood”, equal wage rights, higher education and showing the importance of the American women in the workforce. Emma Willard, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the Grimke Sisters and many nameless women joined the fight to improve the quality of life for women in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Buddhism is one of the worlds major religions with 300 million followers around the world. Buddhism has many beliefs, tradition, and practices based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. It is a religion that doesn't involve in having a belief in a God or Gods. many people believe Buddhism is a way of life or a philosophy. Buddhists believe that Buddha is not God and he didn't say he was God, but he was a man that taught people the path to enlightenment that he learned from his own experience. Many believe that Buddhists worship statues of the Buddha, but by bowing to the Buddha statue they are paying their respect and expressing their gratitude for his teachings. There are also different types of Buddhism because it changes from country to country do to different cultures and customs. Buddhism is believed to originate in northern India in 563 BC. It is also believed that the traditions of Buddhism was taught by Siddhartha Gautama also called the Buddha meaning the enlightened one or awakened. Siddhartha Gautama was born to a rich family in Lumbini India. When Siddhartha Gautama reac...
“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.
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.
Buddhism which just may be the most tolerant religion in the world, constitutes teachings that can coexist with almost any other religions. Buddhism began with Siddhartha Gautama who lived in northern India in the sixth or fifth century B.C.E. The religion has guidelines in two forms in which Buddhist followers must follow. These are the Four Noble Truths and the Eight fold Path. Buddha taught that man is a slave to his ego and that the cause of suffering is desire, essentially the way to end suffering is to overcome desire. Buddhist views toward sex are those constituting that it is a natural part of human life, but also something that is associated with craving. As the Buddhist path involves overcoming these cravings this also means becoming less oriented towards sex. In most Buddhist traditions, devoted practitioners become celibate monks and nuns, and in traditional societies this was the only alternative to a family life. Celibacy traditionally signifies a noble, yet mystifying devotion that is difficult to understand and has become the subject of much critique, especially within the realms of Catholicism. But what are the origins of this tradition? this essay will present various sources of information on the subject from various traditions, with an emphasis on celibacy within buddhism.
What is Buddhism? What do we understand by Buddhism? It can be comprehended differently and can mean a variety of things to many people. For one it can be only an explanation of the life of the Buddha. To another, Buddhism means the massive doctrine recorded in the Buddhist literature, which is voluminous and comprise of several thousand pages recording the words of the Buddha. Moreover it is described as a very lofty, abstruse, complex and learned philosophy of life. However based on whatever the Buddha taught, there has grown a very rich culture, a culture which has extended to all parts of Asia for over 2500 years, and to which people from various walks of life with various backgrounds from all these countries have made a lasting contribution. Another definition of Buddhism is the kind of ritual that has grown around the doctrine of the Buddha, as a result of his teachings and the way of life preached by him. But to me Buddhism is the perfect combination of all these definitions. Buddhism has influenced my life by making me adopt the Eightfold Path known as the “Middle Path”, increased the practice of spirituality, comprehend law of impermanence and thus lead a righteous life. It’s mainly thought that Buddhism is a teaching for monks only, as it is sometimes wrongly conceived.
Bernstein, Gail Lee. “Women in Rural Japan” In Women In Changing Japan, edited by Lebra Joyce, Paulson Joy and Power Elizabeth. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1976.
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional or philosophical dissertation. It helps to explain the main nature of gender inequality. It further explains the social roles of women in the society such as education, communication, philosophy, sociology and so on (Chodrow, Nancy 1991).
Through the entire history we saw how human beings were fighting for power and their rights. Men or women, they were looking for power. Some people wanted that power to use it in a wrong way, for example, slaving others or steal people’s belongings. Other wanted that power so they can be equal. People of color wanted that power to be equal with white people, in most cases, and women wanted that power so they can be equal to men. It was not an easy journey and as we can still see it today all the problems are not fix yet and so there’s still women out there, fighting constantly, so we can all be equal.