Status Of Women In Buddhism Essay

The life of most Buddhist women consisted of motherhood, housework and devotional practices. Even though they are more monks than nuns, women still represented half of practising Buddhist, thus allowing women to enter temples that would allow them to separate themselves from their normal domestic life. As women were given recognition from early Buddhism it has allowed them to have a higher social mobility that has allowed them to become a teacher where they are in no way second to men, thus allowing them to have status and not be inferior to men.

The position of women in Buddhism appears to be contrasting to the position of animals – as if women as more inferior than animals are in the tradition. In “Rupyavati Gives Away Her Breasts,” after Rupyavati’s selfless deed, everybody is amazed that a woman could be so giving and compassionate, offering up her own body for another. In shock that a woman possesses such bravery, the people who had gathered said, “’How your sharp intellect contrasts with your female sex!’” (p. 166). Clearly, the ethics and capability of women to perform selflessness were not acknowledged at the time, which is obviously due to cultural norms.

Women have been a part of Buddhism since it began in Northeast India in 6th century BC, by a man named Gautama Buddha. The religion of Buddhism does not involve any theistic world-view, therefore Buddha was not a god. The teachings of Buddha are designed exclusively to liberate emotional beings from misery. There is no doubt that Buddha was the first religious leader to give women equal opportunities in the field of spiritual development. Looking back to the very beginning of the religion, many of Buddha’s wisest and most capable disciples were laywomen and nuns.

Gender roles and ideals in Hinduism and Buddhism are diverse. A number of texts regarding household gender roles exist in Hindu traditions, and little to none are appear to exist in Buddhist traditions. The gendering of abstract concepts in both Hinduism and Buddhism may also occur. The cases sited indicate that male dominance is significantly more common than female dominance in ancient and Classical Hindu texts while regional variations may continue to exist. Buddhists appear to internalize the gender norms of diverse regions. Mention of other gender roles are rear.

My question is in regards to the history of Buddhism, but most specifically in reference to the women of this religion. The text by Anderson and Young suggest that “Buddhist texts were produced by monks writing for other men...Buddhist women, if they figured in these texts at all, did so only in subservient roles” (Anderson and Young 83). They also suggest that because many of the texts were not written by nuns, that the picture the average person gains from these texts is biased towards women and incomplete. This makes me question: If there was so little

When studying religion as a whole history has proven that the women have been mistreated in the beginnings of each religious belief. When looking at Buddhism early history it appears to be some different conclusion on the role of women. When the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha, allowed women to be a part of the monastic community. According to Falk (1974) “ women received a great deal of respect in the home, were allowed to manage property, give it away, and probably inherit it as well.(p. 105) Women had equal rights in the early development. The change in Buddhism accrued when it began to mirror the beliefs of Hinduism. Buddhism main focus was spiritual enlightenment not spiritual positioning. Centuries after the beginning the role of

The role of women in Buddhism can show that the situation of women has been a focus of significant interest throughout many years. Since their marriage is dedicated toward the happiness of all living beings, those gathered here are the representatives of all living beings (Reverend. S, 2010) In Buddhism, women are not considered to be property of men, since they are opposed to violence towards any living creatures. The attitudes towards women reflect the culture of the religion.

Inequality is seen everywhere. Women are subjected to this inequity especially. It is increasingly hard to be a woman when your human rights are taken from you or are limited in some way. You not only become seen as “useless”, but you also are limited in growth and development. A women’s voice cannot be heard if there are hands covering her mouth. Buddhism speaks to the strife of women. Buddhism advocates a way life that shuns inequality and injustice around the world. Its tries to get people to understand that women and men are both equal and should benefit from the same rights. Buddhism to some people is regarded more as a philosophy or a way of life rather than a religion. Buddha means awakened one. This means that

In order to achieve more education for women around the world, it is important to understand how some religious cultures view women’s status in their society. By using Cherif’s article, I will be able to understand and explain the society’s norms and rules to my audience and see the importance of not changing those norms while improving women’s education.

The scholarly article "Images of Women in Early Buddhism and Christian Gnosticism" by Karen Lang explores why negative attitudes towards women persisted in early Buddhist and Gnostic communities even while women engaged in important roles in those particular communities. This article takes a truly critical look at why and how these views of women persisted, why they were so negative and the specific nuances of these negative views. In fact, Lang makes a truly astute and comprehensive observation about these negative views of women: Lang illuminates immediately in her article that while many people view Buddhism and Christianity as completely distinct, perhaps even opposite religions, these religions are in fact somewhat evocative of one another, particularly in their treatment of women, their view of the human condition (as being stricken with struggles regarding sensuality), and the necessity of ascetic practices. Lang explores how these Christian and Buddhist authors both "perceived women as less rational than men and more susceptible to the weaknesses of the flesh; their writings vilified women's bodies as 'impure' and 'defective' by nature. These texts associate women with the body and all of its unpleasant functions. In contrast to men, women were symbols of sensual mentality. Liberation for women involved a transformation of the female body and a repudiation of their female nature" (Lang, 95). This aspect of

The 1930’s through the 1960’s, which was a part of the twentieth century, was a period where women’s subordinate status in the workplace shifted. This subordinate status that women had in the workplace could not have shifted without the federal government’s view and attitude on women’s subordinate status in the workplace shifting overtime as well, which is exactly what happened between the 1930’s and the 1960’s. During this time the federal government played a very dominant role when it came to women’s status in the workplace. By the late 1900’s, women had better status in the work field than women did in the early 1900’s due to the federal government’s view on women’s subordinate status changing overtime and them being very dominant with those changes. In the early 1930’s the federal government believed that women basically did not have any status within the workplace. They saw women’s status in the workplace as being low and not important. At this time two acts were passed that tried to keep women out of the workplace as much as possible. Once World War 2 broke out in 194, the same government that tried to keep women out of the workplace were now encouraging them to enter the workplace. However even though the government was encouraging women during the war to enter the workplace, their belief about women’s subordinate status in the workplace did not change. Once World War 2 ended around 1945 the federal government stopped pushing for women to enter the workplace. By the

How many times have you heard "All men are equal". It's a quote from the American Constitution. In today's society it has been taken literally. Yes all men are created equal but are women created equal as well? Of course not. Most would probably say yes but women are a minority in this country. Men are the rulers over America, being very forgetful that because of women they live. Although women are the creators of life, women are still not being treated equally when it comes to jobs, salary, or other aspects. Is it fair that women still don't receive the respect and the same things men have the right too.

Contrary to the common perception that women in Southeast Asia traditionally enjoyed a high status in society, many scholars generally agree that such assumptions about the purported status of women are oversimplified by “postcolonial scholars in order to perpetuate the discourse of gender equality.” (Ikeya 2006:51). According to Chie Ikeya, the “traditional” high status of women in Myanmar has been used since its independence from Great Britain to assert and implicit the message of gender equality (2006:53). This explains why not only gender inequality persists in Southeast Asia, but why the very discourse of gender equality also does not get enough attention in this region. Ikeya argues that the “traditional” high status of women in Southeast Asia

Women in Pakistan are more likely to face system subordination, where patriarchal values are embedded in local traditions and culture. Due to the interconnection of gender with other forms of exclusion in the society, the role and status of women cannot be considered homogenous. There is a great deal of diversity in the status of women across regions, classes, the rural/urban divide caused by the lack of socio-economic development and the impact of feudal, tribal, and capitalist social formations in women’s lives.

Have you ever thought why people are different from each other? There are many differences such as intelligence, opinions, appearances, personalities and genders. Genders represent the differences and also similarities between men and women. Equality of women and men has been disputed for many years. Some people consider that this kind of equality is impossible because of their physical properties while others say the exact opposite. But no matter what they say, both sexes differ from each other greatly in some respect. In the past years, men used to be considered superior, so men were more important and valuable in the society than women. The stories Desiree’s baby and Trespass are focused the