Women Of The Buddhist Societies

Throughout this course, we learned that women’s studies originated as a concern at the time that “women and men noticed the absence, misrepresentation, and trivialization of women [in addition to] the ways women were systematically excluded from many positions of power and authority” (Shaw, Lee 1). In the past, men had more privileges than women. Women have battled for centuries against certain patterns of inadequacy that all women experience. Every culture and customs has divergent female

The response to the spread of Buddhism in China differed according to one’s social position.

These beliefs about the roles did not come out of nowhere. Confucius, the teacher of the religion of Confucianism, taught that women's roles were to look after the men in their families. Most did not question his teachings and continued to live with these “rules”. Not only the fact that they believed women were inferior to men and should stay at home, "people believed that women were both morally and intellectually inferior to men and thus needed men's control and guidance" (Tsai). While men were valued for their hard work and getting the money, women were disparaged because they “couldn’t live” without a man’s work.

The Sangha, the Buddhist monastic order, comprises Bhikku (monks), Bhikkuni (nuns), laymen, and laywomen. While the Bhikku and Bhikkuni depend upon the laywomen and men for economic support, the lay community depends on them for spiritual guidance and ritualistic practices. This well-rounded mutual relationship is clearly a division not only amongst religious status, but determined by gender as well. This is quite a contradiction with the Buddhist belief that your physical self is impermanent and ultimately attachment to your illusory self will cause you suffering. The second Noble Truth states that suffering originates from our ongoing desire, a clinging to possessions, attachments, and self. Why would a religion founded in the idea of shedding attachment focus so much on gender, which is an attachment? I feel that the Buddha’s hesitation in allowing women to be initially recognized in the Sangha originates from his early childhood convictions of women, fear of the Dharma becoming further compromised, and ultimately leading to the deterioration of Buddhism altogether. The Buddha’s hesitations regarding women becoming monastics seem to be questionable because of the way women have responded to this discrimination even during the Buddha’s lifetime. These women are evidently devoted to the ideals and teachings of Buddhism because of their ability to shed attachments and embody a fully monastic lifestyle. As they are shedding their attachments they give up their gender.

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.

Wu Zhao, the first female emperor of China, rose to power during the Tang Dynasty and her active role with Buddhism fabricated a perpetual impact in the Chinese society as a whole. There is no doubt that Buddhism and the Tang administration, under Wu’s reign, formed a symbiotic relationship with one another. She is considered to be one of the most prominent advocators of the religion during the era. Her efforts to spread of Buddhism and the monetary support help Buddhism to expand throughout the people significantly, which provide the religion another source of financial income to spread even further. Regardless of Empress Wu’s intention, she has furnished the religion in numerous ways, but what did she receive in return? This proposes

From prehistory to 1450 CE, in many different and complex civilizations, religion has influenced the gender roles of many societies. From prehistory to 600 BCE, in Mesopotamia, women could own property, maintain their dowry, and even trade. However, from 600 BCE to 600 CE, in Rome, women were completely under the control of their paterfamilias. Than, from 600 to 1450 CE, in the Byzantine Empire, women were constrained to their homes, and when they went out, they had to wear veils over their faces. Religion influenced the gender roles of many societies and civilizations from prehistory to 1450 CE.

The oppression of women has been brought into light in the recent years but it was the norm in many societies in early history especially in premodern east Asia. During that time, the roles of men and women in society were determined by great scholars that had the power to get their voice to be heard and set general rules in society. In China, scholars like Confucius, Mencius, and Mozi had great impact on the way people divided the roles between men and women. The overall oppression of women in premodern east Asia can be seen through quotes from great scholars about how women should be obedient to men, should not make important decisions in their families, and are not spoken of equally to men in society.

Gender inequality has always been present in the Early Buddhist Tradition and within Religion as a whole across other cultures. This paper will explore how Religious norms and traditions contribute to gender inequalities and discrimination and lead to the subordinate role of women in Shin Buddhism Community in Japan. The subordination of women in relation to men in Shin Buddhism is an outcome of the interpretation of the Religious texts and the institutional setup of the family life and Shin Buddhism communities. I will explore this through the concept of patriarchy (rule by male head of a social unit) and the theory of O’Connor (1989) studies about women in terms of the three R’s, Re-reading, Re-conceiving and Re-constructing religious traditions.

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

As a piece of ethnography, the work is competent, but draws little attention to the classic anthropological methodology of participant observation, characterized by long-term engagement with local cultural practices. Instead the claims made are gathered through an analysis of publications and dialogues within the Thailand Buddhist community, mostly centered on a

Subordination of women to men is prevalent in large parts of the world. We come across experiences where women

The source of the articles is the Buddhist-Christian Studies. This is a source of the scholarly article devoted to Buddhism as well as Christianity regarding their historical and contemporary areas of convergent. The differences and similarities between the different views of Buddhist as well as Gnostic scripture are highlighted in these two sources. The first article, Images of Women is authored by Karen Christina Lang. The second article is from the Gnostic gospel, which the second articles, which is a collection of about 54 ancient texts based on the teachings of several spiritual leaders written between second and fourth century AD. Besides, the source provides different historical stories about the ancient collections and the views of the different spiritual leaders. Elaine Pagels is the author of this second article known as God the Father/God the Mother. This essay seeks to bring out the different perceptions about women involvement in religion, in light of the articles by Lang and

The role of women in the greater society has been under scrutiny for a long time; the evidence of studies and feminist movements supports this scrutiny. Given the extent of the global cultural diversity, understanding the role of women in Buddhist traditions requires a mirrored approach where by Buddhist women are paralleled against women in different societies such as Christian or Muslim societies. This approach will help identify some of the feminine traits that may be exclusive only to Buddhism or perhaps traits that are universal. In addition to this, a historical approach may be necessary to help recognize changes that may have taken place over time through a process of evolution. In summary, this essay will try classify the significance of women in Buddhist traditions.

Buddhanet. 2008. World Buddhist Affirm the Equity of Women. Women in Buddhism. [Online] 2008. [Cited: 2, 19, 2010.]