In world religion, gender inequality has always been a great concern. This inequality did not exist based on the concepts of original religion but through cultural influence and social manipulation. The essence of Buddhism originated from a human being (known as Buddha). And Buddha is the one who achieved the highest enlightenment. Often in Buddhism concept, there was confusion about how much devotion is required to achieve the great “Enlightenment” for monk or nun. Women in the Buddhism face much more challenges to become enlightened. Throughout the essay, I will be focusing on how in Buddhist woman needs to be reborn as a man to be fully enlightened. This means this essay will examine the difficulties women face as a nun and how they are never reached “bodhisattva”. My views will be justified through Buddha’s opinion about women, women in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism and challenges Buddhist women faced due to culture and social context.
In Buddhism enlightenment allows the mind to be free from any attachment, struggle and desire to reach purity and peace of mind. According to Buddha teachings, men and women have equal right and freedom to achieve nirvana (Rahula 37). But during Buddha’s time, women were treated as bad faith, and their whole life were devoted to their husbands and household choirs (Gutschow 199). And this was a situation due to the typical Indian values. Since, Buddha’s childhood went through similar environment that made him display some hesitation towards women being enlightened (Fisher 101). This hesitant was due to the fact that, to become enlightened (according to the definition of enlightenment) the person has to choose an ascetic life (101). For instance, when Buddha’s foster mother, Mahapajapati a...
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... to reach fully enlightenment and become “The Buddha” the person needs to be born as a male gender (Fisher 106). All these support that in Buddhism women need to be reborn as men to reach enlightenment.
Bibliography
1. Anderson, Gordon. "Buddhism Lecture 1." HUMA 2800 Lecture on Buddhism. York University, North York. 29 Jan. 2014. Lecture.
2. Falk, Nancy Auer., and Rita M. Gross. Unspoken Worlds: Women's Religious Lives. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub., 1989. Print.
3. Fisher, Mary Pat. Women in Religion. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.
4. Gutschow, Kim. Being a Buddhist Nun: The Struggle for Enlightenment in the Himalayas. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2004. Print.
5. Rāhula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught. New York: Grove, 1974. Web. 12 Mar. 2014..
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 the question: To what extent did Empress Wu’s support of Buddhism, politically and financially, help Wu and better her empire overall?
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.
Buddhism is one of the prominent and influential religions and philosophies of the world. A basic tenet of Buddhism is that worldly desires and possessions cause all suffering. To absolve one’s self of necessities beyond basic human survival is one of the many plateaus that Buddhists strive to achieve. Furthermore, Buddhists free themselves from temptation via seclusion from society and attempt to allow nature to support them. They believe that Nirvana, the ascension to heaven, can be achieved by freeing oneself of earthly desires.
Although misconceptions are prominent throughout beliefs about the Buddhist religion, Keown is quick to point this out, “Students of Buddhism have tended to fasten onto a small part of the tradition and assume their conclusions held true about the whole.” (Keown, 1) He proceeds to say that these beliefs ...
Suzuki, D.T. An introduction to Zen Buddhism. Ed. Christmas Humphreys; fwd. C.G. Jung. London: Rider, 1983.
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 belief systems of Confucianism and Buddhism share compelling commonalities such as the very factors upon which they were founded, as well as many of the obligations and requirements for followers of the philosophy of Confucianism and the Buddhist religion. Nonetheless, Confucianism and Buddhism diverge greatly when it comes to women’s rights and gender roles.
If there is reconstruction of the ideology both men and women will be liberated because males often find themselves trapped in this thought of Patriarchy which forces them to do desperate things. Minett exaggerated that biological differences between men and women, make certain that men always dominate or masculine roles that women always gave the subordinate or feminine ones. Cited in Tong (1989, p 96). Tong’s thoughts also are in support of Chimamanda’s idea that men will exceed their capabilities to achieve what is expected of him as a man, even when his wife can achieve it for them both. In that thought is also the idea that women ought to limit their potential in order to spare men’s self-esteems. Illogical a thought that one gender on the basis of biological make up have a duty to refute her abilities that of a man especially if he is under
“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.
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.
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.
The second segment of the chapter discussed the divine law, gender roles, daily living, the paths to enlightenment, the religious life, and death. What I found interesting was the discussion on how women were portrayed in Buddhist scriptures. Like most sacred texts, there are contradictory statements about the nature of women and their role in society within the Buddhist scriptures. The ancient texts often depict women as " seductresses who, because of their carnal sensual nature, are a threat to the spiritual welfare of men" (Bilhartz, 2006, p. 238). For example, in the parable found in Itivuttaka, it is evident that women are viewed as obstacles in the spiritual welfare of men. The parable is about a man who is being carried away by a river to whirlpools with monsters and demons. According to the
The role of women in religious scripture dictates an inferior position in society. Beginning with the creation of Adam and then Eve, as his helpmate. Her purpose was that Adam would not be lonely. This origin provides the ground work for inequality of genders on the basis of religious scripture. The roles prescribed determined that women should be in a subordinate position to man. The female role and relationship with God is defined by the various books of the Old and New Testaments, the reported actions of Jesus Christ, and finally the Qur'an.
"What is Buddhism? | The Buddhist Centre." What is Buddhism? | The Buddhist Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. .
Inequality is the disparity of distribution or opportunity and can be looked at through many positions from a sociologist standpoint. This paper will look at the basics of gender inequality within marriage through three different religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.